Grubology 101”
By John Stears
With input from Jimmy Johnson and Jason Halfen
Soft plastic grubs are a family of baits that covers a wide spectrum of body shapes and sizes. They can be fished solo or as trailer on hard baits such as jigs, spoon or spinnerbaits. They can be used to trick a verity of fresh and salt water species. The common characteristic is a relatively short fat body. They range from the stiff Beatle Spin body to the twin-tail spider grubs with built-in skirts. They come in lengths from 1 to 10 inches. The most common style is the single, sickle or twister-tail grub. This member of grub family is what I’m going to concentrate on.
If “Grubology” is the study of grubs, I consider myself a “Grubologist”. I started my love affair with grubs in the early 80’s. A Mann’s avocado Stingray was my go-to lure of the era. Even today, if I were restrict to just one lure it would be a jig head and sickle-tail grub. Most of my grubbin is for large and smallmouth bass but over the years they have accounted for northerns over 38 inch’s walleyes to 29 inch’s crappies to 14 inches, a 43 inch musky and numerous other game and non-game species.
A grub’s versatility is one of its strengths. In fresh-water they will catch everything from panfish to muskies. They can be fished from the surface to the bottom and everything in-between. In motion they represent a variety of free-swimming minnows and produces pressure-waves and flash like a crankbait. On the bottom the tail will wiggle with the slightest motion and can be worked slowly through the strike zone. There, the bulk of the body likely represents a crayfish or darter minnow. An additional feature is the strike to land ratio. From my prospective a single-hook lure is always a better choice when money is on the line.
Your reaction might be what I need to know other than size and color. Like all plastic lures, subtle differences in size, shape, thickness, plastic density, and overall design can make a big difference in a lures ability to trigger a strike. I had an experience that opened my eyes. I found a school of mixed large and smallmouth on a current beak behind a point. The fish were on fire and it was almost every cast. I started swimming a 4” clear/silver flake Berkley Power Grub on a 3/16 oz head. After several fish the grub was torn-up. I had a second rod on the deck with a 5” clear/silver flake Kalins grub. I made a half dozen casts without a hit. These fish were hot so I wanted to know what changed. I slid on a new Berkley tail, made a cast, and bam, another fish.
Being inquisitive I wanted to know why the fish were so selective. The obvious differences between the baits are the stated size and scent/flavor. I immediately discounted scent because I’ve never seen scented lure make a difference on a fast-moving presentation. To back-up that statement I did a Google search of Power Baits, including Berkley’s research documents. No where did Berkley, or anyone claimed that the sent in freshwater Power Bait plastic lures (worms, grubs etc) attracted more strikes. Advertising mentions scent but never goes beyond that point. The emphasis is on the products taste and how long a fish will hold on. Gulp and Power Bait attractant are different products.
The next question is, are the fish that size selective? I’ve seen it when smallies were on the pin-minnows and won’t hit a standard size lure. However, when you compare the two baits the differences is in the length of the tail and is much less than an inch (see photo). The bodies of both baits are similar in size. Logic says size is not the reason the fish selected one over the other.
As I switch back-and-forth between the two lures I noticed that the rod tip had a rhythmic movement with the Berkley grub but was motionless with the Kalins. Once I took a close look at the two grubs the light bulb came on! The Berkley has a thicker, stiffer tail than the Kalins. Kalins slender soft tail moves effortlessly through the water with the slightest motion. A thing of beauty to a lethargic fish but not what triggered this school. After the critical look I came to the conclusion that the stiffness of the Berkley tail creates more vibration and pressure waves. Also, the stiffness may cause the body to rock from side-to-side like a crankbait. A subtle differences but it made a big difference to this school of fish.
Please don’t assume that you should throw out all your Kalins and buy power grubs! This experience simply points out that there are differences in common bait and we can use the differences to our advantage.
To further the discussion I’m going to lump grubs into stiff and supple categories. I’ve already demonstrated where a stiffer grub out performed a softer grub. Where would a subtle action catch more fish? During the coldwater period most game fish will not chase down a lure. A supple action grub like the BFN K-Grub, Kalins or Yamoto can be held motionless in current with a life-like kick of the tail. My favorite specie (smallmouth) can be caught in cold water by dragging a grub at a snails pace across the bottom. A supple grub is the best choice. Most stiff grubs will require too much of movement to produce a similar tail action. I’m sure you can envision other situations where a supple lure will be the best choice.
I had a chance to discuss this topic with one of best bass fisherman in the area. Jimmy Johnson of LaCrosse has qualified for two Bassmaster Classic and finished 9th in 2006. Jim pays close attention to the transition from body to tail. Jim also added this observation; if a grub has been miss-packaged with the tail folded over enough to create a crease, it will not run true. Something to keep in mind when buying and storing grubs.
Rods and rigging; I use spinning tackle for most grub presentations. A 6.5 to 7’ medium to medium heavy rod is best. My favorite is a 6’8” medium extra fast (AS 68 MXF) St Croix rod. It allows me to set the hook on a long cast, yet has a soft enough tip to cushion the 8 lb test line. Ninety nine percent of the time I fish grubs on an exposed hook jig head. One question is tail up or tail down? I prefer the tail up because on any given cast I may drop the bait to the bottom. I feel that configuration looks more like things in nature such as a crawfish in a craws up defensive posture or the dorsal fin of a darter minnow. The disadvantage of tail up is the tail may get caught on the hook point during the cast. Grubs can be Texas-rigged and fished through wood and vegetation. However, with the line on the nose the bait tends to roll and wobble. Delivering a grub on a swim jig is a better presentation in cover.
How to fish them; A grub and jig-head is a versatile combination that can be fished a hundred different ways. There are a few basic retrieves to start with. From there you can build an arsenal of presentations. The most common is the lift-and-drop jigging presentation. The lure is generally cast toward shore or drop-off and allowed to sink to the bottom. Once bottom contact has been established the lure is lifted of the bottom and allowed to sink again on a tight line. During the lift and fall the tail wiggles side-to-side. The motion is continued down the contour till the lure is back to the boat. This retrieve can be varied with double hops, fast rips, long-pauses or any combination to trigger a strike. Experiment with the retrieve, jig head weight and tail size till the fish tell you what they want.
Swimming is my go-to retrieve. It’s also a simple technique that’s easy for an inexperience angler to master. During the summer, shad often school just under the surface. A grub is a great tool to hold near the surface and cover water. The retrieve works best over flats, parallel to shore or riprap banks or over wing dams. A steady retrieve is best but experiment with rips and pauses. Depth can be adjusted by varying the weight of the jig head or counting the lure down. Most combinations sink about 1 foot per second. I generally start with a 3/16 oz head and vary the weight from ¼ or 5/16 oz to adjust the depth and/or retrieve speed. Below 3/16 oz a 4-5” grub will spin and wobble at moderate speed so I seldom us a 1/8 oz head.
A variation of swimming is balancing the head and grub so the lure can be fish almost stationary in current. An example would be the face of a wing dam. The presentation is to cast to the top of dam, pull the lure in front of the dam and allow the lure to suspend, or slowly sinks down the face of the dam. A soft grub will hold in place with its tail kicking in the current. A lot of big walleye have succumbed to this presentation.
Vertical jigging can used in a lot of different situations but is most common in rivers while drifting with the current. The key to the process is finding the lightest jig head and grub combination that will keep you near the bottom. Once that is established you drift down stream with the lure directly below the boat. An electric trolling motor is used to make minor adjustments for wind and current. Experiment with the jigging motion till the fish tell you what they want. Sometimes no motion is best. The lure is held just above the bottom and the grub provides the action. My personal observations are vertical jigging with twister-tails are best in water temps above 40 degrees. It seems that too much motion in cold water can turn-off, rather than turn-on.
Dragging a jig head and grub across the bottom will catch a variety of species but I use the presentation primarily for smallmouth bass. It’s a technique I first experienced on Lake Erie and have used it in a lot of different locations since. On Lake Erie the locals call it drift-and-drag because it done over large reefs and the wind provides the propulsion. Drift-socks are often employed to control the speed. I’ve had my best success using a ¼-3/8 oz football style head with a 5” grub. A football head is designed to hold a lure upright and to catch more of the bottom. The temporary pauses cause the head to rock forward in addition to the tail action. In extremely cold water a football head with Kalins, K-Grub or Yamamoto can be fished at a snails pace with enough tail action to trigger a bite.
Where to fish them; I’ve had success with grubs on most body of water I’ve fished, however there bodies of water where they shine. Lakes and rivers with a strong
Populations of smallmouth and pelagic bait fish seem to be prime grub fishing. The Mississippi River is my home waters and I fish grubs from ice-out till freeze-up. In early-spring and mid-fall I swim grubs just off the bottom. During the warm-water period, the best presentation is a fast retrieve just under the surface. Bass busting shad are suckers for a 5” pearl/blue, clear or smoke grub. I’ve had limited experience on Canadian Shield lakes but I have had great success swimming 5” grubs over rock and sand for pre-spawn smallies on Lake of the Woods. Lake Pokegma in Grand Rapids, MN is typical of Oligotrophic/Mesotrophic lakes northern Midwest. They have sparse vegetation, huge sand flat with sharp brakes into deep water. Smallmouth suspend off the breaks and feed on smelt and other pelagic species. Swimming a grub off the breaks has been a productive presentation for me. I’ve fished several of the Great Lakes and have had limited success swimming grubs. Swimming on Lake Erie and Lake St Clair was unsuccessful. I suspect the abundance to the bottom hugging gobies is why the presentation failed in those lakes. The story was quite different on Green Bay. Swimming a 5” smoke Power Grub over rock and sand flats helped me to a respectable finish in the1999 BASS Northern Division Tournament.
A grub and jig head is an inexpensive combination that can be fished a hundred ways. It can be fished from top to bottom. The hook to land ratio is high. It can fished in place of a crankbait, a spinnerbait and your favorite bottom bouncing lure all in the same cast. If you’re not fishing them you need to give them a serious try.
fishnut
