Spring Grub Bite

It’s coming, and it’s coming soon! For me, it is the superbowl of Smallmouth fishing. I wait impatiently every year for it, and it is right around the corner. The spring grub bite! When that water temperature starts to teeter around 55 degrees that is when I pick up my grub rod, and don’t put it down until the water hits 70 degree mark. This usually starts around mid March, and ends sometime in May. I am not saying you can’t catch them earlier than this, but I am usually throwing a jerkbait from 49 degree water till 55 degree water. I also am not saying that this bite will not last longer, because it will. I have caught them right into June, but the bite is early, and dies fast.

Equipment:

 I like to use a longer rod when I am grub fishing to help with the hook set. I fish a 7’6” All Pro Atlantis Series rod, with a quantum energy spinning reel. I spool my reel with Suffix 6 # braid. I do not like to fish mono, because it has way too much stretch for a good hook set on a long cast. Fluorocarbon will work fine, but you will not be able to cast as far, and I feel this is very important for this type of fishing. If you do use fluorocarbon, I would not go over 8# unless the water has some color to it. I used fireline for years, but the suffix braid last much longer than the fireline, and casts just as well for me. I then attach a small barrel swivel to the braid, then about a 5 to 6 foot 8# fluorocarbon leader. I have tried every uni-knot known to man, and they work o.k. for a couple fish. Then, if you don’t retie, you will break off at the knot. I personally do not want to take the time to retie every couple of fish.

Jig heads:

On the end of that fluorocarbon leader, I attach a ¼ oz darter head. I very rarely use anything but a ¼, because it just works in most  situations for me. I have never been able to find a jig head that I was satisfied with, so I started pouring my own. Most of the ones I bought, the hook was either too weak, or too small. I use strictly Gamakatsu hooks. Not to say other hooks will not work, but I am just partial to the Gammys. I like to use a light wire hook for better penetration on the hook set. I never use a hook smaller than 3/0, or one larger than 4/0. In most situations, I will opt for the 4/0. Do not worry about painted jig heads for your grub fishing, they will hit just fine with them unpainted.

Grubs:

I like to use the fattest grubs possible. The grub is primarily a site lure, so I want to displace as much water as possible, while giving the fish a large profile. The Kalins grub works very well, with the Zoom Fat Albert a close second. These grubs are easy to come by, and can be bought most anyplace. I order all my grubs on-line, because I like to buy them in bulk and save money. Unless you fish as much as I do, you probably would be better off just buying them at retail. I only use a 4 or a 5 inch grub in the spring. I like the larger grub, because I feel like it catches bigger fish. The smaller skinny grubs like the minster twister, and their knock offs, will catch fish as well. I just feel I get better bites on the bigger grubs. As far as colors go, there is no need to have every color of the rainbow for grub fishing. You will just be giving yourself a headache, and wasting your money. My arsenal is very basic. I like to go dark on overcast days and light on sunny days. My go to color would have to be smoke. I have caught more smallmouths on this color than any other out there. If the sun comes out, I will switch to a salt and pepper, or a junebug. I like to dip the tail of that salt and pepper in chartreuse spike it sometimes as well. There are times, when the threadfin are up shallow on the flats, that a straight pearl grub will kill them. This is another good color with the tail dipped in chartreuse. The only other colors I will throw into the mix are pumpkin, cotton candy, and chartreuse pepper. I probably throw these colors the least, but they have their time and place for me as well.  When rigging the grub, I can’t stress how important it is to get the grub on the hook straight. I have seen many people with the grub all bunched up on the hook, like a wad of night crawlers, and they wonder why they are only catching one to my five. I like to always rig the curl of the tail down. This seems to help with hooking the tail on the cast. Every grub has a seam that runs down the body of the grub. I like to bring the point of the hook right out this seem, and then push the body onto the jig head. I will always hold it up, as you would a plastic worm, to make sure it is straight.  This will ensure that the grub will run true, and give it a little side to side wiggle as well as the tail.

Location:

You could write an entire book about location for spring grub fishing based on water temperature, and the season. I will try and give you what works for me in a nut shell. Early in the season, I like to start out in some of the smaller creeks, because they warm the fastest. I will pay very close attention during the time I am throwing that jerkbait. This tells me where to fish when my grub fishing starts. The creeks I have the most luck in with the jerkbait, will be the creeks I start in with the grub. This is why the jerkbait season is so important for me. It is not just about catching fish with this bait as it is locating fish. With the boat close to the bank, and good set of glasses on, you can see fish as well as catch a few. You will also get some good follows on this bait, which tells you fish are present. Also, it allows you to cover water very fast, so you get a good look around in the early season. Remember, fishing isn’t always about catching fish on every trip. It is also about setting yourself up to catch fish on future trips.

Anyway, back to grub fishing. Most of these smaller creeks, or feeder creeks, do not have the large flats, or humps that the larger creeks have. So, I concentrate on points. Sometimes the fish will be on the sides of the point, and sometimes they will be right up on them. If these points have red clay, then most likely there will be grass present. This is a bonus. Like fishing all locations that I describe, I like to stay as far off the structure as possible, and make long casts. This not only keeps me farther away from the fish, but allows me to cover a wider array of depth. 

After leaving the smaller feeder creeks, I will pull out into the larger creeks and hit the points, flats and humps. Most places I chose to fish will not be far from the creek or river channel, and grass will always be close by. When fishing a hump, once again, I will stay way back off the hump in deep water and work the outer edges first, before moving up and fishing right up on the hump. Most of the humps I fish top out around 8 or 9 feet, depending on the level of the lake. One thing to remember when fishing these points and humps is generation. This is very important for me. I always check the generation schedule before I go out in the morning. If I know they are pulling while I am fishing, most of the fish will stage on the downstream side of the point or hump, and wait for baitfish to be washed over the structure.

When fishing the flats, I will work them in a similar fashion. I will work the entire outer edge of the flat, keeping the boat out in 25 to 30 feet of water, before moving right up on the flat. If I see threadfin flipping up on the flat, I will stay as far away from them as possible and make long casts. Those threadfin will spook before the smallmouth’s when up on a flat.

Presentation and the Hook Set:

The best advice I can give on working the grub, is don’t! I don’t hop it, twitch it, or jerk it, nothing. I just throw it out there, and reel it back in. Depending on the depth of the grass or the bottom tells me how fast, or I let the fish tell me how they want it. Generally though, I like to reel the bait just fast enough to keep it above the grass. If it gets stuck on some grass, I like to pop it off like you would a rattle trap, with a sharp twitch of the rod tip. This often triggers a strike.

One of the hardest things for me to teach someone new is when to set the hook. To be honest, I really don’t even set the hook; I just tighten up on them as you would a circle hook. The combination of the braid and the fish take care of the rest. Always raise your arms straight up when setting the hook. Do not sweep to the side! This will turn the grub in the fish’s mouth, and you will most likely hook it in the side of the mouth, giving it a better chance of throwing the bait. Be sure to keep your drag loose, because of the no stretch properties of the braid. If not, you will take it away from him. When you are reeling the grub back to the boat, and you get a hit, DO NOT set the hook, and DO NOT stop the bait! Keep reeling the grub until you feel him load up, or pull back. Then gently raise your arms straight up over your head to drive it home. This will help your strike catch ratio greatly.  

Conclusion:

By far, this is one of my favorite ways to catch smallmouths. The fish are pulling harder than they are all year, and they are full of spunk. I get asked a lot of questions about my spring grub fishing, and this is one of the reasons I decided to write this. There are probably many other ways to catch them on the grub, but this is what always has worked for me. I hope this helps someone out, in their “superbowl” of smallmouth fishing. Thanks, and God Bless.

Keith Palmiero

SmallyChasers Guide Service

Horse Creek Resort

All Pro Rods

Punisher Lures