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A Grub Fishing "Tail"
By Larry Hemphill

Folks involved in recreational activities, particularly those who teach activities like golf and fishing, are constantly asked questions during seminars, classes, and lessons. Often, the same questions are asked over and over – simple questions, but important aspects for success.

As a professional bass fishing educator and guide, I’m also asked some of the same questions repeatedly - Do scents really work?; Are jigs hard to fish?; or, my favorite, Do you fish with the grub’s tail up or down? My answer to that last question is always, "Fish it how you like it. Then, if the bass think it’s backwards they’ll swim upside-down until it looks right to them!" For the record, I usually fish the curly side up.

But seriously, I’ve been onboard with Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits since Gary bought the "Twin T’s" company in 1984. I was one of the first bass fishermen to abandon pork trailers in favor of Yamamoto grub trailers. I’m known in my area as the "jig-n-grub guy". I admit, with some satisfaction, that a majority of bass anglers are now fishing plastic trailers of some kind, year round.

So, why did I give up on pork, besides the fact that it was a pain to deal with? Simply, I felt pork only offered the advantage of bulk, certainly important when seeking bigger bass, but the color selection was severely limited. The grubs Gary introduced around 1985, not only had the outstanding visual effect of color, and the enticing action of a single or double tail, they were, unlike pork, capable of pushing a lot of water.

This was especially true of the single tail grub, and the six-inch grubs (or larger) weren’t even available yet. This was an important factor for me – I specialize in the pursuit of trophy bass, and spend a great deal of time fishing low light conditions – first and last light, and at night. I felt that moving a lot of water was the best way to appeal to the senses of the bigger bass. Even when bass weren’t very active at night, they would still bite off the grub’s tail. If my jig had a pork trailer in those conditions, the bass wouldn’t touch it! Pretty soon I realized that I was onto something.

Using grubs as jig trailers was so out of the ordinary 15 years ago that the makers of the two jigs I use exclusively, Rodstrainer Jigs (designed by Dink Mendez) and Weapon Jigs (currently made by Dezyner Baits), actually laughed at me. Apparently real bass fishermen only used pork! But, they didn’t seem to mind the publicity that my clients and I were getting for catching monster bass. The laughing gradually died down, and others were catching on.

Going back to the questions, I am constantly asked when to use a single tail versus a double tail as a jig trailer, and which one is best fished alone, or on a darthead. It’s a thought-provoking question, not so much the single-double aspect, but how to use one or the other in conjunction with the basic grub sizes offered by Yamamoto – 4, 5, and 6 inch. Here are a few ideas that have proven successful over the past 15 years.

First, let me say that the Yamamoto grub is so effective that I have caught bass with every conceivable combination of jig and grub, both day and night. But bass chasers never want to leave anything to chance, myself included, and fine-tuned baits lead to high confidence levels. My main rule-of-thumb is that I fish a double tail grub during the brightest time of day, giving the look of a crawdad (claws), typically used with a dark-colored rubber or silicon-skirted jig.

I do the same with a plastic skirt and trailer on a football head, for example, as a baitfish imitator for summer and fall fishing - using shad-patterned color combinations such as 135 (smoke w/silver), 150 (smoke w/black), 177 (smoke w/black & silver), and 237 (daiquiri w/black & hologram). I think the bass are visually attracted to the double tail action when they can see it well. In low light conditions, murky water, or at night, I always use a single tail. In those conditions I am more concerned about the water moving attraction of the single tail, and not so much about the appearance. But don’t misunderstand; the single tail will catch fish day or night.

I am constantly adjusting the size of my jig and grub team, in an effort to closely match the different situations my clients and I face. Notice I didn’t say weight. I usually throw 1/4 and 3/8-ounce jigs, and once in a while a 1/2-ounce. I need to do more adjusting than most anglers, since I often guide day and night, during the same trip. I won’t usually have my clients throwing the same size jig two hours before dark, as they are two hours after dark. I also vary the bulk of the combo, depending upon the water clarity and the time of year (water temp).

If you were going to fish jigs with me during a late afternoon/night trip, I would usually have you fishing a brown/orange Rodstrainer jig with a five-inch double tail grub in #180 (smoke w/black, red, green & orange). This is my favorite daytime bait year-round, and I’m honored that some western anglers have named this rig after me. This bait is extremely effective, especially for larger bass. If we are fishing for largemouth, or the water has some color to it, we would fish the combo "right out of the box" – no adjustments. If the water is very clear, or we are targeting smallmouth or spots, I might trim the skirt a bit, and bite off a bit of the grub before threading it on the hook. We’d still have all the lively tail action, but the profile of the bait would be smaller, and hopefully, more enticing to those fish.

As evening falls, and our chances of nailing a bigger bass increase, I’d probably switch you over to the full-size jig, now with a #180, five-inch single tail. In mid to late fall, a larger profile Weapon jig with a six-inch single tail grub would be the "weapon" of choice. Big bass are actively feeding then, particularly during the last hour of light, and we’d want to offer them what they are looking for – a large meal with little effort required. This is important in rapidly cooling water, which brings on slowing metabolisms. If we were planning a trip to start at first light, I would have us reverse the process – start with the larger bait and gradually decrease the profile, as the day got brighter. Obviously this is over-simplified, but you get the idea.

You may wonder why I don’t just use a four-inch grub, instead of shortening a five-incher. When I fish a jig in the winter or early spring, I occasionally use a four-inch double tail during the day, for a good visual look, but only if the water is exceptionally clear. If the water is dingy, or it’s early or late in the day, I prefer a five-inch single tail grub with about 3/4" inch bitten off. I rarely use a four-inch single tail. I generally work this bait combination slowly, but I occasionally give it a strong twitch, causing that five-inch tail to call the bass to the table! Combined with a trimmed-skirt jig, this combo is deadly for winter bass, especially smallmouth and spotted bass.

Typically, I fish a full size jig, and full-length five-inch grub, for largemouth, even in the winter. Exceptions to that rule would be during tough tournament conditions, or during or after a major cold front. One of my very favorite wintertime baits is a tri-color black/blue/purple Rodstrainer jig with trimmed skirt, and a #157 (smoke w/black & purple) five-inch grub, shortened to about four and a half inches. This jig offers all the best winter colors in one neat package! A six-pound, ten-ounce spotted bass at Collins Lake in California found this morsel too good to resist one winter morning, in 44-degree water!

I love to fish jigs at night, not only because they are one of the best all-season night baits, but simply because jigs, fished at night, provide some of the most savage strikes a bass angler will ever encounter. This is especially true in fall and early winter, when large bass are beefing up for the winter. I always use a jig with a rattle at night, year-round. I like a full-skirted jig, either rubber or silicone, which offers the most bulk I can get. I prefer rubber in winter, due to the skirt being a bit thicker. I usually fish a Rattlin’ Weapon Jig in black/chartreuse color.

I asked the manufacturer many years ago if they could offset the rattle from the hook so I could slide my grubs underneath the rattle. Previously, I had to cover the rattle with the grub. I am happy to say that this is now a standard feature of the Rattlin Weapon jig, which has pleased many jig-grub enthusiasts. The jig features a strong 5/0 hook, which is necessary for fishing big baits like this. Add a six-inch single tail grub and hold on . . . your next bite could make history!

While I always use a single tail grub for night fishing, I vary the size according to the conditions. If I’m fishing during a cold front, or if the bass don’t seem to be very active, I bite off a portion of the six-inch grub. Once again, I am offering a smaller bait, but still with all the big-grub tail action. If conditions are good and big bass are feeding, I go to the seven-inch and eight-inch grub, and even the 10-inch grub as a jig trailer, especially during fall and early winter. These jumbo-sized grubs may lead to fewer strikes, but what strikes you will get! The two-tone colors of the eight-inch and 10-inch grubs are a bonus, especially 020/156, and 020/008. As I mentioned in previous articles, I have found black/chartreuse to be the most effective color combination at night – even in the dark of the moon. How do I know this - two bass over 13 pounds and one over 14 told me!

I love to fish single and double tail grubs on dartheads, 24 hours a day. Reason is, I think grubs, particularly fished on dartheads, are more effective in western waters than they used to be, since so many anglers nowadays are using hand poured worms on dartheads. A lone grub (or skirted grub) always seems to catch bass these days, especially during summer and fall months. I use the same basic ideas mentioned earlier - a larger, single tail grub during low light hours and at night, and a double tail during the day. I’ve found a double tail grub on a darthead to be deadly on post-spawn bass, once they are just beginning to feed again, and I’ve had much success with color #237, on several California lakes.

The superiority of the double tail grub during the day is not a given, however. I always experiment each day to see what the "tail" of choice is. One of the benefits of guiding is that I can have two clients fishing different baits or colors, and I can be trying something else. Soon enough, we have ‘em figured out! Some days a single tail will generate more strikes than a double tail; so don’t hesitate to try many sizes and colors in both singles and doubles.

I highly recommend that you try a #135, five or six-inch single tail grub (18- and 19-series) on a darthead at night. Clients have caught bass up to nine pounds while night fishing with me using that color, which seems to capture any moonlight or starlight available. I also use this color as a jig trailer on moonlit nights. You may want to fish it a bit slower than during the day, but always give it a good twitch occasionally to get that tail moving - that often seems to triggers a strike

There are so many more things to talk about on the subject of grubs, but hopefully this article has assisted you to sort out and organize your thoughts on some of the basic aspects of grub fishing.

Make yourself a better fisherman; commit to learning the ins-and-outs of the proper use of single and double tail grubs. They are vital tools in the pursuit of wily bass.

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