Fishing with Curly Tail Grubs.

[Jim Sutter]

What color should I use when fishing very stained water on both a bright and sunny day and one that is cloudy. Also, how should it be fished.

[NHBull]

When in doubt, I start with green pumpkin, next is blue/black 

[Jim Sutter]

NHBull,

Thank you for your reply. How would you fish it? Would you use a steady retrieve or something different?

 

[Crestliner2008]

Can't tell you how many smallmouth bass I've caught on a 3" chartreuse curly tailed fished on a plain 1/8 oz. ball head jig. Simply cast it out, count it down and a steady retrieve will get you bit. Never fished largemouths with these lures, but I can't imagine they would not work equally as well. If I only had one lure to use, this would be it, hands down!

[NHBull]

4 minutes ago, Jim Sutter said:

NHBull,

Thank you for your reply. How would you fish it? Would you use a steady retrieve or something different?

 

I always think you should vary the retrieve to see what they like.

I usually count it down on semi-slack line......pop and pause seams to work best.  I find this is less likely to get hung up in rocks

[Jim Sutter]

Crestliner2008 and NHBull,

Thank you for your replies. Should I go fishing today, I will vary my retrieves.

[OkobojiEagle]

Color... dark.  

 

Retrieves... steady swim just above bottom or mid-depth, but keep the retrieve horizontal at a consistent depth.  Or -- lift and hop along the bottom.  Or -- throw it along/into outside weed edges letting it fall until it settles on the weeds then pop it off and let it fall until it hangs on the next weed.  These have all been successful retrieves for me, but the most important factor is fishing a grub where there are fish.  I'd also suggest using an exposed hook presentation as often as possible.  I like fishing a lightly weighted swimbait hook dressed with a 4" grub... that rig can be fished exposed hook on one cast and texposed on the next.

 

oe

[papajoe222]

Great bait for hard bottoms, light cover. 

For color, keep it simple.  Smoke,  chartruse and  green pumpkin. Rig it on a jig ball head jig of appropriate size and you're good to go. For retrieves, I use two basic ones; A steady retrieve with a quick pop of the rod tip every two or three revolutions of the reel handle. Start high in the water column and work your way down. The other is a hopping or jigging retrieve. I start with an aggressive pop of the rod and slow down to just a turn of the reel handle until I figure out what they want. 

BTW, Welcome to the forums. 

[Dorado]

If there isn't any surface activity I'll use a chartreuse 1/4 oz (1/0 hook) Roadrunner and a 3" white grub (Zoom or PowerBait) and slow roll it barely off the bottom with the rod tip down almost touching the water. This method caught most of my prespawn Bass this year. 

 

When surface activity finally picked up (postspawn) I used the same set up and had the grub wake right below the surface.  You need to keep the rod tip High and shake the tip as you're reeling moderate speed. This was especially deadly at night this year. 

 

Grubs catch numbers and appeal to the 2-4 lb LMB class. Plus, crappie and channel cats frequently take this lure. 

 

I laugh at myself sometimes for paying for $20 lures that never get bit, so I'll revert back to a simple ol grub and jighead and clean up shop. 

[Jim Sutter]

Thank you everyone for your tips and advice. Please be sure, I appreciate it and I will try everything you kind folks suggest. From the early fifties until 1970 I just fished for trout. Then from 1970 to 2010 I didn't do any fishing. I'm now retired. I started fishing for trout again in 2011 but now I want to learn more about bass fishing. 

[primetime]

Black, white,green Pumpkin. or smoke/Translucents in clear water. A black or white grub will work almost any time. 

 

GYB has a color I love which is a black with copper and gold flake for stained water, and it seems to work in all water. I like chartruese for trailers, but most colors will work if you are around fish. Grubs are great for fishing new water to locate fish, you can't really fish one wrong, just casting and winding will catch fish, heavier the weight, faster the tail action.

[Jim Sutter]

Primetime,

Thank you, for your information.

[scaleface]

I have used them weightless as  top waters , on jig heads at mid depth and bouncing on  the bottom . I have Carolina and Texas rigged them . I have some real cool colors from Riverside lures that I pulled out of discount bins .They all catch fish .

[Jim Sutter]

Hawg,

Thank you for responding. Please take care and have a wonderful and safe evening.

[snake95]

I catch small largemouths on a mushroom head jig with a curly-tail grub 2" to 3-1/2".

 

The mushroom head jigs I use are either the Zman Finesse shroomz or Cabelas bed jig.  

 

But frankly, any ball head or mushroom head should work fine.  I fish shallow ponds and lakes and use 1/32 oz to 1/4 oz typically with 1/16 to 1/8 about the best options.

 

Cast, retrieve and vary the retrieve speed.  Sometimes a straight retrieve, sometimes rip with the rod, then let it fall and flutter down as I reel in the resulting slack and bring the rod back to position.

 

Just this last week I've been fishing a curly-tailed senko and retrieving it fast enough that it stays on top with rod tip held high, and bass have nailed it as it creates a small wake.

 

I've had plenty of success with white, silver, and brown/pumpkin colors, typically using the YUM grubs that retail for around $2.50 for a pack at Walmart.  I hear a lot of guys talk about "keeping it simple with colors."  I keep it simple my own way: if I have a color and I feel like fishing it, I go for it.  I would guess more subtle tends to be better for clearer water (e.g. green and orange pumpkin) and brighter colors for more stained water, but I haven't found a huge difference myself.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

[Jim Sutter]

Snake95,

Thank you, for some great information. I will try your suggestions and see what happens. Please take care and have a wonderful and safe evening.

[PatrickKnight]

I catch more fish swimming a grub every year than I do every other bait combine. I like smoke metal flake and green pumpkin the best for colors, 3-5 inch sizes, and I fish them on 1/16-1/4 oz ball head jigs. 90% of them time I fish them with a slow and steady just off the bottom trying to hit every rock I can.

 

Also it should be noted I fish rivers and for smallmouth.

[WRB]

You are asking about curl tail grubs, not ribbon tails, Curl tail rigged curl down created a wobble on the sink when rigged as a small ball head or dart head jig. Curl up the grub falls faster with less resistance.

Curl tails come in tiny crappy size grubs to larger 5" or 6" sizes like Kalins.

Curl tail grubs are also good spinnerbait and under spin trailers.

Use baitfish colors.

Tom

 

[Gundog]

I really like Kalin's grubs in either 4 or 5 inch. Colors I do well with are char. with silver flake or clear with salt and pepper. How you retrieve them depends on what is working. Sometimes they want a slow retrieve that bounces the bottom and sometimes they prefer a steady retrieve. Good thing about grubs is they are inexpensive so you can buy a good selection of colors and see what the fish want. 

[Jim Sutter]

PatrickKnight, WRB, and Gundog,

Thank you for your tips and suggestions. I will give them a try. Please take care and have a great evening.