Swimming Grubs for Great Lakes or “Any” Lake Smallies

By

 Bill Schultz

During the past 14 plus years, I’ve had the good fortune and pleasure of spending 150 days chasing smallies in Door County.  This is the “thumb” on the map of Wisconsin that juts out into Lake Michigan.  My efforts have been rewarded with having caught and released over 4,000 smallies.

Like many of you who have fished for Great Lake’s smallies, or fished for lake smallies in general, I have tried a plethora of lures.  I’ve always tried, however, to keep it simple and not over do it.   I think I’ve done a good job of narrowing my presentations to those that work best, based on research, talking with others and through my own experience.  One presentation that usually is near the top of most Door County lists, and now at the top of mine, is swimming a grub on a jig.

For most of my years fishing Door County, swimming a grub on jig is a presentation I’ve used on a somewhat regular basis.  It is one of the easiest of all presentations.  You cast it, let it settle for a second or two and then retrieve it slowly.  I use St. Croix 7’ and 7’6” medium-light and medium action rods.  With the ultra-clear water, long casts are important.  That’s why I use the longer rods, and for the past two years the Legend Elite 7’6” medium-light has been my favorite.  I’m using reels suitable for 4- and 6-pound diameter line. Some examples of what I’m using are Shimano 1000 series reels, Daiwa 2000 reels, Pflueger 30 size and Bass Pro 10 size.

In recent years I’ve been using Berkley Fireline and Stren Microfuse in 3-pound diameter and 8-poound test (8/3), as well as Power Pro in the 2-pound diameter and 10-pound test (10/2).  I like the strength and sensitivity and usually add a mono backing so I don’t have to spool as much braid or superline.  In the ultra-clear waters of Door County, I utilize a fluorocarbon leader, which is also strong and sensitive, but can’t be seen in the water.  I began utilizing the 8 or 10-pound test fluorocarbon leader when friend and longtime Door County guide and owner of Howie’s Tackle, Tim Dwidiuk, explained how his numbers have always been better with the fluorocarbon leader, which I attach to the braid or superline with a uni to uni knot.  Based on my experience my numbers since going to the fluorocarbon leader in 2008, I agree.

Has swimming a grub always been my “go to” presentation in Door County or on most other lakes I fish for smallies?  No, it was one of a variety of presentations I’d use.  But, now it’s my “go to” presentation, and over the past three plus seasons has truly produced some impressive results.  For years, I used a variety of grubs I received directly from a few companies, which were mostly 3-inch versions.  Most of these had a smaller profile body and fairly narrow tail.  Again, listening to Tim Dawidiuk and a few others, I began using the Kalin’s Lunker Grub in June of 2007.  I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long.  I’ve had very good success with both the 4-inch and 5-inch versions in a variety of colors, including Ed’s Smoke, Clear Smoke, Smoke Salt & Pepper, Avocado, and Blue Pearl Salt & Pepper (better in semi-clear waters).    Some other colors to consider are Pumpkin Salt & Pepper, Pumpkin Salt & Pepper/Green Flake, Green Pumpkinseed/Purple Flake and new colors for 2011, Dirty Avocado and Apple Juice.  The smoke colors work great and with the Smallies eating the gobies, which are like little “protein” bars, the colors that are similar to that of gobies.  In Door County, since the gobie invasion, the weight of the fish is phenomenal.  Years ago, a 19 inch fish would almost never break 4 pounds, but now it is not unusual for a 19 inch fish to go well over 5 pounds.  I’ve never fished a lake where I’ve caught 16+ inch fish that make 4 pounds. 

I feel the key to the grubs I’ve mentioned is the full-body profile and long/tall wispy tail.  You will hear that you should swim these with the tail pointing opposite from the hook point.  Actually, this is the way the Kalin’s were designed.  I rig them tail opposite the hook point.  When the grub gets a little beat-up, I bite off a quarter inch and reverse the tail direction.  I have not noticed much, if any difference.  The smallies still seem to like it.  It’s very important to line the hook shank up with the seam so that the grub swims straight. 

The jig is a very important part of this presentation and the standard “bargain bin” jig usually won’t do.  You need to use jigs in the 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8 ounce weights with a longer hook shank, which allows you to bring the hook through the grub body and out near the end of the body portion.  In the past I was using a good ball head jig, but after reading about the Mushroom Head jigs from Gopher Tackle in In-Fisherman magazine and having some sent to me by a friend from Illinois who has attended my seminars, I thought I’d better give these a try.  Now that I’ve had many days on the water with great success, I know I’ve found a super jig for swimming plastic grubs.  Gopher’s Big John’s offers an eyelet that is not only flush with the jig head, but also crossways and at an angle.  I’m mostly using the 3/32 ounce jigs.  With most of the Gopher jigs having the long shaft, a number of styles with the 2/0 or 3/0 hook will work great.  Another jig that has worked well for me is the Bait Rigs Slo-Poke GrubMaster Jig in the 1/16 and 1/8 sizes.  These were designed with the Kalin’s Grub in mind and also have the eyelet crossways and straight out the front of the jig.  Unlike a traditional jig, the weight is distributed along the hook shank.

As I noted earlier, retrieve the grub slowly in all water temperatures.  Swim it just above the bottom.  If you touch rocks, speed up your retrieve.  The smallies seem to hang close to the bottom in the two to eight feet of water that I’m usually fishing in May and June.  As noted earlier, this tendency may also be enhanced as gobies have become a major food source for the Door County smallies.  They don’t have a swim bladder and live on or near the bottom.

With the success I’ve had in Door County, I have switched to swimming the Kalin’s Lunker Grub on most of the other lakes I fish in my Crestliner 1750 Fish Hawk or in one of my Wilderness Systems kayaks.  Since the fall of 2007 swimming the Kalin’s grub has joined the Rebel Teeny Wee Crawfish as my top river smallie presentation.  Even though I’ve noted colors that work great for me, I would suggest that you experiment.   

If you are planning on fishing smallies on one of the Great Lakes, another of your favorite lakes or rivers, I would encourage you to give swimming a grub on a jig a try.  I think you’ll be happy you did.