Swimming Grubs for Door County or “Any” Lake Smallies
By Bill Schultz
During the past 16 years, I’ve spent over 160 days chasing smallmouth bass in Door County. I’ve been rewarded with catching and releasing almost 5,000.
Like many who fish Door County smallies or lake smallies in general, I’ve used many lures, but have also tried to keep it simple. I believe I’ve narrowed my presentations to those that work best, based on reading articles like this, talking with other bass enthusiasts and from my own experience. One presentation that is usually near the top of most Door County lists, and at the top of mine for the past five years, is swimming a grub on a jig.
This presentation is so easy. Cast it, let it settle for a second or two and retrieve it slowly. With the ultra-clear waters of Green Bay, long casts are essential and to help facilitate long casts, I use 7’ and 7’6” medium-light and medium action rods. I also prefer lighter spinning reels suitable for 110 to 135 yards of 6-pound diameter mono line, but have been using a variety of braids and superlines in 2 and 3-pound equivalent to mono diameter. These will have a rating of 8 to 15-pound test, have tremendous strength to diameter, are extremely sensitive and offer excellent casting distance. Adding mono backing when spooling is a cost savings, as braid/superlines are more expensive than mono. Because of the ultra-clear water, I utilize a 30 to 36 inch fluorocarbon leader, which is strong, sensitive and invisible in the water. I began utilizing the 8 or 10-pound test fluorocarbon leader when friend and longtime Door County guide, Tim Dawidiuk, explained how his numbers have always been better with the fluorocarbon leader. I attach the leader to the braid/superline with a uni to uni knot.
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Has swimming a grub always been my “go to” presentation in Door County or on most other lakes I fish for smallies? No, but now it is, and over the past five seasons has truly produced some impressive results. For years, I used a variety of grubs. These were 3 and 4-inch versions with smaller profile bodies and fairly narrow tails. Again, listening to Tim Dawidiuk and a few others, I began using the Kalin’s Lunker Grub in 2007. I shouldn’t have waited so long. I’ve had great success with both the 4-inch and 5-inch versions in a variety of colors, including Ed’s Smoke, Clear Smoke, Smoke Salt & Pepper, Avacado, Dirty Avacado, Apple Juice and Blue Pearl Salt & Pepper (better in semi-clear waters). A few of the colors I mentioned imitate the color of the round gobies, which have become a major food source for Door County smallies. Also, since the goby invasion, the weight to length ratio is skewed to heavier fish than one would expect. A dozen years ago a 19 inch fish would almost never weigh more than 4 pounds, but now it’s not unusual for a 19 inch fish to go well over 5 pounds. Those little goby “protein” bars are adding weight.
The key to the Kalin’s Lunker Grub 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 this way, and when a grub gets a little beat-up, bite off a quarter inch and reverse the tail direction. The smallies still seem to like it. It’s very important to line the hook shank with the seam so that the grub swims straight.
The jig is an important part of this presentation. You should be using 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 just before the tail begins. In the past I was using a good ball-head jig. However, after reading about the Mushroom Head jigs from Gopher Tackle and having samples sent to me by a friend from Illinois, I gave them a try and have been using them for four years. These are a perfect match for the Kalin’s Lunker Grub. Gopher’s Big John’s jig has an eyelet that is not only flush with the jig head, but also crossways and sits at a 45 degree angle. I primarily use the 3/32 ounce version, but any of their other styles with 2/0 or 3/0 hooks will work great.
As noted earlier, retrieve the grub slowly in all water temperatures. The slow retrieve produces the most undulation of that great tail, which is tough for bass to pass up. 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 fishing in May and June. As noted earlier, the tendency for the smallies to stay close to the bottom may also be due to the bottom hugging gobies serving as a major food source.
With the success I’ve had in Door County, I switched to swimming the Kalin’s Lunker Grub on most of the other lakes I fish for both smallmouth and largemouth bass. Also, since the fall of 2007 swimming the Kalin’s grub has joined the Rebel Teeny Wee Crawfish as my top river smallie presentation.
If you are planning on fishing smallies in Door County, another of your favorite lakes or on rivers, I would encourage you to give swimming a Kalin’s Lunker Grub a try. You’ll be happy you did.