Smallmouth Grub Rod

[kt]

I've never been a big grub fisherman for smallies until last fall, when i found a lake that had a really good grub bite going. Just looking for some ideas for a good spinning rod for making long casts with a grub on a really clear water lake.

[Larson15]

Depending on your price range I suggest the following rods to look at. I have them in order from most expensive to the least.

G Loomis IMX SJR 902 - 7'6" medium

G Loomis Bronzeback SMR913S - 7'4" medium - designed for smallmouth fishing for tubes and grubs. I have this rod and its awesome. If you throw your grubs with an exposed hook this rod has a nice bend for sweep sets.

Shimano Cumara - 7'6" medium/Fast

Shimano Crucial - 7'6" medium

Shimano Compre - 7'6" medium

[Wayne Ek]

KT, might look at Okuma "Dead Eye" rods. They are tech. specific for walleye fishing and have a couple of good jig/grub rods in the line. I have not fished them as they came out in late 2011. Christophersons will have them. They should retail around $99.00 with a life time warranty.

Is the smallie lake up toward Fergus, if it's the one I'm thinking of your going to need a good drop-shot rod also.

Later,

Wayne

[kt]

Wayne, not sure if im talking about the same lake as you are thinking of. I fish a few different lakes for smallies up in the ff area. The one I am talking about is a little north and east of fergus falls. Anyway, I have a couple good dropshot rods, so i think i'm set there. I'll have to stop into christophersons and check out some of their okuma's before open water (ive never held/used one before). Thanks for the input guys.

[RK]

Hiya -

I fish grubs a *lot* and the right rod makes a huge difference, as does the rest of the setup - reel, and line.

My grub rod is a 7'6" ML X-fast Diamondback, which, sadly, is no longer made. I'll break it someday I suppose, and I'll cry when I do. It's perfect. The next best thing I've found is 7'6" ML X-Fast St Croix, which you can find in several models from the Avid on up.

Put a long cast reel on it (I still use the old Diawa SS 1600) and fill it with good 6# mono. With grubs, the hits are kind of strange. They don't crush it like they do a crankbait or spinnerbait, or even a tube. They just swim up and overtake it from behind, so the rod just kind of loads up. With 6# mono and the right rod, I lose very, very few fish, and I can cast a grub on a 3/8 oz head so far you can barely see it land...it's a huge advantage in clear water.

I'd look hard at the St. Croixs, and just pick the one your budget can tolerate. I'm not a huge St. Croix guy generally speaking, but if I broke my Diamondback tomorrow, that's what I'd replace it with...a Legend Elite to be exact.

Cheers,

RK

[Superduty]

I RARELY disagree with RK when it comes to anything regarding smallmouth, but I have to speak up on this rod issue. RK is exactly right in his description of the way a smallie "tracks" and bites a grub. I never leave the dock on a smallmouth lake without a swimming grub rigged on a spinning rod. I have been searching for the perfect grub rod for years and still havn't found it. RK is right about being able to throw a grub a country mile with the 7'6" st. croix ML rods with mono. I used this exact rod for a brief period of time but found myself losing a LOT of fish. Smallies can hold a bait so firmly in their mouth that it is very difficult to move the bait enough to set the hook. I have settled on a St. Croix Legend Tournament 7' MH. I know I personally land more of my bites with this set up. Hard to say if I am sacrificing bites because of lost casting distance. This rod is a split grip and when I get my next grub rod it will have a full handle. The split grip just feels weird when making a long hard two handed cast.

[Bigguyone]

I like a 7'6" if you are making super long casts but unless excessively long casts are your main concern I personally would go with a 7'2" cumara MF. Long enough to cast well while having great sensitivity and you won't have to have a separate rod for fishing in more precise casting (dock) situations. If you were mainly hopping or twitching the grub I would go with a MXF but if swimming it more I would go with a MF.

I feel a MH is too much power unless you are throwing a lot into weedy areas - open water, docks and weedlines I think a M will get the job done well unless you catch a lot of 4#+ fish.

The split grip vs the full handle is a personal preference and I am a fan of split grip as it "feels lighter" to my touch than the full cork and when throwing a grub I like the "sporty" feel of the split grip vs the "heavy duty" feel of the full grip.

It is definitely a personal preference for sure

[RK]

Hiya -

Superduty: No problem disagreeing - use what works. When i first started using the setup I use I lost some fish too. Discovered that there were several parts of the system I needed to alter.

One was the jigs I use. I use heads with light wire premium hooks. My favorites have been Owner ball heads, but last year I started using Sure Set biscuit heads with a light wire Matzuo sickle hook, and they're freaking nasty sharp - incredible hookers. If you use a jig with a heavier wire though, or just a plain bronze hook, you'll have troubles. High quality light wire hooks are critical.

I also had to change how I set the hook. For most things I use a pretty hard snap set, but with grubs, as soon as the rod starts to load up, I reel like mad and do a big, wide sweep set - almost like setting the hook on a live bait rig walleye fishing. If you snap set with a lighter rod, you're exactly correct - it won't move the jig in their mouth, and all it does is get them head-shaking and make them jump right away, and you get the jig air mailed back to you. If you just let the rod load up and sweep set, the line gradually gets tighter and they just pull back harder before they really start to fight. The light wire hook will penetrate, and once it does, they have two choices - come to the boat, or break the line. With the light, long rod and light mono, they never get slack line and never get a break. Even at full cast (which is a long ways away) I rarely miss fish. I honestly think I land upwards of 95% of the fish that hit. But you have to learn to not set the hook like you're fishing a tube...

That all having been said... I do use a shorter (7'2") medium power fast action rod at times, mainly when I'm around cover like docks or rushers where I'm making shorter casts, have to pull fish away from cover, or am using a Texas rigged head like a Northland Jungle Loc head or a T-rigged spit shot rig to get through rushes. There, you do need the extra power or you'll miss more than you land.

Unless you really want a dedicated grub rod though, Superduty's got good advice. I do it enough to justify the unitasker in the rod box, but it's not good for much else.

Cheers,

RK

[Superduty]

I just reread my post. It should say 7' M spinning rod. I do not use a MH. Must be too late to go back and edit??

RK,

I also like the owner jigs. Usually 1/8oz for me. You got me reconsidering the way I set the hook in the future!

[RK]

SD - I probably use the 1/4 oz most often. At the 1/4 oz you go up from 2/0 to 3/0 hook, which I like. For some reason am now having trouble finding them in 3/8 oz, which I also use a lot. Think they may have stopped making them. I even tried Bass Pro...and for me that's an act of desperation. No joy. That's why I tried the Sur-Sets. Thornes has piles of them, and they're really reasonable - $14 for a 25 pack vs. $4.40 for a 5 ct of Owners. Nice when you're losing them in the rocks...

You gotta try the Sur-Sets, BTW. Those sickle hooks are *nasty* sharp, and they've got a great big bite - nice with a 5" grub. The Owners can jam up with plastic on you at the bend if you're using a 5" Kalins.

The other good grub head, which is the best jighead nobody knows about, is the Bait Rigs Grubmaster. Weird, not-really-a-jig design, but great for swimming grubs.

Northland Jigworm heads are solid for lighter weights. Awesome hook on those too.

[Shawn Kellett]

Check out the 7'4". It looks like the ticket for these and maybe smaller/lighter cranks.

http://www.fenwickfishing.com/prod.php?k=472010&sk=472009&p=PURESMS63M-F%20%281238595%29#ESMS74M-F%20%281238599%29

[corncob]

I'm going thru a similiar transition as far as rod selection....Just got an Okuma C3, 7'4" ML Fast tip , and am thinking of getting a Fenwick Elite Tech 7'4" M Fast tip.....Very clear water up here in the PR area except for Potatoe lake, and thats about 6 feet clarity......I need those long casts.

[Sportland_Bait]

I would check out the new rods from St Croix. The Rage and the Legend Tournament Bass. Both offer longer medium action spinning rods perfect for pitching grubs for smallies. Send me an email if you want one of these. I might be able to get you a good deal on these. Plus St Croix is giving away some cool gear with any Rage purchase.

Jason Erlandson