Northwest Fishing Reports

So, I have a lifetime supply of 2- and 3-inch curl tail soft plastic grubs, which I mostly use on leadhead jigs or Texas rig with a sliding bullet sinker.

I'm running low on bullet sinkers and leadhead jigs, but I can make (I have a mold and scrap lead) a lifetime supply of slip egg sinkers, such as for Carolina rigging.

My question is, can or do people use curl tail grubs on Carolina rigs? It seems like most Carolina rigs I see use Senkos, lizards, or other plastics with "straight" shapes, rather than curl tails. In comparison, most of the curl tail grubs I've seen and used are Texas rigged or attached to leadhead jigs.

Does a Carolina rig negate the action of a curl tail grub, and so that is why we see Carolina-rigged curl tail grubs less often?

You can carolina rig whatever you want, thats the thing with bass fishing. If a bass has seen a lizard going by slowly a hundred times, when he see's your grub he's going to kill it. I prefer a 5 inch Yamamoto super grub, but your smaller ones will work just fine. Most will say use something that floats, which is god, but its all trial and error. My grubs weigh a ton with the salt, so they are probably not far off the bottom, but they get bit. Just buy 4 inch Zoom lizards just in case the grubs don't work out for you. Then C&R :p
Almost forgot, I prefer big bullet sinkers so you get less snags, around weeds and such, get a mold for that and you're all gravy.

Carolina Rig and texas rigs are both techniques that i use very often . I Mainly use C-rig to search for fish , once located i will then switch over to t-rigs or jigs and worked the area slow . Chris is correct in saying that mostly all plastics can be used as bait . My general Rule of thumb is , less current in the lake "longer the leader" & with current "shorter the leader" . The key with c- riging is the retrieve speed . I always start with constant retrieve and keeping the bait moving and as you make more cast begin to slow down the process till you get the point were your pulling the bait a foot and stoping it .. Allow the fish to tell you how they want . Once you get that first bite "stay with that retrieve" through out the day . I use a ALLSTAR C-RIG spin cast rod and mostly 8lp test main line with 10lb test "vanish line" as my leader . Adding a glass bead in front of your weight does two things . One it protects your knot and secondly the weight hitting the bead gives it a entice appeal to the fish .On the hook set it's so important and reel down on fish and make sweeping hook set , this increases your hook ups .. Hopefully this is helpful and good luck on the water man !! BBD :batman:

I think the curly tail worms spin if C - rigged

My opinion is that they work best on jigs but you never know a slowly rotating worm could work better.

Curly tail worm, lizard, grub, should not spin if rigged straight. ?? Not sure your logic.

ChrisB wrote:Curly tail worm, lizard, grub, should not spin if rigged straight. ?? Not sure your logic.

I believe he was thinking of what I was thinking, when I originally posted.

With a leadhead jig (or a T rig), the position of the jig remains fairly stationary during the retrieve: hook point on top, jig eye on top, main line on top. The curl tail grub is attached to the jig such that the tail curls downward. Since the position of the leadhead jig does not change much during the retrieve (no rolling around or spinning), the jig body remains stationary too and so only the loose curl tail will flutter (properly).

With a C-rig, there is no leadhead jig or other "stationary" base to hold the curl tail grub in place, so that the grub body remains stationary and the tail flutters. The curltail grub is basically "free floating" with a C-rig. And so that's why he/me thought that maybe the grub's action would not be the best (it would just spin or flop around).

But what the heck, I'll try the C-rigged curl tail grubs anyways.

Thanks for the input guys.

by the way what size weight would you use?
(I have about 15 packs of 3-inch curl tail soft plastic grubs)

big fish lite line wrote:I think the curly tail worms spin if C - rigged

My opinion is that they work best on jigs but you never know a slowly rotating worm could work better.

Sometimes I intentionally rig plastic worms with a hump so they'll spin. When slow-trolled on a carolina rig (with a good ball bearing swivel), it's a good way to locate fish. The rotation helps bass sense the lure with their lateral lines. If you are fishing in water that gets a lot of pressure from other anglers, this is a presentation most bass have not seen.

A C-rig with a 1 oz sinker can be a good way to probe deeper water (30+ feet).

I know guys who swear by weightless t-rigging grubs, especially in the colder parts of the year....

I can't catch fish on grubs for squat....

I would definately try the grub, especially because, how many people C-rig a curly tailed grub? Obviously not many. Its something new which can be the best thing sometimes. I have caught plenty of fish using a technique different than "the norm"... Who knows, maybe if it spins it will work better. Can't hurt to try it. I C-rig a plastic that most don't and it works for me. I also fish it in areas and times when others won't and it still works. Good luck and let us know how it goes

Sam Kafelafish wrote:I know guys who swear by weightless t-rigging grubs, especially in the colder parts of the year....

I can't catch fish on grubs for squat....

i was using a 4 inch double tail grub today texas weightless at larson and hooked another one. it shook off though, it didnt get hooked very well.

tnj8222 wrote:

Sam Kafelafish wrote:I know guys who swear by weightless t-rigging grubs, especially in the colder parts of the year....

I can't catch fish on grubs for squat....

i was using a 4 inch double tail grub today texas weightless at larson and hooked another one. it shook off though, it didnt get hooked very well.

I'd imagine when the water gets warmer over there it could be a great summer morning/evening buzzbait/topwater fishery....

I'll have to check it out sometime...Perhaps I'll see ya out there tnj....

yeah from what t-dot says it gets very grassy later in the season, so topwater would be pretty much the only option. let me know if you head out there.

tnj8222 wrote:yeah from what t-dot says it gets very grassy later in the season, so topwater would be pretty much the only option. let me know if you head out there.

Don't forget drop-shotting in grass! It can be a good way to keep your lure wigglin' above the vegetation. If it's really thick, a slinky or pencil lead might be better choices than standard dropshot sinkers, even though the height can't be adjusted without retying. You could also go with a 3-way rig that has a dropper line tied to the front split-ring of a ball-bearing swivel, then run a leader from the rear split-ring (or snap) to your lure. With this rig, your lure would be free to rotate without twisting the line...

HillbillyGeek wrote:

tnj8222 wrote:yeah from what t-dot says it gets very grassy later in the season, so topwater would be pretty much the only option. let me know if you head out there.

Don't forget drop-shotting in grass! It can be a good way to keep your lure wigglin' above the vegetation. If it's really thick, a slinky or pencil lead might be better choices than standard dropshot sinkers, even though the height can't be adjusted without retying. You could also go with a 3-way rig that has a dropper line tied to the front split-ring of a ball-bearing swivel, then run a leader from the rear split-ring (or snap) to your lure. With this rig, your lure would be free to rotate without twisting the line...

Definitely don't discount the drop shot. You can T-rig the bait as opposed to the usual nose hooking of the bait to make the rig more "weedless" when fishing the grass. Using the nose hook method increases the potential of getting grass clumped in the hook's gap.

Those grubs are very useful as trailers on spinnerbaits and jigs!