When we here at watermanatwork.com go kayak fishing for largemouth bass, our favorite lures are probably plastic worms, sometimes known as “senkos”, and plastic grubs. Plastic grubs also work great for smallmouth bass, but in this post we are sticking to largemouth bass. In this article, we’ll show you a simple grub mod for big largemouth bass.
The grubs we are talking about are single tail grubs. Usually, they come in two sizes; 3″ and 5″ in various colors. We like Yamamoto plastic grubs in the 5″ size. They work great on light lead head jigs.
The 3″ grubs on a 1/8oz lead head jig are a great all around bass setup. It will work on all sizes of largemouth bass and you can’t go much cheaper on a lure setup.
For bigger largemouth bass, we are going to be looking for something bigger and stronger. We use 3/0 worm hooks with plastic worms for a weedless setup, that’s about the size of hook we need for the bass we are going after. 3/0 is a big hook for freshwater fishing, but these largemouth bass are pretty big.
We have 5″ grubs and 3/0 worm hooks, but the 5″ grubs are too short for the worm hooks. A larger grub that will fit on the 3/0 hook is what we need.
Using a sharp knife, like a fresh utility knife blade, cut the 5″ grub a short distance up from the tail. Use a sharp, thin blade for a clean cut.
Carefully hold the cut end of the head piece of grub and the head end of a new grub in a small flame like a candle, propane torch or burner, until both pieces have melted a bit. Immediately, hold the two pieces together until the melted plastic cools into a larger grub. The arrow in the photo below points to where the pieces have been melted together.
This size grub fits perfectly on a 3/0 worm hook. It’s just enough weight to make casting on a 6′ M/L 12lb test spinning outfit. Catching the big bass on a light setup like this is very entertaining.
This modified grub attracts the big bass, but it also attracts medium and small bass, as well as any bluegill or sunfish that might be around. The smaller fish sometimes bite the tail off the grub. When you cut the 5″ grub to make the bigger grub, the piece of tail is left over. Save the grub with the bitten off tails, cut the tails off and melt the leftover tails on. The tail sections are small, be careful not to burn your fingers!
There you go, bigger bass guaranteed or your money back. Check back soon for more kayak fishing action.