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Welcome to the T&C Lures blog! We are a small company out of San Diego, CA that's just starting out. Read on and learn more about T&C and our awesome hand poured plastic baits such as the Swim Grub! In the main page of our blog we will be posting updates on new products, new colors, and plenty of fishing reports from both us and our fans. Also check us out on Facebook.



Thursday, September 16, 2010

How to fish the swimgrubs-- what works for me

I get asked all the time whats the best way to fish the swimgrubs. So I just thought I would throw it up here to read for those who are interested....

First of all, I like to use 1/4 ounce hammerheads on my baits. Im a big fan of the lightwire short shank heads. I will use as much as 3/8 when its really windy or when there is a lot of current. Football heads seem to work pretty good when these baits are fished slowly also.

I personally have the most success fishing the swimgrubs very slowly. I dont even give the bait too much life, unless I havent gotten a bite in about 5 minutes of trying. 99% of the time I dont engage the reel until by bait hits the bottom. There are those occassions where I see a spike in my line, and it starts to backlash(means a fish is taking off with your bait) then I engage. But for the most part I am always on the bottom. If the fish dont want the straight retrieve, I will give it a rod tip raise to the 12 o'clock position and let it sink back down, or a couple twitches, wiggles, quick handle turns then pause, anything to see if it will trigger a bite. But the slow nonstop turn of the handle has been the best producer for me. When I hit a spot and throw my first cast out there, its always straight ahead. Once I see what the current is doing then I start my casting pattern. Now this is very elementary, most of you know the fish face the current most the time. I start my pattern casting uphill and working the bait back down. My next cast is a little less uphill, and so on and so forth. Once I am working against the current, usually about 5 casts, I will move to another spot if I havent gotten bit. I like to move about 50 yards whichever way the current is going, and then start it all over. After the second spot hasnt produced anything I will try a different pattern. Or sometimes I will stick to the same spot and try a different pattern, restarting my casting routine. As far as the patterns go, I have some that resemble actual foods fish key in on, and I also have patterns that look nothing like any type of fish food. But they all work. Not only do they all work, it doesnt matter what color head you use. I had a session last week with an all white bait and a dark head, and was pulling on plenty of fish. What does that resemble? Nothing. The fish were in the mood. I bet if I stuck a gummy worm on a darterhead it would get bit. If the fish are hungry, they will eat. Or if you piss them off they will attack. I do have my favorite patterns, and I have my top selling patterns. Ironically, they happen to be exactly the same. The ghost shrimp, aquamarine, and black widow patterns have produced the most, and the biggest fish so far, and those are the ones I cant seem to make enough of. This week the ivory pattern has been catching the majority of the fish.
Im not so much a believer in bait scent, I dont like using it. I catch almost all of my fish without scent. I do include a bait scent to cover up the odor of the plastisol, and it seems to work just fine. The one scent I will use when I am in the mood is hot sauce, made by Edge Products. Its the only scent I have seen a definite difference in getting fish to bite. I cant say I catch more fish, but after trying all sorts of scents, the hot sauce was the only one that I would ever consider buying(if I had to).

I fish two different ways. I either palm the reel with my rod parallel to the water giving the line just a little slack, or I am holding the line with my hand above the reel with absolutely no slack in the line(more for pressure bite sensing). You definitely get bit way more than you think you do, and you dont know until you actually feel it with the line in between your fingers. I aquired this technique from Mike Gardner(author of "Fish Have No Hands") and once I started fishing this way I couldnt believe how many times I felt bites. I log all my fishing outings and I can tell you that from this time last year til now, my catch has went up 350%!! No joke.. I used to be happy with 2-3 fish per session. Now I laugh at it. When the fish are biting, I will palm the reel. When they are finicky, I use Mikes method.

I might not be a professional fisherman who has been doing this since I could walk, but from what I have learned in the last 3 years, putting it all together and spending plenty of time on the water has rewarded me with much better numbers, or at least action regardless of the numbers. I welcome everyone to try some swimgrubs, and to try fishing them the same way I do.