Surf Fishing: Grubs

A great way to get fish to bite when sand crabs are not present and the fish are active is with curly tailed grubs. I have tried many different colored grubs, but only a few have worked well enough to write about. The best grubs are Big Hammer grubs in motor oil red flake and christmas colors. The key to being a good grub fisherman is soaking your grubs in a scented gulp product. I always buy Gulp! sandworms for all times of the year and I throw the grubs in with the worms to get them... Stinky...

This is the Big Hammer grub in christmas color

So after throwing the grubs in the scented liquid it's time to use them, you should hook the grub using a tall shanked hook with barbs on it (preferably red colored), with a longer leader than usual (maybe 3 feet long), on a carolina rig with as little weight as can be used according to wind and surf.

3 foot leader, light weight, small less than 3 inch grub

You should fan cast the rig in each direction and try to find structure (trenches and holes) and fish around them. Often times you can feel structure as you reel in slowly. Try different retrieves starting slow and increasing speed. Sometimes fish will hit the grub, often with heavy current, when you are not moving the rig on your own. Other times fish will hit by reaction meaning a fast retrieval is needed. A good retrieval is often a jerk and reel method where you jerk the rig once hard and reel in the slack at medium speed causing the grub to dart and stop. The fish will often hit the grub when it is still, but when you jerk the next time, you will surely hook it.

Grub fishing can result in many different species being caught. One time, fishing on a jetty in Long Beach, I hooked up on a small halibut with a christmas grub. From halibut to surf perch, grub fishing is a fantastic way to catch fish in quantity and quality.

Brandon Lynch