| It is definitely a hard decision choosing the | | | | When confronted with cold fronts I worked it |
| best all around bait of this past season. In | | | | slowly to get my Bass. I found that fronts or |
| my decision I considered key factors such as | | | | weather changes prompted me to work the 6" |
| versatility, weather, longevity and | | | | grub by dunking it into any pocket found in |
| performance to name a few. I had to choose a | | | | good thick weed flats of 5 to 8 feet of |
| bait that brings confidence to the table as | | | | water. When Mother Nature brought her |
| well as many other perimeters. After careful | | | | inconsistencies to the Bass I found them in |
| consideration and on the water experimenting, | | | | flats like this because it made a perfect |
| I think the best bait of the '07 season is | | | | protective blanket for both the Largemouth |
| the 6" grub by Yamamoto. Yes.....a grub! Hey, | | | | and Smallmouth Bass. This is also where the |
| don't knock it! It was responsible for the | | | | 6" grub shined. Dunking it into pockets, |
| biggest Bass of the season, not to mention | | | | giving it just enough weight to get through |
| the most fun to work with in any type of | | | | the weed growth to bottom, was all it took to |
| structure you can imagine. | | | | get them. The trick here was to work the |
| | | | cover thoroughly, and with perseverance I was |
| Yamamotos 6" grub is slightly lighter than | | | | rewarded. |
| its 8" cousin. This makes it ideal for | | | | |
| skipping it under docks weightless. Rigged | | | | The salt impregnated into the Yamamoto grubs |
| Texas with an Owner 30 wide gap rigging hook | | | | is perfectly measured to give it that |
| and a 18th screw-in bullet weight made it a | | | | excellent buoyancy for its slow free fall to |
| good lethal weapon for this past year. I was | | | | bottom. It is a good porous product which |
| pitching it in weed pockets, along weed edges | | | | makes it a good candidate for holding scented |
| giving it plenty of line to fall hypnotically | | | | liquids in helping the longevity of its |
| to the bottom. Casting it out into boulder | | | | effect. |
| infested or weeded shallow flats and working | | | | |
| it slowly by causing a debris cloud sure | | | | Its tail is its strong point. The tail of the |
| fooled the Smallmouth. | | | | Yamamoto grub family is thinner and wider |
| | | | than most and in the water it performs |
| Off shore shoals proved to be one of the 6" | | | | gracefully giving the Bass plenty of notice |
| grubs forte. Especially when weeds were in | | | | as to its whereabouts! Its body too helps |
| the mix with depths of 10 to 12 feet of | | | | give the Bass authenticity in order to hold |
| water. In many instances the grub would not | | | | on longer for the hook set. |
| even have a chance to reach bottom. The | | | | |
| Smallmouth would gobble them up in a hurry! | | | | The year 2008 brings great challenges ahead. |
| When it did reach the bottom I gave it a few | | | | There are new baits coming out every year |
| jerks with the rod tip to give it some life, | | | | making it more and more difficult deciding |
| but not without that all important time to | | | | which ones will be elected for the coming |
| sit before hand. Dead sticking it for that | | | | season. But I am up for the challenge of |
| few crucial seconds before the jerk was all | | | | working them to no end to bring the readers |
| it took when the Smallmouth were in the | | | | the results of my in the field experimenting! |
| vicinity. That is why it is also important to | | | | So let this 'tackle test dummy', me, work for |
| cover every nook and cranny of all structure | | | | you! It is great fun bringing it to you and |
| to get it as close to the finicky Bass as | | | | hopefully it helps bring memorable moments to |
| possible. | | | | your outings as it does to mine! |
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