best lure of all time -river walleyes and SMB

[bulletbob]

Nothing else has even come close, regardless of price.. For me its always been a better lure in rocky rivers than in lakes, but I have caught more walleyes on these cheapo lure with plain unpainted jig heads than any other lure by probably a 10- 1 margin... Up here in NY state, a lot of guys say the same thing. Its all many of us use.. the tourists use the high priced stuff..

Only reason for this thread is that I see very few NJ guys talking about using these simple lures for walleye or SMB, and was just giving a heads up... 3 inch, chartreuse only.. I have caught fish on other colors at times, but good old bright chartreuse is way above all of them, works in clear or dirty water, mid day or midnight. Think about them next trip to the river for walleyes or bass- bob

[FASTEDDIE29]

I 2nd this little gem Bob!!!been using them for a while as well and used to include them in my reports but nobody listened. Hahahaha!!! It’s a perfect plastic for sure. :D

[JimmyL]

I am a jig and grub fanatic too, however rarely use the chartreuse. Will now, hahaha. My top 2 grubs are Berkley power grub pumpkin and zoom fat albert pumpkin.

[bulletbob]

I am a jig and grub fanatic too, however rarely use the chartreuse. Will now, hahaha. My top 2 grubs are Berkley power grub pumpkin and zoom fat albert pumpkin.

Jimmy,Both of which are GOOD lures,, However, some day fish them alongside a 3 inch Mr twister chartreuse, and see what happens.. Now, SMB love crayfish we all know that, so in some waters it may be a wash between the natural crayfish color twisters and bright chartreuse, but in my experience its not that common.. however for walleyes, there is simply something that triggers strikes in that bright chartreuse that other colors can't match.. They are the go to for a lot of walleye fishermen up here..
I can't tell you how many times in the susquehanna I have been the only one in a group catching walleyes using cheap generic chartreuse twisters... btw, honorable mention goes to FinS/Sluggo 3 inch in shad color.. Kind of a subdued opaque silver on top, with black bottom.... VERY effective as well, as is the FinS/Sluggo in chartreuse. Still think the twister tail is considerable more effective though.. bob

[thmyorke1]

I think last summer there was a thread about SMB lures, someone mentioned chart grubs and I still have a 50 pack from Venom lures. I also pair them with 1/8 oz unpainted jigs too. I did good with them. Need more time once it gets warmer for smallies.

I will use the zoom fat albert chartreuse + pepper version on a 3/8 oz jig head for high water river bass too.

[Lard Almighty]

The curly tail grub is my go-to for almost every species. My favorite color is white, second favorite is black, chartreuse comes in third.

[bulletbob]

The curly tail grub is my go-to for almost every species. My favorite color is white, second favorite is black, chartreuse comes in third.

Thats so strange.. I can't buy a hit on white .. Black is meh for SMB for me.. Catches a few, but chart. outfishes it probably 5 to 1.. White twisters for me are ok for Lakers, but bass and walleyes,- never- I hate them, can't buy a hit with white.. To be fair, its a confidence thing.. I have no confidence in yellow,white, black, red, and can't get a hit with them, but have a lot in chart, brown,silver/black, motor oil, and do well.. Lots of guys do like white and yellow, and do great with them.. not me...bob

[thmyorke1]

the 1 inch white twister tails by Mister twister have caught me a lot of wild browns.

[bulletbob]

the 1 inch white twister tails by Mister twister have caught me a lot of wild browns.

yep. Not a lot of people realize trout hit them very well...
They are getting tough to find but if you can dig some up, Mr Twister makes tiny twister tails in a kind of very bright red/hot pink color, or bright trans orange. Trout hit them very well as do Crappies, perch, Rock Bass, Bluegills,Pickerel,SMB etc
Funny- for panfish and trout, chartreuse has never been all that great for me, but those real bright red/pink/orange colors have... btw, try and find tiny gold colored jig heads.. Very good for trout when using twister tails.. bob

[thmyorke1]

yep. Not a lot of people realize trout hit them very well...
They are getting tough to find but if you can dig some up, Mr Twister makes tiny twister tails in a kind of very bright red/hot pink color, or bright trans orange. Trout hit them very well as do Crappies, perch, Rock Bass, Bluegills,Pickerel,SMB etc
Funny- for panfish and trout, chartreuse has never been all that great for me, but those real bright red/pink/orange colors have... btw, try and find tiny gold colored jig heads.. Very good for trout when using twister tails.. bob

Pink and translucent/bright orange is a great color for wild trout too. I think if you get a bright color that looks like an egg you'll do well.

A bit off topic but has anyone used those hook guards for jigs? It's this piece of plastic meant to be slipped on the jig then to the hook. Seems effective when I'm using cheap unpainted jigs.

https://www.barlowstackle.com/Assets/ProductImages/Heads/460110.JPG
https://basspro.scene7.com/is/image/BassPro/343316_1997_is?$Prod_PLPThumb$

[Jigman13]

I cant catch shit on grubs. Give me a swim shad or boot tail like a zoom or keitech in a few choice colors from 3-5" and I'm set.

[bulletbob]

I cant catch shit on grubs. Give me a swim shad or boot tail like a zoom or keitech in a few choice colors from 3-5" and I'm set.

Understood, and a common complaint.. I like grubs in rocky snaggy streams and rivers, and I fish them right on and in the rocks.. Hang up a LOT.

15 broken off jigs in a few hours is not out of the question...
However, once they hit open water, grubs are less effective for me, and like you have experienced ,a swim shad is better.
I use shad and FinS/Sluggo types more in lake fishing, and more grubs in rocky streams and rivers.. Also a 5 inch shad is a BIG lure for stream fishing.. For rivers and streams up here which is mostly SMB and walleyes, I seldom go much bigger than 3 inch, and catch a lot of fish on 2 inch grubs.
Big fish too.
Remember,the main food source in streams is crayfish and nymphs followed by small minnow species, many of which live under or near rocks such as darters, sculpins, madtoms, etc.
Over the years I have found that SB especially usually have smaller food items in their gut,, Thats why small lures are so effective.. Walleyes are more prone to bigger food items, no question, but over the years I have caught a lot of 18-24 inch walleyes on 3 inch or less grub tails fishing right in the rocks... bob

[RichS]

My PB walleye was on a black 3” twister tail. I like black in stained water- good contrast.

[Jigman13]

My PB eye ate a 6" plug. My PB river smallie ate a 4.8" swim shad in blue red pearl.

The last thing I used a curly tail for was either cod or striped bass jigging and that was 5-6"

[Lard Almighty]

I also do well on the white grubs for brown trout, as well as panfish. Black is my go-to for bass, if I'm not using swimbaits or senkos. I use chartreuse if the water is cloudy and nothing is biting the black ones. I feel like those 3 colors pretty much cover all the bases.

[JimmyL]

Interesting to read about the different preferences in this post.
Over the summer while fishing in the Niangua river in Missouri I had a lot of results, and fun, trolling a jig/grub combo behind a canoe. Caught bows, browns, and smallies. The rainbows were absolutely slamming that set up.

[thmyorke1]

Follow up to my weed gaurd post.

What if you were to take a knife, cut the grub and make a slit just like super flukes have. Then as you do with a straight shank hook when flipping a creature bait, rig the grub on the jig like that so that the hook isn't exposed but it can easily get pushed down.

Has anyone tried this? If you don't hear back from me it didn't work ,lol.

[bassnblues]

They will catch anything from bluegill to stripers using various sizes.

[PeteyHD]

I usually stick to white but will give these a try next time I'm on the river for smallies

[bulletbob]

I usually stick to white but will give these a try next time I'm on the river for smallies

yep... Try the bright Chartreuse and fish it the same way in the same places as you do white.. Over the decades, I have found it outfishes all other colors most of the time, and it is at least as good all the time, with just a few rare occasions when a neutral color such as brown or motor oil was better...
I would be surprised if you got back to me and said white drew more hits... Like I said though confidence in what you are fishing with is extremely important.. For years i simply have had no confidence in white or yellow,,, Maybe if I really stuck it out I would have better luck.... Just never had to.. chartreuse simply always works... bob

[PeteyHD]

Thanks BB. I sure will give these a shot. I think I may even have some at home in the tackle closet.

[Chrisper4694]

eh, idk, i go blade bait 90% of the time in cold water for walleye and smb. twister tails are def a great all around lure though, used to use them more, but other stuff seems to work better for me a lot of the time. i also don't fish the rivers that often for them either so my comments are more for lake/reservoir fishing. wouldn't mind going side by side blade bait vs. twister tail though!

[bulletbob]

eh, idk, i go blade bait 90% of the time in cold water for walleye and smb. twister tails are def a great all around lure though, used to use them more, but other stuff seems to work better for me a lot of the time. i also don't fish the rivers that often for them either so my comments are more for lake/reservoir fishing. wouldn't mind going side by side blade bait vs. twister tail though!

I use blade baits as well in the lakes, and do well with them.... The twisters are much better in rocky streams for me.. As I said, I fish them right in the rocks, getting hung a lot.. I believe fish mistake them for critters that live under rocks.. There is all kinds of creepy crawly things in the rocks in creeks, streams and rivers, and those curly tail grubs seem to imitate that stuff well. Why they like that bright unnatural chartreuse color so much i have NO idea..bob

[PeteyHD]

Probably stands out and causes reaction bites

[ultimatepredator]

Hello all,
In my opinion the curly tail grub is the best in the Delaware river. I mostly target smallmouth and have found the colors of pumpkin seed, green pumpkin seed, and watermelon seed to work the best. Some days they prefer one color over the other. Typically on an 1/8oz jig head(painted or unpainted). 1/4oz in deeper water.
And i have caught everything on the grub. smallmouth, largemouth, stripers, catfish, walleye, trout, and muskie etc... Whether it is clear or stained or downright muddy it works.
I am always trying different lures looking for the Next Best Thing but usually come back to the curly tail grub.
As for chartreuse, I never really gave it a try but I will now. Just picked some up and might give it a try today on the river for some walleye.

[bulletbob]

Hello all,
In my opinion the curly tail grub is the best in the Delaware river. I mostly target smallmouth and have found the colors of pumpkin seed, green pumpkin seed, and watermelon seed to work the best. Some days they prefer one color over the other. Typically on an 1/8oz jig head(painted or unpainted). 1/4oz in deeper water.
And i have caught everything on the grub. smallmouth, largemouth, stripers, catfish, walleye, trout, and muskie etc... Whether it is clear or stained or downright muddy it works.
I am always trying different lures looking for the Next Best Thing but usually come back to the curly tail grub.
As for chartreuse, I never really gave it a try but I will now. Just picked some up and might give it a try today on the river for some walleye.

Yep.. Rocky rivers is where those lures excel.. Nothing else works as well, except maybe live bait, but actually I usually outfish the few bait fishermen I encounter up here on the Susky.. All the colors you mentioned are quite good.. i call them "neutrals".. they are colored more like a crayfish, hellgrammite, or Sculpin etc.. However, for me, I have found that typically, but not every single time of , I draw more strikes with bright chartreuse day in and out.. Always exceptions, but yeah, add some chartreuse to the mix, please let me know how it works for you... bob

[Bruce Litton]

Back in the day, no, back many decades ago--the Golden Years, '70s--that's all I used for smb. Three-inch yellow Mister Twister grubs. Stony Brook, Princeton, when that stream was LOADED with bass and nobody fished them...but me. Dozens upon dozens, hundreds and hundreds of bass. Hell with the jig head. I mounted them on a plain shank size 2 hook. Just right, so that on retrieve, the Twister rode straight and did not wobble.

Yellow was it. I used nothing else.

And just enough weight to get an OK cast--all I needed on that brook--with an ultralight.

[bulletbob]

If i use yellow on the susquehanna I don't even get a touch.. so strange... bob

[Bruce Litton]

Maybe if I used black...I would have caught more?

(I liked yellow. That worked, so why not?)

[bulletbob]

Maybe if I used black...I would have caught more?

(I liked yellow. That worked, so why not?)

Just trying to point out the fact that for whatever reason some colors simply don't work at all for some anglers.. I can't get a sniff on a yellow grub, never could, while you regularly kicked ass with them..

Not saying you would or could have
"caught more" on another color. I just know that while it worked for you, for me its like putting arsenic on the jig head..

thats what makes the world go round I suppose... bob

[Capt. Lou]

I've used the 2" version on steelhead , for a short time years back attached to floating jig head they would readily take it at times . Overall I Agree twister tails to this day great lure in that color . Like you I Have bags of them in all lengths which I acquired over the years .

[NJ219bands]

Many years ago I bought 1,000 unpainted jigs and twister tails for $90 from Hagan's in SD. All of the 1/32 oz lures are gone but I still have most of the 1/16 oz jigs. 9 cents per lure was my deal of a lifetime.

[Bruce Litton]

It is odd. I like black nowadays. And watermelon fleck even better. I don't think Twisters come in watermelon fleck, though.

I like how I used to use those yellow twisters--loved using them--and then 40 years later I must have mentioned the possibility of fly fishing the smallmouths in the SB, and Andy Still suggested I use yellow poppers. That sort of coincidence sticks in the mind as if some sort of objective thread to experience underlies the two of us.

[Bruce Litton]

Just trying to point out the fact that for whatever reason some colors simply don't work at all for some anglers.. I can't get a sniff on a yellow grub, never could, while you regularly kicked ass with them..

Not saying you would or could have
"caught more" on another color. I just know that while it worked for you, for me its like putting arsenic on the jig head..

thats what makes the world go round I suppose... bob


Had meant to reply to you, Bob. Thanks.

[thmyorke1]

It is odd. I like black nowadays. And watermelon fleck even better. I don't think Twisters come in watermelon fleck, though.



While limited in stores they actually feature a lot of colors online https://www.mistertwister.com/information/3-meeny/358#MTSF20%2014BBG

The beauty about twister tails is that almost every color imaginable has been produced by all the various manufacturers. Good luck trying them all out! :D

They make some real fancy ones with three different colors!

[Hookmanski]

While limited in stores they actually feature a lot of colors online https://www.mistertwister.com/information/3-meeny/358#MTSF20%2014BBG

The beauty about twister tails is that almost every color imaginable has been produced by all the various manufacturers. Good luck trying them all out! :D

They make some real fancy ones with three different colors!

Dang, a little over $3 for a pack of 20?? At that price it's a crime not to pick some up. Gonna order some for spring smallie fishing :D