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The Big Grub – Alabama to Arizona to Mexico
By Jerry Puckett

May/June 1993

Combine the innovative and inventive mind of Gary Yamamoto with a difficult pattern and the result will be a bait designed to efficiently produce those difficult fish. Even if he has to build it from the ground up. That was exactly the case at Lake Guntersville where the Grass Rat was king of the hill. However, the problem with the rat was a very low hook-up ratio - or too many missed fish. Gary knew that when bass hit his baits they rarely spit them. All he needed was a bait that would appeal to these grass-bound fish.

He returned home and cut a new mold for a super-sized twin tail grub; one designed to call the bass out of the grass. Returning to Alabama with the prototypes he was determined to make them work. And they did, producing fish after fish with a near 100% hook-up ratio. The new 17-series twintail big grub was off and running.

Additional testing at Arizona’s Lake Powell refined the rigging method and expanded the uses for the new bait. Initially we placed a Sampo swivel on the wide gap Owner hook via a split ring but eventually changed that, rigging the swivel 6 to 8 inches up the line. The baits were more durable that way, as the swivel no longer cut up the bait. Changes were also made to the density and salt content before Gary felt that it was finally a finished product. He took a supply of the new baits with him on a filming trip to Mexico’s Lake Bacarrac with Roland Martin in January of 1993.

Gary remembers the impact of the new bait on the trip. "You know I didn’t plan on marketing this bait initially. It was something I saw a need for and wanted for my personal use. It took a little time to get the perfect combination of size, density and salt content, but when those Bacarrac bass attacked that new bait like there was no tomorrow, I knew I had a real winner on my hands. After that one trip to Mexico, the phone started ringing off the wall and I decided to put the bait into production and offer it to Inside Line subscribers. I continue to be surprised at the versatility of the bait. From topwater to flipping to trailers for jigs and spinnerbaits, this new grub has scored big all across the nation."

Indeed, Gary created quite a stir with his new offering. What was visualized as a cure for Alabama grass mats has become one of the hottest Yamamoto products to come along in recent years.

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