~ ~
Hurling Hula Jigs
By Russ Bassdozer

Jan. 29, 2002

Instructor: JASON REYNOLDS

Favorite Bait: Hula Grub in Watermelon Pepper or Green Pumpkin

Favorite Lake: Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma

Welcome, Jason! How did you first start using Gary Yamamoto's baits?

I have "always" used Gary's Hula grub. The Hula grub has been a real lifesaver for me in tournament fishing. I use it year-round. Every day I have at least one rod with a Hula grub tied on it. It's a popular bait out here with lots of guys in Oklahoma and surrounding areas.

I was real fortunate to fish with Gary Yamamoto in the B.A.S.S. Invitational on Lake Eufaula a few years back. I got a good lesson how to fish with Gary's Big Single Tail Grubs during that event. Gary ended up with about 22 lbs. of fish that day, and I had about 16 lbs. All were pitching, flipping and swimming the Big Grubs. Since then, I've gotten to know Gary, buddy up a bit, swap fishing reports and information with him. What has really hit home with me is the fact that Gary is always figuring out a pattern, a technique or a way to catch bass on his baits. Russ, I do not think anyone believes in Yamamoto baits more than Gary does. Since then, I have tried to do the same...figure out which Yamamoto soft plastic will work for whatever pattern, lake or season, whether it is the Ikas, grubs, Hulas, craws, lizards, Senkos or worms. I use the whole variety of Yamamoto soft plastic baits.

Which Yamamoto bait is your favorite?

The Senko is pulling out a lot of bass for me nowadays, but when I think back over time, it would have to be the Hula that's my favorite. You know I do a lot of bass tank shows. When I'm not doing shows, I'm fishing tournaments, either big ones like the Bassmaster Central trail, the Central Pro-Ams, or small ones like local jackpots. If they are willing to accept my money, then I am ready to win some, or donate some. Last year, I counted $9,000 I made using the Hula grub in weeknight jackpots on three local lakes.

What do you think your favorite bait imitates to a bass, Jason?

How I use the Hula grub, it's a crawdad. I'm totally convinced of that because my catches are the highest on the Hula grub from winter through early spring. It's best for me in cold water when bass feed more on the bottom on crawdads.

Is there any particular time or season when you feel the Hula grub is better than at other times of the year?

Starting from late fall all the way through pre-spawn is the best season. The Hula grub peaks out for me in spring, and then it starts to die off as the fish get totally spawned out and move out to deeper water. The hula bite is worst for me in summer because the fish have moved out deep, deep where they suspend in mid-water. When the fish suspend and chase shad, the Hula doesn't work as good the way I use it. I'd say it would have to be below 70 degree water temperature with fish swimming close to the bottom for me to expect a good Hula grub bite.

What kinds of applications or techniques do you use with your favorite Yamamoto bait?

My favorite places are on windy banks and points. On such places, first I want to know if there is any vegetation there. Second, I will determine if the fish are on the inside or outside edge of the vegetation beds. Third, I look for channel swings, ditches, or underwater bluff edges. I look for structure like that, and I like to determine a pattern to fish these types of structure. It is important for me to pattern if the fish are on the inside or outside edges of which kinds of these structures or weeds. Ninety percent of the time, I use a 3/8 oz. jig head and 5" Hula grub on 16 lb. test Sugoi line.

On clear bluebird high pressure days, I fish the very biggest monster size of Hula grub that Gary makes. I don't fish the edges then, but pitch it right in the middle of the weeds, directly into tiny holes and thin patches. I use 20 lb. test Sugoi, pegged with a 1/2 oz. bullet sinker and a 4/0 or 5/0 Texas Rig hook. Under those high pressure conditions, I don't get many bites, but they're probably going to be real hammerheads! Big ol' mogambo-size bass!

A final application or tactic I fish is with the very smallest 4" size of Hula grub. Whenever the fish are in crystal clear water or when I am going for a quick limit of keepers, I use about a 1/4 oz. jig head with 10 lb. test Sugoi line for that.

How do you retrieve your favorite bait, Jason?

I'm real picky when it comes to the jig head. I use a stand-up style of jig head. I cast out and when the jig hits the bottom and stands up down there, I shake it violently with the rod tip. Then I hop/pop it up off the bottom and when I feel the jig is at the highest point of the hop, then I sweep it forward about four feet with the long rod. At that point, I give it slack so it falls as vertical as possible. When it lands, I again shake it violently, pop it to the top of its hop and sweep it, then let it drop vertically. I get a real rhythm going where I repeat those steps over and over.

The stand-up head is the key to me, as is the vertical drop, which is when most of the bites come. The stand-up head has all of its weight forward, so when I throw slack into the line, the Hula jig drops as vertical as possible.

Jason, what would make you say, "I'm going to use a Hula grub now!"

I am an impatient kind of angler, what they call a "winder" because I'm always trying to reel baits in quickly. If possible, I would prefer to fish as aggressively as I can using the fastest baits possible - spinnerbaits, crankbaits, buzzbaits. When fish are not responding to these aggressive baits, that's one of the signals that says to me to throw a hula grub, which I still fish pretty fast across structure, but not nearly as aggressively as the faster baits I mentioned.

Do you use your favorite Yamamoto bait in shallow water or deep? How deep will you go with them?

This depends on the season of course, and whether you find fish up shallow or deeper. For my lakes like Eufaula and my fishing style, I may go down to 20 feet at most with the Hulas, but rarely deeper than 14-15 feet. They work in shallow water as low as about 6" where bass have to turn on their sides to go up and get them. That's a good pattern for Eufaula in August when it is real muddy and the bass are real shallow in less than a foot of muddy water.

Please tell us some of your favorite colors, Jason, for Hula grubs.

The two colors I use are 194 watermelon pepper and 297 green pumpkin. Although I only use two, I am picky about which one I use when. If the water is very clear, if there is bright sunlight, then I use the watermelon pepper. If there is any turbulence or turbidity or color at all in the water, then I use the green pumpkin. If there is low sky visibility or a dark day, then I use green pumpkin even in clear water.

What kind of rod, reel and line selection do you use?

Ninety percent of the time, I am fishing 16 lb. test Sugoi line on baitcasting gear with a 3/8 oz. Hula jig. I like no less than a seven foot stick to hop and sweep the jig.

What is the bite like on your favorite bait, Jason?

The way I use it, the bite is very subtle because it almost always comes on the vertical drop. You won't feel much more than a tick most of the time, and I watch the line as the bait vertically drops to see if the line twitches. It's not usual to get bit on the hop, the sweep or the shakin' parts of the retrieve.

How do you put the hook in your favorite bait? 

For a tournament, I get real picky. I prepare all my Hula jigs the night before, about 20-25 of them. I only use the Hula grubs where I can put the hook in so that the tails curl up and point in.  If the tails aren't curling up and in, I put those aside for non-tournament fun fishing. With the Hula jig, I like an open hook without any kind of weedguard. In a tournament, I would rather lose a lot of stuck jigs instead of miss one bite because of a weedguard. It's important to picture I am moving the jig across open structure, open weed edges, and sweeping it above bottom snags most of the time. So the open hook jig is not such a problem. I am using the Hula jig as a "structure bait", not to fish visible sight objects or fish it inside cover. I am fishing the jig off the edges of cover like grass edges, but not in the cover. That is another reason I fish the Hula fast, because I can work large areas of structure by moving the jig fast.

Is there anything else about your favorite Yamamoto bait that you would like to share with our readers, Jason?

I'm real big on scents and a little secretive about that because I feel it gives me a tournament edge that I do not like to talk about too much. I use Smelly Jelly and the flavor is called Crawdaddy. It's a red-colored jelly. The night before each tournament day, I rig up 20-25 Hula jigs so I get everything right with the tails pointing up the way I like them. I get them all laid out then I take that Smelly Jelly and really rub it into those Hula jigs good. The stuff gets all over my hands, but I don't have to mess with it during a tournament, and other competitors don't know I'm using it. Sometimes I can go through all 20-25 Hula jigs in a day. Some days I may only use 4 or 5. Once they are rigged and rubbed down, they are good for about two weeks before corrosion will concern me. However, I usually get to use them before that.

One other thing, if all else fails, throw the Senko.

Thank you, Jason!

Okay, Bassdozer, and thank you everyone who's reading along!

~ ~