We’re always told to downsize our bass fishing lures when the action is slow. It has worked for decades, it works now and it will continue to work. Whether the bass become lethargic due to time of year, water temperature, weather fronts or fishing pressure, the power of a small bait or lure should never be overlooked.
I’ve been known to be a bit stubborn when it comes to downsizing my offerings, but I fell victim to the “hype” recently. There has been a lot of talk about the new Gene Larew Rally Grub so when our winter bass fishing became excruciatingly slow, I knew I had a golden opportunity to put this little dude to work.
After using it on both large fisheries and small farm ponds, there are 4 things I particularly like about it.
- Excellent action
- Nice size
- Lasts a long time
- Great colors
Swims beautifully at any speed
There seems to be a fairly common denominator in grub fishing—the slower, the better. So it’s important to choose a grub that can perform even at the slowest retrieve speed. I’ve used many in the past that have a hard time displacing water unless they’re fished aggressively. And guess what? I never caught much with ’em.
I was really happy to see how well the Gene Larew Rally Grub performed at very slow speeds. You’ll notice a flat knob at the end of its tail that catches a lot of water as it swims through the water. This allows the bait’s tail to spin, even when you’re barely turning your reel handle.
I’ve also been impressed by the Rally Grub’s action as it falls on a slack line. A lot of winter time fishing revolves around vertical structure such as bluff walls and rock shelves and free-lining a grub in these areas is always a productive strategy in cold weather. I’ve seen a lot of grubs that simply rock back and forth as they fall, but that hasn’t been the case with this bait. After a lot of testing in shallow water—so I could see its action clearly—the Rally Grub’s very soft and supple tail section begins to twirl the second it begins its descent.
This has actually given me a lot of confidence while fishing. Even in warmer water, I’ve been able to catch some nice bass by incoporating more aggressive jerks and pauses into my retrieve. I know the tail’s still doing its thing, which gives me a lot more freedom to experiment with differentiating my retrieve.
A nice “in-between” size
One of the main reasons I’ve taken such a liking to the Rally Grub is because of its size. It measures 3.5 inches in length, but it’s not as small as you’d think. It has a nice, thick body section that adds a little weight to the equation, which has allowed for easier casting in windy conditions. Maybe it’s a mental thing, but with that added weight on the end of my line, I feel like I can still catch a big fish if I’m around one.
In my opinion, the Rally Grub’s size does an excellent job imitating what I would consider an “average-sized” baitfish. It’s small enough that it doesn’t discourage bites on small farm ponds with small forage, but not too small that you can’t keep it away from pesky 10-inch bass.
One bait lasts a long time
I don’t like to re-rig. I like to fish. So as you can imagine, I like to fish with durable baits. I was initially a bit concerned about the Rally Grub’s durability when I felt how soft it was, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised since fishing with it for a few months.
One common “knock” on grub fishing is the tiny bass you tend to run across. You can’t blame the little boogers— they have to eat, too. But they’ll become frustrating in a hurry because they’ll bite the tail off your grub quicker than you can blink your eyes. And most grubs have very thin tail sections which have a hard time standing up to the abuse.
I’ve only had a few fish tear the tail off of a Rally Grub. I purposely took it to a pond on my deer hunting land that is absolutely overrun with 8 to 10-inch bass— I knew it was the perfect way to test its durability. I couldn’t make five casts without catching a bass and on average, I caught about eight fish on each grub. Bigger bass will shred ’em a little quicker than that, but even then, you can expect to catch at least five bass per grub, especially if you dab a bit of super glue on the head of it.
With a price of $4.49 per 12-pack, I can certainly live with those numbers.
Great color selection
I usually don’t get too carried away with my soft plastic colors—greens and blues just about cover it for me. But grub fishing is most productive in clear water and as we all know, it’s always smart to pay a bit more attention to your colors in water with high visibility.
The Rally Grub is available in a number of great-looking colors—16 to be exact. You’ll find some suitable for dirtier water, slightly stained water and I really like how many of the colors imitate several different types of baitfish found throughout the country. I’ve also been impressed by how consistent the color and flake is. When you grab a bait from the package, it’s going to look just like the rest. I never have to dig through the bag to find the “right” combination of color and flake.
If you frequent clear water fisheries or small ponds, this is a great little bait that catches a bunch of bass. With great action, a meaty profile and excellent durability, it’s going to hang around in my boat for the rest of the winter and early spring.
The Gene Larew Rally Grub is available at TackleWarehouse.com.
