Trout trollers like to troll with spoons and plugs. These baits allow you to cover water quickly and when the trout are in an aggressive mood they can be quite deadly.
On the other hand, when the trout are inactive and lethargic slowing down can pay big dividends and this is when a slow troll with a soft plastic grub can save the day. Grubs look life like and are impressionistic of the forage trout actually eat. Just as importantly they feel like natural bait when a trout nips at them.
Rigging grubs is super simple. Take a piece of 8 pound test fluorocarbon leader material and tip it with a No. 6 or 8 bait holder or mosquito hook. Insert the tip of the hook into the tip of the grub and then slide the grub over the bend of the hook and pop the hook point out near where the grub’s tail attaches to the body. When you are finished the grub should be straight on the hook shank.
I often fish my grubs without dodgers or flashers for a super natural presentation, but in some situations teaming grubs with blades works well.
No matter how straight you get the grub on the hook it’s going to spin as you troll it. For this reason you’ll want to link the leader to your main line via a bead chain trolling swivel to prevent line twist.
When trolling grubs, you’ll get the most action when trolling from 1 to 1.5 miles per hour.
Grubs come in a long list of colors and color combinations. In lakes where trout eat a lot of bugs earth tones tend to work best, while baitfish color work well in lakes where the trout earn a living gobbling down pond smelt and threadfin shad. In high mountain lakes I’ve been very successful trolling Berkley Power Grubs that feature an orange tail and brown body. Many times I’ve seen these grubs out fish threaded night crawlers!