Do you know the best single tail grub ever made? That’s an easy question. The best grub is the one they’re biting. Here in California, a couple have had their starring moments including the Yamamoto (especially the 5-inch salt and pepper), but also the Kalin 5-inch.
Since the earlier era, however, a couple things have occurred. One, Yamamoto changed its molds on the bait we used to split-shot and Carolina rig, and Kalin, of course, was sold to Uncle Josh in Wisconsin, and kind of slipped out of the spotlight.
When Al Kalin was shooting baits in Brawley, he was never quite convinced about making a 4-inch version. He had the 3- and 5-inchers, and that’s what the wholesalers got used to selling. Instead, the Yamamoto 4-inch was pretty much all we had to fish here. It’s a nice bait, but the tail is really a “wobbler” while the Kalin was known more as a “rippler.”
Each had its detractors: The Kalin tail was criticized for being too thin and sticking to itself. The Yamamoto tail, with a skinny link, and not-so-tough plastic between the sickle and the body, could fall victim to an aggressive bluegill (so you had to rig up another 60 cent bait).
What has brought the Kalin back into focus is the fact that the new owners at Uncle Josh decided to go ahead and make a 4-inch version and it’s one of those lures that just feels “right.”
However, if you only go by the photos, you don’t “see” the big difference. Maybe this is why Al, a pretty shrewd observer, held off. The bass marketplace is a funny place.
The key with the Kalin grub is proportion. With many baits, just scaling the dimensions up or down doesn’t work. Depending on the design, there can be buoyancy, friction and water flow issues that are perfect in one size, but which may interrupt the action when one of the elements such as diameter, body length or tail width gets beyond a certain size. You sense that today with the 5-inch Yamamoto. It’s a pretty long, snaky bait compared to the 4-inch version.
In the two two sizes of Kalin, the baits act virtually identically–so much so, it could be argued they are the same. But on an eighth-ounce pea head, for example, they are different in the water. There is a faster fall with the smaller bait since the body diameter is less in the 4-inch than with the 5, even though the tails are not that dissimilar.
Of course, the real issue here is not which grub is better (since the fish on a given day will make that decision). But rather, you now can add that 4-inch size Kalin to your arsenal. And that it’s a 40-cent bait, may also have some appeal.
Either way, it’s something I’ve been awaiting for quite a while.
4 Responses to “Just grubbin’ around with the old favorites”
Here, here!
Thank you for your article. I would also like to see one on Kalin’s mop-top version of the spider grub. I know yamamoto makes one and maybe even manufactured skirts for customizing, but I’m having difficulty locating it on their website. I’m thinking about cutting off the skirts of tubes and welding them on my grubs.
Not all the original Kalin stuff was kept in production when purchased by Uncle Josh. YUM has one, Chompers too. You probably could do well making your own. Without the double tails is how they stumbled onto the IKA at Yamamoto so the designs are always in flux.
I love both Kalin’s and Yamamotos – each definitely has it’s ideal application and slightly different profile. I have enough of both, along with my favorite (the bass’s fav too!) jig trailer, the ZOOM Twin Tail Fat Albert, to make a Rubbermaid exec proud.