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Ask some of the nation’s top pros to name their "go-to bait" when times are tough. Despite the thousands of hard-bait and live-bait choices in their tackle box, they will name this one three-fourths of the time: It is the Fuzz-E-Grub jig. When the presentation is adapted to meet the challenge, the Fuzz-E-Grub slips into the underwater kingdom like a Trojan horse and conquers fish with its round-head jig, plastic body, a few strands of maribou and thin wire hook. That combination worked like a sorcerer’s magic in tough conditions on the Missouri River in North Dakota at last year s Professional Walleye Trail championship to win the $100,000 first prize. Nobody else who targeted the same school of fish in the same muddy tributary did as well. The larger profile of the hot yellow glow Fuzz-E-Grub produced more strikes over a plain lead head or twister tail and took a winning weight from the creek that outpaced the nearest competitor by 10 percent. Fine-tuning the weight of the jig in strong winds to maintain boat control and bottom contact in the strike zone proved the key. That wasn't the first time a Fuzz-E-Grub proved the winning edge. The team of Ted Takasaki and John Campbell team took top honors on the 1991 Masters Walleye Circuit using the Fuzz-E-Grub at least half the time at locations like Lake Winnebago, Little Bay de Noc, Red Wing on the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. Thirty and forty fish days were the norm. The hot glow colors made the difference when water clarity was poor, and the enticing, subtle, undulating action of maribou tail was irresistible in clear. John Campbell jigged his way to victory during a PWT tournament on the Detroit River in April. Vertical jigging 5/8’s and 1 ounce Jumbo Fuzz-E-Grubs in 28 to 30 feet of water crushed his competition during the three day tournament. The yellow/orange color along with a stinger hook and a minnow was too much for the big walleyes to resist. Ron Lindner describes the tail's appearance in the water as "breathing." Whatever you call it, it works. Once on Lake Erie, a walleye slammed a Fuzz-E-Grub that was cast to a reef and allowed to sit absolutely still, all but for the wave action on the hair. This action was key to catching many more that morning. This is a scene similar to the one several years ago on Lake Erie when Jim Fofrich, a prominent charter captain, used Fuzz-E-Grubs fished slowly to catch early season walleye on the rock reefs. This awakened other guides to the lake's early-season trophy potential when many of the locals thought it was too early to catch fish anywhere but in the rivers. Professional angler Tommy Skarlis owns a reputation as one of the best jiggers on the walleye tournament circuits. Most often it's a Fuzz-E-Grub tied to his line. It's a love affair that began when he was a boy using Fuzz-E-Grubs to bank fish at a marina. Ironically, the target was not walleye at the time. He had six largemouth on the ground at his feet before the marina manager shooed him away. Today, Skarlis uses Fuzz-E-Grubs to fish eddies behind current breaks. He uses 6-pound line and a Fuzz-E-Grub heavy enough to stay in touch with the bottom, which is normally a 1/4 or 3/8th ouncer. Once in 50 mph winds during an MWC tournament on the Illinois River, that meant using a 5/8ths ounce Jumbo Fuzz-E-Grubs in four-foot waves to finish third. A true believer in the use of artificial scent, Skarlis believes the maribou tail holds the odor longer than plain plastic. He adds a Lindy Stinger Hook. But, he lets the stinger hook hang free rather than spoiling the action of his live bait by burying the hook in the meat. That way, even a light bite means lethargic fish are more likely to inhale the metal. Fishing educator Spence Petros calls the Fuzz-E-Grub his number one cold-water bait. There is hardly any movement, and the hair, rather than a plastic tail, allows for a free, natural appearance of the minnow, leech or nightcrawler. He trims off the front third of the Fuzz-E-Grub's plastic body when using larger minnows to reduce the bulk of the bait, while keeping the color as an attractor. He recalls one day on Lake Erie with pro Rick LaCourse, when he used a Fuzz-E-Grub coupled with a Lindy Stinger Snell to offer walleyes two minnows on the same jig. The result - a 150 fish day. Outdoor writer Jim Saric tells the tale of how the Fuzz-E-Grub saved his trip to the Saginaw River at Bay City, Mich., to film a segment for an outdoor television show this spring. He'd heard the bite was hot. But, a cold front blew through the day he arrived. Temperatures fell to the low 20’s. He first tried jigging twister tails, but the high-action baits yielded just two small fish. Other boats were stymied, also. Saric turned to a hot yellow, glow Fuzz-E-Grub to slip and jig through the same area once more. "Within five minutes, I had a 10-pounder," he said. "It was a beast." After catching several more on camera, Saric returned the next day and caught an "8," a couple of "6’s" and several smaller fish for the folks back home. "Certainly, the key was that subtle action of the Fuzz-E-Grub!" The Jumbo Fuzzy-E-Grubs in sizes of five-eighths or 1 ounce are deadly on the dropper of a double jig rig trolled upstream over flats or dropped back onto the front faces of wing dams on the Mississippi. Tom Keenan who, coupled with brother Mark comprises the reigning 1998 MWC Team of the Year, is a Fuzz-E-Grub bigot. "It's the most confident bait I have in my box. It's just awesome." The lack of tail means less water resistance so the Fuzz-E-Grub falls faster when vertical jigged. That's a trait Keenan thinks often triggers bigger fish at spots like Wisconsin's Wolf River by sending an explosion of dirt or sand off the bottom. But, he thinks the biggest advantage the Fuzz-E-Grub offers is its array of intense colors. He loves the hot yellow glow and the hot orange glow as well. "Toss it on your desk in the dark and it glows, not only the head but the body. No other manufacturer offers that," he said. The Fuzz-E-Grub isn't limited to just cold water. Keenan has had three top-ten finishes on the PWT at Lake Winnebago, all in June, all on Fuzz-E-Grubs. In each instance, he tossed an eighth-ounce Fuzz-E-Grub jig with a half nightcrawler or a leech into the Winnebago system's famous cane fields. He boated walleye after walleye in hot-summer conditions in less than 3 feet of water. He and brother Mark had similar fortune during an August tournament at Little Bay de Noc, Michigan, while casting Fuzz-E-Grubs to gravel piles in 2 to 5 feet of water. This was when other competitors were dealing with fish and were suffering from the summer doldrums. The same tactic worked at Red Wing, Minn., on the Mississippi River. Sweating during the course of 100-degree days, the Keenans cast Fuzz-E-Grubs to wing dams and took enough fish for a second-place finish at a time few other teams were able to boat limits. At another tournament at Red Wing, the Keenans discovered the power of inserting a small rattle inside a Fuzz-E-Grub and took walleyes on a day when the river was re-earning its nickname, "the Big Muddy." "Almost any bait will work when they are biting, but the Fuzz-E-Grub will work when they are neutral," Keenan said. "There is something about the grub that really turns them on." The Fuzz-E-Grub's soft body also means walleyes tend to hold on longer, giving a split-second more to set the hook. "They eat the whole bait. You don't lose them when they do that," Keenan said. In his off-time, Keenan likes to catch smallmouth bass averaging 3 pounds on Fuzz-E-Grubs and a leech or half of a 'crawler from the Wisconsin River. All within sight of the Gander Mountain store he manages. "I've caught a zillion smallmouth on them. It's brutal," Keenan said. "If they allowed live bait in bass tournaments, a Fuzz-E-Grub would win them all!” The Keenans move to the ice during long Wisconsin winters. The Fuzz-E-Grub stays hot. Tom Keenan uses sizes from 1/8th to 1 ounce, depending on whether he is targeting shallow crappie or big lake trout at Trout Lake, Wisc. in water more than 50 feet deep. His largest laker last winter topped 35 inches. Petros remembers traveling to Canada twice to film shows with Babe Winkelman. The target? Brook trout. Both times the top-producing lure was a black or brown 1/8th-ounce Fuzz-E-Grub. The fish apparently mistook it for a nymph. Another time, he caught big Great-Lake brookies under piers with Fuzz-E-Grubs while others went fishless casting big spinners. "It's an excellent, overlooked trout lure when used with a swim-and-drop movement or in small little hops with no live bait at all," he said. Petros uses Fuzz-E-Grubs and 4-inch chubs for largemouth in weed beds in the fall. And crappies? He boats speck after speck using a 1/16th-ounce white and pink Fuzz-E-Grub under a Thill® Center Slider float. For forty-five minutes after sunrise or the same period before sunset, he switches to blaze orange. Petros even caught a 34-inch muskie once on a Fuzz-E-Grub by accident. So, let the gods on Mount Olympus decree that we can use just one bait forever. The Fuzz-E-Grub will find the Achille's heel of any species! Click here to order your Fuzz-E-Grubs now:
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