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GrubZ for Bream
By Michael Wright
Grub style soft plastics have long been a desirable choice when chasing both black and yellowfin bream and this style of plastic has been utilised by both tournament anglers and the weekend warrior with proven results. The humble grub style goes back to the year of 1972 when a company called Mister Twister produced the first curly tail style plastic. Since this time, there have been hundreds of takes on this versatile profile and it is still as effective today as it was back in the day.
Fast forward to 2022 and one of the most popular curl tail plastics on the market today is undoubtedly the ZMan 2.5” GrubZ, especially when it comes to luring bream. However, this little curl tail has accounted for far more than one species of fish, with the Tackle Tactics team recording well over 100 species on this plastic, making it a go-to for both salt and freshwater anglers.
The ZMan 2.5” GrubZ has stamped its reputation on bream, proving its effectiveness in bream tournaments around the country. It’s a tournament top pick due to ZMan’s proprietary 10X Tough ElaZtech construction, ensuring there are no missing tails which guarantees more time in the strike zone and no wasted time changing plastics when the clock is against the angler. This combined with the natural buoyancy of ElaZtech and its soft natural feel, bring the plastic to life in the water and encourage the fish to hold onto the lure longer, giving the angler more time to set the hook. Fish on!
The thin ElaZtech tail on the GrubZ has given the lure a seductive wiggle action that is irresistible to bream. The specifically designed tail, which drops below the body to keel the plastic, gives a tight and realistic movement, while holding a straight line on the slow roll to maintain its realism. There are many types of retrieves that you can use with the GrubZ and in fact it’s almost impossible to retrieve it incorrectly, with that wiggling tail doing the damage for you.
Let’s look at a few common locations in an estuary system where the GrubZ is most effective on the bream and how we might rig and fish it.
Sand / Mudflats
During the higher stages of the tide bream prowl the flats in search of food items, such as prawns, marine worms, crabs, and small baitfish. The flats are an awesome area to target the bream, from the bottom to the surface. A good setup to start with would be a ZMan 2.5” GrubZ rigged on a TT NedlockZ jighead, as this will create a presentation that represents a marine worm poking its head out of the mud. You may also opt for the orange NedlockZ jighead as this gives the appearance of a yabby carrying eggs, which no bream can resist.
Heavily weeded flats can also be fished successfully by utilising the TT Nedlockz EWG jighead. This weedless option allows a snag proof presentation, whereby minimal weed fouls the hook, in turn causing less interference when hooking a bream. Fishing weedless ensures that you can target bream in and around clumps of weed beds, that hold plenty of food to attract bream. This setup can score you a bonus flathead too.
Just a quick note regarding line when fishing the flats. Running fluorocarbon line straight through can increase catch rates on bream, that can sometimes be very line shy on clear and calm days. If you can see the fish on the flats, cast ahead of them and then slowly retrieve your plastic to intercept the fish for best results. Remember, when fishing the flats stealth is key, as fish spook very easy in shallow water.
Pontoons / Boat Hulls
Bream love these types of locations for the basic reasons that they provide the fish with both food and shelter. Both locations can be fished with the GrubZ in similar ways, which is great because you will commonly find both in marinas, canals and along the main river. By far the best rig to fish both structure types centres around the TT HWS (Hidden Weight System) jighead, in a 1/20oz weight. These jigheads allow for the ultimate in stealth and finesse as the jighead weight is concealed inside the GrubZ.
The Hidden Weight System presentation allows the angler to skip cast the GrubZ with ease, casting it close to or under the pontoon or boat hull. Best practice is to let the GrubZ slowly sink, while watching your line for any movement, even if there’s a little tick or if the sink quickly accelerates… set the hook!
You can also use a standard jighead, such as TT HeadlockZ Finesse, in weights around 1/20oz or 1/16oz, as these will allow a slow sink rate and have the tail nicely wiggling. When fishing tight to structure, in the first 2-3 feet you should see a response. If there is a school of bream under the hull or pontoon, the reaction can be a savage and a fierce affair as the bream quickly muscle each other out the way to get to the GrubZ first.
Deep Water
This is the location that you want to be targeting in the cooler months of winter for schooling yellowfin bream. During spawning time large numbers of fish will congregate around the lower areas of the mouth of the river, with no better time to pull out the ZMan GrubZ rigged on a 1/8oz TT HeadlockZ Finesse jighead and start pounding that deeper water.
My take on this style of fishing is quite simple and it’s a drift and jig approach. Whilst this can seem a mundane technique, it can be fruitful, with large numbers of fish landed. You simply just need to sift through to get the bigger blue nose bream from in amongst the volume of fish. This is the time of year when you’re going to really appreciate the ZMan 10X Tough ElaZtech construction as one plastic can last all day, instead of burning a plastic per fish, especially when sifting through numbers of smaller fish.
Note: When fishing the deeper water look for some form of structure as this will hold fish, rather than having the schools passing through. A good spot to look for is a reef or rock bar close to the mouth of the river, so keep an eye on surrounding structure, the bottom, and the sounder.
When using GrubZ for bream, there is a colour choice for every occasion and location. When it comes to colour choice, my absolute favourite is Motor Oil, with Midnight Oil, Bloodworm and Watermelon Red following closely behind. I have found that the bream consistently love to smash all of these.
Motor Oil is a natural tone that is hands down a proven and consistent performer, dominating many bream tournaments, while Midnight Oil is a tad glitzier, with reflective glitter that is designed to catch the light and represent natural scale flash. Both Motor Oil and Midnight Oil also react to UV light, fluorescing in the water and further attracting the fish. These UV colours can come into their own when fishing down deep or when the water is slightly discoloured, while also being a very good choice in tannin-stained water.
Bloodworm is an awesome, go-to colour when the water is clear. It has a natural appearance of a prawn, which is why I think bream and other fish like this colour so much. When I’m fishing upstream, in a natural environment setting, I opt for Watermelon Red because its representative of beetle or insect hues.
Note: Pro-Cure make a UV liquid that can be added to your plastics, along with Pro-Cure scent, and I do add scent to my soft plastic religiously, to add to its realism, attract fish and make them hold on longer.
So, that’s my wrap on the ZMan 2.5” GrubZ for Bream. It’s an awesome and versatile soft plastic, making it a must for every fishos kit. It’s highly recommended for all types of fish, from fresh to saltwater species, and absolutely essential when chasing bream on soft plastics in any location. Get out there and get grubby.
Tight lines and fish on!
Michael Wright