April 25, 2018
By Ned Kehde
A veteran Midwest finesse angler alerted us to Bass Pro Shops' Bomb Craw, saying that it is a modern-day version of the first soft-plastic crayfish that we used back in the 1980s. That first one was Guido Hibdon's Guido Bug, and it, in fact, was the piscatorial world's first soft-plastic crayfish.
After Guido Hibdon taught us how and when to use them, Midwest finesse anglers have been wedded to using a variety of small soft-plastic crayfish. And nowadays, we affix them to a small mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook.
We are always searching for new ones to affix to our jigs, and the folks at Bass Pro Shops informed us that Bomb Craw is vastly different from the old-fashioned Guido Bug, saying that it does not look at all like the original Guido Bug, and we agree with them.
A green-pumpkin-blue-flake Bomb Craw
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The Bomb Craw is an abstract rendition of a crayfish. Its head, torso or cephalothorax, abdomen, and telso are 2 1/4 inches long. It possesses a semi-oval shape with a circumference of 1 9/16 inches.
The abdomen is five-eighths of an inch wide, and it is endowed with 14 significant, but subtle, ribs.
The head and torso or cephalothorax is seven-eighths of an inch long and five-eighths of an inch wide, and it is adorned with two tiny eyes. A small U-shaped appendage radiates from each side of the torso or cephalothorax, and the width of the torso and two U-shaped appendages is 1 1/4 inches. All of these features are smooth-skinned.
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Two long and flat appendages extend from the side of its head, and they are 1 1/8 inches in length. There are 11 tiny ribs adorning a three-quarter-inch section of these flat appendages. Some anglers might refer to these appendages as claws, but they are paddle-shaped rather than claw-shaped.
Its tail or telso is dome-shaped, and is five-sixteenths of an inch long. It is smooth-skinned.
The total length of the Bomb Craw's head, torso or cephalothorax, abdomen, telso, and two long and flat appendages is 3 7/16 inches.
The folks at Bass Pro Shops say that it was designed for flippers and pitchers to rig Texas-style on a 4/0 extra-wide-gap hook. Midwest finesse anglers, of course, will affix it to a mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook.
In some Midwest finesse anglers' eyes, it resembles an oval-shaped Senko-style bait that is graced with four appendages. Since the advent of Chuck Woods' Beetle back in the 1950s and 1960s, a Senko- or stick-style bait lies at the heart of Midwest finesse tactics, and it is likely that some Midwest finesse anglers will customize them by removing the appendages before they affix them to their mushroom-style jigs. (See endotes for photographs of the ways that Midwest finesse anglers will customize and rig the Bomb Craw.)
It is available in the following colors: Bama Bug, Black/Blue, Black Light, Blue Gill, Blue Craw Swirl, Candy Bug, Green Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin/Blue Flake, Huckleberry, June Bug, Magic/Red Flake, Okeechobee Craw, Sapphire Blue, Sungill, Watermelon/Red Flake, and White Pearl.
They are impregnated with salt and a scent that is 8Up.
A package of eight Bomb Craws costs $3.49.
Endnotes
(1) Three ways Midwest finesse anglers will rig the Bomb Craw.
This photograph features Bomb Craw affixed to a 1/15-ounce mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook.
This photograph features the Bomb Craw as a Senko-style bait affixed to a 1/15-ounce mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook, and all of the appendages have been removed. The head of the jig is affixed to its head.
This photograph features the Bomb Craw rigged through its sides rather than through it belly or dorsal. Its four appendages have been removed. It is affixed to a 1/15-ounce mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook. The head of the jig is affixed to its tail.
(2) When Midwest finesse anglers affix a Bomb Craw on a small mushroom-style jig, they can employ it with all six of the standard Midwest finesse retrieves -- as well as several subtle variations of those retrieves. Here is a link to a Midwest Finesse column that explains how to employ those retrieves: http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/ .
