Bass Pro Shops' 3 1/2-inch Hellgrammite

On May 27, we published the first in our series of gear guides about soft-plastic hellgrammites that Midwest finesse anglers can use as a creature bait on a 1/32-ounce mushroom-style jig.

This is our second gear guide, and it will focus upon the Bass Pro Shops' rendition of a hellgrammite.

A hellgrammite is the larval form of a Dobson fly, and the lifespan of its larval stage can stretch from one to five years. When they reach maturity, some can be five inches long, but most are 2 1/2 inches long.  The Bass Pro Shops' soft-plastic hellgrammite is 3 1/4 inches long, and it is almost lifelike.

Its head, thorax, and abdomen are flat.

The tip of its head is adorned with short antennae and a mandible or pincher jaws.

Its thorax has three segments, and a pair of legs, which etymologists call prolegs, branch out from the sides of each of the thorax's segments.  But the top or first prolegs on the BPS' rendition are not situated in the same spot on the thorax as the prolegs on a real hellgrammite.

Its abdomen possesses eight segments, and a pair of appendages radiate off of each side of the eight abdominal segments.

At the tip of the abdomen, there is a pair of appendages. Etymologists call them hooked appendages, which help hellgrammites from being swept away from their abodes by various kinds of water currents.

The BPS' replica is not adorned with a hellgrammite's minute anal tubules, frilly gills, and ventral tubules, which would be a difficult and unnecessary task to duplicate.

In the real world, the skin colors of hellgrammites range from black to brown to gray to tan. The BPS' 3 1/4-inch Hellgrammites are manufactured in the following colors: green pumpkin, watermelon red flake, green pumpkin candy, and black red flake. Each hellgrammite is impregnated with a scent and salt.

A package of 15 cost $4.59.

Endnotes

(1) Here is the link to the May 27 gear guide about the Berkley Gulp! Three-inch Hellgrammite: http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/berkley-gulp-three-inch-hellgrammite/#ixzz4iTadPnmN.

(2)  We are eager for Midwest finesse anglers to field test the Bass Pro Shops' 3 1/2-inch Hellgrammite on a small mushroom-style jig and file a report about its effectiveness in the comment section below.

(3) In the weeks to come, we hope to publish more gear guides about other soft-plastic hellgrammites that Midwest finesse anglers can use as a creature bait on a small mushroom-style jig. Please send us suggestions about the ones we should feature.

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