A Watermelon Copper/Orange with/Red Chigger Bug affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.
March 24, 2020
By Ned Kehde
In several ways, the Chigger Bug is more of a creature bait than a soft-plastic bait that replicates all of the characteristics of a crayfish. But it does possess some of the features of a crayfish; it has an abdomen, cephalothorax, walking legs, and chelpids.
Its abdomen is 2 1/16 inches long and endowed with four segments. The first one, which lies at the end or tip of the abdomen, is nine-sixteenths of an inch long and three-eighths of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 3/8 inches. Segments two, three, and four are three-eighths of an inch long and three-eighths of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 3/8 inches.
Each of the four segments exhibits somewhat of a box-like look. But their ventral areas are somewhat convexed, as is their dorsal areas. The sides are flat.
The dorsal area of the first segment has three ridges. The epidermis of the dorsal areas of segments two, three, and four is smooth. The epidermis of the sides of the abdomen is smooth.
The ventral section of the abdomen is graced with a series of eight ridges along the outside edges of the abdomen. There is one ridge that encompasses nearly the entire on the center portion of the ventral sections of the abdomen and cephalothorax.
Each side of the abdomen is embellished with the three small walking legs. The two front ones are straight and nine-sixteenths of an inch long. They radiate from the junction of segments number three and four. They are slightly more than one-sixteenths of an inch wide. The other four legs possess a bend or a joint. The middle ones or second pair of legs are seven-eighth of an inch long when they are fully extended, and they are slightly more than one-sixteenths of an inch wide. The back ones are eleven-sixteenths of an inch long when they are fully extended, and they are slightly more than one-sixteenths of an inch wide.
The segment at the end or tip of the abdomen is not adorned with the fan tail of a real crayfish. Instead, it is flat and endowed with a small indentation, which is where Midwest finesse anglers will insert the hook and collar of the mushroom-style jig that they will affix to the Chigger Bug.
The cephalothorax, which joins the abdomen at segment number four, encompasses the Chigger Bug’s head, eyes, and thorax. It is seven-eighths of an inch long, and about a half of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 7/16 inches. It exhibits somewhat of an elliptical shape. Its dorsal and ventral areas are slightly convexed. It is embellished with two minor eyes, and adjacent to those eyes and radiating from each side of the cephalothorax are a cheliped, which most anglers call a claw. But the Chigger Bug’s chelipeds are not claw-like. Instead, they are similar to a curly tail that graces the tail of a grub. It is flat and thin. It is seven-sixteenths of an inch wide at the junction with the side of the cephalothorax, and it is five-eighths of an inch wide at its widest spot. It is 2 1/2 inches long when it is fully extended. The epidermis of the chelipeds and most of the cephalothorax is smooth.
The folks at Berkley say that the two flat, thin, and wide chelipeds “produce a very broad and fast kicking action,” and its walking legs “deliver additional realism.”
It is manufactured in the following hues: Black Blue Fleck, Black Red Fleck, California, Chartreuse Pearl, Green Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin Purple Fleck, IKE's Green Pumpkin Blue Flash, IKE's Sapphire Black, June Bug, Okochobee Craw, Sapphire Blue, Skeet’s Green Money, Skeet’s Hot Craw, South African, Summer Craw, Watermelon, Watermelon Candy, Watermelon Copper/Orange with/Red, Watermelon Red, and White Pearl.
Berkley says that its scientists have spent more than 25 years perfecting an irresistible scent and flavor, and that scent and flavor is impregnated into the Chigger Bug.
It is not buoyant.
A package of 10 costs $4.99.
It was made for power anglers to affix to a Carolina rig, Texas rig, and a skirted jig. But Midwest finesse anglers will affix it to a small mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook, and some of them might shorten it a touch by amputating the first segment from the tip of its abdomen. When they are employing it on a mushroom-style jig, they will be able to employ all six of the standard Midwest finesse retrieves and slight variations of those retrieves.
A shortened Watermelon Copper/Orange with/Red Chigger Bug affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Endnotes:
