A Rayburn Brown Banshee.
April 30, 2020
By Ned Kehde
Big Sexy Baits has created a stick-style creature bait. It is called the Banshee.
Chad Cheney of Lake Stevens, Washington, is the proprietor of Big Sexy Baits, and he sent some samples of the Banshee for us to work with and examine.
Here is what we discovered about the Banshee.
From the tips of its two antennae to the end of its posterior section, it is exactly three inches long.
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Its head is cone-shaped and nine-sixteenths of an inch long. Adjacent to the head’s junction with the torso’s anterior section, it has a width of three-eighths of an inch and a circumference of about 1 1/16 inches. The tip of the head is adorned with two significant antennae, which are an inch long. Along each side of the head and about a quarter of an inch from the junction of the head with the torso, there is another significant antenna that is seven-eighths of an inch long. The width of these antennae at their junction to the head is one-eighth of an inch, and the width at the tip of each antenna is one-sixteenth of an inch. The head’s dorsal and ventral areas are identical, and their epidermises are smooth.
The entire torso is 1 9/16 inches long and cylinder-shaped. Its dorsal and ventral areas are identical, and they are adorned with carapaces and 15 ribs. Near the junction of the anterior and posterior sections, a significant appendage that is about 1 1/8 inches long radiates off the side of the torso, and it is situated about an inch from the tip of the head. At about a half of an inch from the end of the posterior section, a significant appendage that is about 1 5/16 inches long radiates off the side of the torso. The width of these four appendages at their junctions with the torso is one-eighth of an inch, and the width at the tip of each appendage is one-sixteenth of an inch.
The dimensions of the torso’s anterior section are smaller than the dimensions of its posterior section. Near its junction with the head, the torso is three-eighths of an inch wide and a circumference of 1 1/4 inches. At one inch from the end of the posterior section, it has a width of a half of an inch and a circumference of 1 7/16 inches.
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The end of the posterior section is flat and round. It has a diameter of seven-sixteenths of an inch and a circumference of about 1 3/8 inches. This is where a Midwest finesse angler will insert the hook, collar, or bait keeper of a mushroom-style jig.
It is available in the following hues: Baitfish, Black and Blue, Delavan Pearl, Fire Tiger, Green Pumpkin with Black, Havasu Green, Junebug with Green, Motor Oil with Red, Ozark Nightcrawler, Rayburn Brown, and Trillum Bronze.
They are not impregnated with scent or salt. And they are very buoyant.
Buoyancy is an attribute that Midwest finesse anglers often relish. One of the primary reasons why we appreciate buoyancy is that it facilitates our abilities to execute a no-feel presentation when we employ the six standard Midwest finesse retrieves or slight variations of those retrieves. When we work with those six retrieves, we will use a mushroom-style jig that ranges in size from 1/32-ounce to a 3/32-ounce. Across the years, we have found that it is best to err on the side of lightness rather than heaviness; thus we rarely work with a 3/32-ounce jig. What’s more, we do not need heavy jigs because we do not pursue black bass that abide in deep-water lairs. Black bass that are caught in deep water are subject to enduring the dastardly effects of barotrauma, which is the primary reason why we are shallow-water anglers throughout the calendar year.
In our eyes, a Banshee affixed to a 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig looks to be an effective Midwest finesse rig to probe various kinds of black bass lairs that lie in one to 12 feet of water.
A package of eight costs $4.25.
Endnotes Here is a link to Big Sexy Baits’ website: https://www.bigsexybaits.fish/ . Here is the link to our Midwest Finesse column that describes how to employ the six Midwest finesse retrieves with a no-feel presentation while using a Banshee affixed to a mushroom-style jig: https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/153946 . Here is a link to our Midwest Finesse gear guides that features Big Sexy Baits’ Mayhem, Newt, and Paddle Worm:https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/big-sexy-baits-mayhem-hd/357526 .https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/big-sexy-baits-newt/368338 .https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/big-sexy-baits-paddle-worm/361838 .
