Biovex's Kolt Stick

Biovex's Kolt Stick is a three-inch soft-plastic stickbait. Some anglers call it a centipede-style bait, and others call it a French-fry-style bait.

Biovex created it for the Japanese anglers who have to ply waterways that are afflicted with extremely heavy angler predation. And during the past two or three years, some American anglers, such as Josh Douglas of Minneapolis, Minnesota, have become Kolt Stick devotees.  In fact, Biovex sponsors Douglas, who is a guide and competes on several tournament circuits.  Douglas is not, however, a Midwest finesse angler.

Midwest finesse anglers will affix it to a small mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook, but the folks at Biovex say that the finesse anglers in Japan have found that it works well on a drop-shot rig, a split-shot or mojo rig, a darter-head jig, a shaky-head jig, and they said it even works well on a Carolina rig.  Some anglers contend that it is effective when it is rigged wacky style.

From the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail, the Kolt Stick's  torso is encircled with a series of 22 round segments.  Fourteen of the segments along its back are endowed with a hole that is called an air pocket.   These holes release air bubbles when the Kolt Stick is being retrieved, and at times, the finesse anglers in Japan have found the bubbles can allure wary and lethargic black bass in the crystalline waterways that they fish. (But in the relatively stained waterways and around the patches of aquatic vegetation that many Midwest finesse anglers often fish, it seems unlikely that the air bubbles would be an alluring feature.)

The 22 segments, however, enhances the Kolt Stick's flexibility, which allows it to make some significant underwater gyrations. And in the mind's eyes of scores of Midwest finesse anglers, underwater gyrations seem to be a critical feature of a stickbait when it is affixed to a small mushroom-style jig. But, of course, we have never been able to determine with any certitude that those gyrations are what allure a largemouth bass or a smallmouth bass or a spotted bass to engulf our stickbait rigs. In sum, it is merely an educated guess. Determining cause and effect in the murky world of the black bass is a daunting task.

One of the attributes of the Kolt Stick is that its head and tail are similar. Thus, when one end becomes too tattered and torn to stay affixed to the bait keeper or collar of a mushroom-style jig, the angler can reverse it and affix the other end to the jig, which makes the tattered and torn end the tail. Normally, the tattered and torn end is usually more flexible than the  untorn and untattered end. Across the years, Midwest finesse anglers have discovered that the more used and tattered and torn a stickbait becomes the more effective it is.

When it is affixed to a mushroom-style jig, it can be retrieved with all six of the standard Midwest finesse retrieves, as well as some variations of those six retrieves.

It is available in the following colors: Ayu, Green Pumpkin, Pearl White, Rame Gill, Smoke Holo Flake, and Watermelon/Red.

Anglers can purchase a package of 10 for $5.95.

Endnotes

(1) Here is a link to Biovex's U.S. website: http://biovexusa.com/.

(2) Here is a link to Biovex's Japanese website: http://www.biovex.jp.

(3) Here is a link to the Midwest Finesse column that describes the six Midwest finesse retrieves: http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/.

(4) Here is a link to one of Josh Douglas' YouTube videos: http://www.joshdouglasfishing.com/video/videos/.

(5) On April 14, 2014, we published a gear guide about Biovex's Kolt Shad Tail and Kolt Fish Tail. Here is the link to that gear guide: http://www.in-fisherman.com/gear-accessories/biovex-usa-midwest-finesse-fishing.

(6) Here is a link to our Dec. 19, 2016, Midwest Finesse column about the Biovex's Kolt Shad Tail: http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/biovexs-kolt-fish-tail/.

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