Keitech USA's Little Spider

February 26, 2015 By Ned Kehde

Several years ago, Clyde Holscher and Steve Desch, who are veteran Midwest finesse anglers from Topeka, Kansas, were captivated by Keitech USA's Little Spider, which is a hula-style grub with a twin tail. But to their chagrin, Keitech stopped distributing them in the United States shortly after Holscher and Desch began to use them.

The Little Spider was designed by Kei Hayashi, who is the much heralded largemouth bass angler from Yamanashi, Japan, lure designer, and proprietor of Keitech since 1996.

On Dec. 8, 2014, Keitech USA announced that it was introducing a new rendition of the two-inch Little Spider. Then on Jan. 7, Keitech said that new renditions of their three- and 3 1/2-inch Little Spider were available for finesse anglers to acquire. This news brought some beats of joy to Desch's heart.

The tail or skirt of the Little Spider consists of 40 tentacles that flare and gyrate incessantly. Its torso is cigar shaped, and it is comprised of a series of 12 short segments. Its head is pointed or cone-shaped. Immediately behind its head, a flat, thin, and radically curved claw radiates off each side of its torso. These two claws are shaped like the tail of a traditional grub. According to Mike Czaplinski of Keitech USA and Hopatcong, New Jersey, the combination of buoyancy, thinness, and flatness of the two claws makes them move provocatively.

The new Little Spiders possess the same configurations as the old ones, but the new generation is manufactured out of a PVC compound rather than vinyl. This new formula enabled Keitech to create some new and vivid colors. Furthermore, this PVC compound allowed Keitech to impregnate a significant amount of potent squid scent into each Little Spider.

Kei Hayashi and his colleagues at Keitech contend that the Little Spider will help anglers catch an impressive array of largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass — even on waterways that are bombarded by heavy angler predation. The folks at Keitech are also fond of saying that "small baits produce big bites, too," which echoes the thoughts and words that Guido Hibdon of Sunrise Beach, Missouri, who is one of the pioneers of Midwest finesse fishing, has uttered for several decades. For instance, Hibdon told Michael Jones of Granbury, Texas, who was working on a book entitled "The Complete Guide to Finesse Bass Fishng," in 1991 that "many people don't believe that little baits will catch big fish, but they do. Gosh, we have proven it for years."

Hibdon also said that "fishermen tend to use too much weight. And with too much weight, the baits don't work right." Czaplinski agrees whole heartedly with Hibdon's perspective, and when an angler affixes a two- or three-inch Little Spider to a 1/16-ounce Keitech Tungsten Mono Guard Jig Head, Czaplinski says that angler is wielding the ultimate finesse bait. Steve Desch agrees, calling it a stellar finesse bait that he is eager to use as 2015 unfolds.

The Tungsten Mono Guard Jig Head possesses a teardrop design and a No. 2 Katsuichi hook. It is endowed with a single-strand wire hook or weed guard that is hand glued into the head. The size of the head of Keitech's 1/16-ouncer is 30 percent smaller than a 1/16-ounce jig constructed from lead. The price for a package of four ranges from $5.39 to $5.93.

The Little Spider is available in the following colors: Black, Black Blue Flake, Bluegill, Brown Purple Flake, Green Pumpkin, Natural Shad, Sahara Olive, Suppernong (Cola), and Watermelon PP.

The price for a package of eight two- and three-inch Little Spiders is $4.99, and a package of five 3 1/2-inchers can be purchased for $4.99.

Endnotes:

In-Fisherman Storyline host Thomas Allen is joined by good friends and local fishing experts to discuss the state of the fishing industry, boat prices and angler optimism as the new year begins. Mille Lacs guide Brad Hawthorne, Brainerd bass anglers Chad Foster and Brandon Cizek dig into the future of the sport we all love, with some laugh along the way. This is a fun discussion about where we're all headed no matter where you are in the fishing spectrum.

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