YUM's Bad Jamma

Ten years ago, one of the most productive baits that Midwest finesse anglers used was a YUM's Wooly Beavertail, and there were two sizes of them: a two-incher and a three-incher. We always affixed the Wooly Beavertail to a mushroom-style jig, such as the one made by Gopher Tackle of Deerwood, Minnesota. In some ways, the Wooly Beavertail reminded us of Mann's Bait Company's Sting Ray Grub, which Midwest finesse anglers used to affix to their jigs back in the early 1970s. But the Wooly Beavertail was softer and more flexible, and we caught considerably more black bass on the Wooly Beavertail than we did on the Sting Ray Grub.

To our chagrin, YUM stopped manufacturing the Wooly Beavertail several years ago. But they have recently introduced a new creature-style bait by the name of Bad Jamma. And the 3 1/4-inch model ought to catch the eyes of some Midwest finesse anglers and their black bass quarries.

It has a cone-shaped head that is a quarter of an inch long, and the tip of it is flat rather than pointed. Most Midwest finesse anglers will shorten the Bad Jamma a quarter of an inch by decapitating it before they affix it to a jig. Its torso is flat, elliptical shaped, and 1 5/8 inches long. The back and belly of its torso is adorned with 11 ribs. A wide, flat, and curly tail radiates off of each side of the backend of the torso, and each tail is fitted with a small boot.

It was not created for Midwest finesse applications with a mushroom-style jig. Instead, it was designed for power anglers, and YUM recommends that anglers rig it Texas-style on a big hook with a slip-sinker rig and flip, pitch, or punch it. Furthermore, anglers can also use it as a trailer on a big skirted jig. Of course, Midwest finesse anglers will pay no heed to those recommendation; instead, they will affix it to a 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig with an expose hook.

When Midwest finesse anglers rig it on a 3/32-ounce jig and employ it with any of their six standard retrieves, the Bad Jamma's tails and torso will move more than the tails and torsos moved on the old-time Wooly Beavertail and dramatically more than the Sting Ray Grub gyrated. There are piscatorial spells when a lot of body and tail gyrations seem to allure more black bass than a stiff or deadstick motif, and when that phenomenon occurs, the Bad Jamma ought to fit that bill.

It is available in the following colors: Black/Blue Flake, Black/Blue Shadow, Green Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin/Blue, Green Pumpkin/Purple, Junebug, and Watermelon Candy.

The price for a package of 12 ranges from $3.39 to $3.49.