BioSpawn ExoPod

Fifteen years ago, Midwest finesse anglers in northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri used to wield a soft-plastic beaver-tailed bait with astonishing regularity. It was manufactured in two sizes: a two-inch model and a three-inch one. It was a simple-looking creature. In our eyes, its torso exhibited some of the characteristics of a stick-style bait whose torso was endowed with a series of ribs, and its anterior section was adorned with a split appendage that abstractly replicated a beaver’s tail.

To our dismay, however, its manufacturer stopped making it, and there has been a hole in our repertoire ever since the death of this simple beaver-style bait.

Then, when a veteran Midwest finesse angler got a glimpse of Catch Co.’s 3 ½-inch BioSpawn ExoPod, he immediately informed us, exclaiming that he had finally found what looks to be a replacement for our long-gone gem.

He said we had to publish a gear guide about it, and at his behest, we contacted Eli Rosenberg, who is the Director of Media Partnerships for Catch Co., which is the parent company of BioSpawn, and he sent us some to work with and describe.

Here is what we discovered about the ExoPod.

Our measurements revealed that it is 3 7/16 inches long.

Its head and torso are 2 5/16 inches long.

The torso, which is 1 13/16 inches long, encompasses eight cone-shaped segments, and it is endowed with what is called a “built-in internal channel to protect [the]hook point.”

The first segment, which is adjacent to the junction with its head, is about a quarter of an inch long. At its widest spot, it is seven-sixteenths of an inch wide with a circumference of 1 5/16 inches. Its dorsal area is endowed with a hook slot that is a quarter of an inch log with a width that ranges from one-eighth to one-sixteenth of an inch wide.

The second segment is about a quarter of an inch long. It is seven-sixteenths of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of 1 5/16 inches. Its dorsal area has a hook slot that is a quarter of an inch long with a width that ranges from one-eighth to one-sixteenth of an inch wide.

The segments three through eight are devoid of the hook slot. And their ventral and dorsal areas are identical.

The third segment is about three-sixteenths of an inch long. It is about a half of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 ½ inches.

The fourth segment is about three-sixteenths of an inch long. It is about a half of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 9/16 inches.

The fifth segment is about three-sixteenths of an inch long. It is about a half of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 9/16 inches.

The sixth segment is about three-sixteenths of an inch long. It is about seven-sixteenths of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 7/16 inches.

Segment number seven is about three-sixteenths of an inch long. It is slightly less than seven-sixteenths of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 5/16 inches.

The eighth segment is three-sixteenths of an inch long. It is three-eighths of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 3/16 inches.

The eighth segment forms the tip of the ExoPod’s posterior. It is somewhat dome-shaped and endowed with a slight indentation. The indentation has a circular shape with a diameter of about three-sixteenths of an inch. It is where Midwest finesse anglers will insert the hook and bait keeper of a mushroom-style jig.

The ExoPod’s head is five-eighths of an inch long, and about a half of an inch wide at its widest spot, which is where two appendages radiate from each side of the head. Its ventral area is convex. Its dorsal possesses a significant concaved area, which is an extension of the hook slot that graces the dorsal areas of the first and second segments of the torso.

In the eyes of Midwest finesse anglers, the two appendages form an abstract image of a beaver’s tail. Other anglers might describe them as being abstract images of a crayfish’s two chelipeds or claws. These appendages are flat and thin. At their widest spot, they are 1 1/4 inches wide, and the center of each appendage is less than one-sixteenth of an inch thick. The outside edge of each appendage possesses the distance of two inches, and the inside edge of each appendage is 1¼ inches long. The first inch of the outside edges of each appendage has the thickness of one-sixteenth of an inch. The last inch of the outside edges of each appendage is adorned with a flange or ridge, and the height of the flange or ridge is about a quarter of an inch at its highest spot with a thickness of about an eighth of an inch. The inside edge of each appendage is 1 ¼ inches long, and it has a thickness of about one-sixteenth of an inch.

Except for the hook slot and an abstract symbol that is daintily embossed on the dorsal area of segments number four and five, the entire epidermis of the head and torso is smooth.

It is available in the following hues: Alabama Craw, Black Blue Flake, Candy Grass, Green Pumpkin, Junebug, Okeechibee Craw, Watermelon Red, and White Silver Flake.

It is infused with a scent that is called BioScent.

A package of seven costs $4.99.

In the vernacular of the angling world, the ExoPod is a creature-style bait. To the delight of Midwest finesse anglers, who relish simplicity in all aspects of fishing, it is a simple creature that is devoid of the many accoutrements that embellish most creature-style baits.

It was not designed for Midwest finesse applications, but when it is affixed to a small mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook, it will fill a void in their repertoire that has plagued them for about a decade.

As we have noted countless times, Midwest finesse anglers are inveterate customizers of soft-plastic baits, and it is likely that some of them will shorten the ExoPod a tad by amputating segments number six, seven, and eight, which will make it 2 ¾ inches long.

Endnotes

1. Here is a link to BioSpawn’s website: https://biospawn.com/products/biospawn-exopod-3-5.
2. Here are the links to Midwest Finesse gear guides about four of BioSpawn’s soft-plastic finesse bait: https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/biospawn-s-325inch-exoswim/372269; https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/biospawn-lure-companys-exostick/329692; https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/biospawn-4-inch-plasmatail/359795; https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/biospawns-exoswim/357382.
3. When Midwest finesse anglers affix the ExPod to a mushroom-style jig, they will present it to their largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass quarries by employing all six of the standard Midwest finesse retrieves. Here is a link to a Midwest Finesse column that explains how to employ those retrieves: https://www.in-fisherman.com/listing/learn-midwest-finesse/83225. 

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