If you’re overlooking the iconic Long A in your walleye fishing efforts, you’re making a major mistake, according to walleye expert Ron Boggs.
The fishing tackle industry doesn’t rest on its laurels. Seems like new lures roll out nearly every month. And yes, I’m an early adopter. When Bandit released the Walleye Shad series last year, I was on it. Likewise with the Lindy B-MAX jigs, new colors of YUM FFS Minnows, the BOOYAH Flash Point… I don’t hesitate when I see good new walleye gear.
But what about the old tried-and-true baits: lures you’d find in Dad’s (or Grandpa’s) tackle box? As an old duffer myself, I have to say a sense of nostalgia comes from catching fish on dusty old lures. But one old lure has been haunting me the past few years, the Bomber 15A, also called the Bomber Long A. It’s an old lure with nearly 50 years on tackle store shelves. And it’s still out there, just not at Kmart, like in the old days.
As a trophy walleye hunter, I’ve grown dependent on the 15A as my go-to trophy walleye hardbait. If I told you the trophy tally for the past few years you wouldn’t believe me. So, I’ll just talk about last month.
All the walleye pictures illustrating this blog are of 12-pound-plus lugs caught last month! Massive Rock Dragons! And every one of them hit a Bomber Long A 15A. And the close-up picture of the spikey looking fish with it’s dorsal fin up? Look closely at its cheek. The small wound was from a dangling hook on a 15A when that 12-pounder ate my lure the weekend prior. Top hook in the mouth, middle hook dangling and catching the cheek. Not only did I catch it two weeks in a row, but on the same exact 15A! Apparently, you can’t even train 12-pound trophies off the Bomber Long A.
As an additional bit of braggadocio, in the past six years the Bomber 15A has produced 6 walleyes weighing into the teens for me. For more specifics on these trophy catches see I'm Number 200-Trophy Walleyes Galore!
Ask your eldest walleye-angling family member. They’ll likely confirm the track record of the Bomber Long A series of lures and the 15A in particular. Trophy walleyes smashing 15As isn’t new. But if these stickbaits are so phenomenal, why isn’t everybody fishing them?
4 Reasons the Bomber15A has been Running Under the Radar
1—Bandit Walleye Shallow: It digs hard for a stickbait, and when trolled it hits 10-foot running depth with as little as 75 feet of line out. Bandits, both shallow and deep, have become some of the top selling long-bodied walleye lure series on earth.
2—Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogue: This diverse family of stickbaits offers multiple options for running depths, and sizes as long as 5.5 inches. Seems like there are a million colors, but I might be exaggerating a bit.
3—Cotton Cordell Ripplin’ Red Fin: The Ripplin’ Red Fin has wide side-to-side waggle with LOUD rattles. Heavier suspending model is easy to cast and has deeper-toned thumping rattles.
4—BOOYAH Flash Point: Unique metal blade in the head glints bright flashes to catch attention. The blade also enhances sonar returns with forward facing sonar. Available in 4.5 inches and Jr. model at 4 inches.
As great as these 4 options for stickbaits are, their success at catching walleyes doesn’t deny the strengths of the Bomber 15A.
Things to Like about the Bomber 15A
- Subtle rolling action flashes belly color as a trigger
- Mid-toned rattles loud enough for fish to home-in on without spooking fish three counties away
- Many great color options, including clear sides with internal body prisms and flashy inserts. See Lurenet blog How to Dial in Your Walleye Trolling Lure Selection for a detailed color-choice discussion
- Classic 4.5-inch size and 1/2-ounce weight so the 15A trolls without fouling and casts better than many stickbaits. A few tips can be found in Don’t Overlook Casting Crankbaits for Walleye in the Lurenet blog library
- Recommended by trophy walleyes. When walleyes weighing in the teens bite the 15A consistently, I take notice. Big fish aren’t flukes on this lure but are strikingly common! There is a difference between liking a lure because in theory it will produce trophies vs liking a lure because it has produced numerous trophies!
- Night fishing standout. Simplify the night fishing game with Overlooked Nightfishing Tips, a blog post I did on another channel.
- Not just a night fishing lure. Spring pre and post spawn walleyes jump on the 15A all day long! Summer is 24/7 for the 15A
Bomber 15A Attributes
- Virtually indestructible molded lip
- Three size 4 treble hooks for better hookup ratio and fewer lost fish
- Heavy-duty line tie and hook hangers withstand multiple big walleye fights
Diverse Techniques for Fishing the Bomber 15A
Many stickbaits get pigeonholed into trolling or casting roles. The Bomber 15A excels at both. My very first walleyes on the 15A came decades ago while shore fishing under a Missouri River dam—casting the tailrace. Though nobody calls stickbaits “search” lures, they do work for quickly eliminating stretches of fishless water. Essentially searching by casting.
I would start a couple hundred yards below the dam and work my way up to the dam casting all the way. When the walleyes were concentrated, I could work them with targeted casts. More often I’d just pick up lone “roamers” cruising the tailrace. Once I’d fished one side, I’d hoof it across the dam and repeat a similar process on the opposite shore.
In rivers and tailraces, be sure to use the current to sweep the lure downstream into an arc. The pause while it catches current and changes direction is a key time for hard strikes. Sometimes when the water is at the right level I can wade out a bit and make casts straight downstream while retrieving along a shoreline ledge. Man, ledges are fun!
Of course, trolling is a standard option with stickbaits, and I relish trolling 15As, whether in the dark or during daylight. And I do more contour-trolling than most people. So instead of seeking the usual flats or basins where I can run ‘em behind planer boards or long-lined, I most often use them for contour-trolling steep stretches other trollers hide from.
Where I live, we get to fish two rods in lakes and reservoirs. My hot ticket is to run flatlines at two depths. I like to run my inside rod 75 feet back, which gets me about 5 feet of running depth on 12-pound fluorocarbon line. I run my outside rod 95 feet back, getting me down to 7 feet of running depth. I try to keep the boat on the 7- to 8-foot contour so my inside line is just off bottom at 5ish feet, and my outside rod is cruising above bottom in perhaps 9 feet. In essence I’m Bomber “seining” the 5- to 10-foot depth zone.
With a pair of 7-foot medium power rods in rod holders, coupled with the beam of my boat, I’m covering a 20-foot-wide swath of steep shoreline. You’ve seen the pictures—IT WORKS!
And if you are surprised to hear I troll with “short” 7-foot rods, they are actually similar to the rods I use when sniping with forward facing sonar. I’m better at fighting big fish with a traditional rod like this. There’s nothing worse than fighting a monster with a long “dead” trolling stick. And since I usually fish alone, it’s WAY easier to net fish with the 7-foot rods than with trolling rods that reach beyond my net.
I add tiny palmable line-counter reels: Daiwa Lexa 100 LC Left and Abu Garcia Max Toro DLC Left. Using sensitive rods instead of long trolling rods allows me to feel every wiggle of the lure and every touch of bottom. The small reels work great to cast lures into the trolling set for quicker returns to the water and less tangles with adjacent lines. Fighting tremendous walleyes while palming a casting reel on a sensitive rod is really fun, and my level of control exceeds what I get with the long, soft rods common for open water trolling.
How does all this talk about the 15A impact your fishing, today? For one, hopefully this blog entices you to pull out the dusty Bombers buried in your boat or garage. It’s time to fish those babies! Second, there are a wide variety of “new” colors that were never offered at Kmart. Whether you already own some Long A’s or whether you are new to this stickbait, you should be able to find the right colors for your favorite waters. Third, let the Bomber 15A serve as a representative for all the old-school baits you have gathering dust. Resurrect some of those old baits with your modern fishing knowledge. Before Halloween, you could be tallying hauntingly big bruiser walleyes!
