When the fishing in an area is good really good, the creative get inventing. The excellent crappie fishing in the region with its star performer, Truman Lake, inspired fisherman Bailey Jelinek to create a “better way” to catch his favorite fish.
Creativity led him to develop the Crappie Bomb, an innovative lure that does a better job of catching crappie. While anything from a minnow on a hook to a plain leadhead jig will catch crappies, the Crappie Bomb does it a little better, and if sales are any indication, it’s a favorite with local fishermen.
The Crappie Bomb is a jigging spoon, but unlike the usual run of such lures, it has a high-quality reflective finish—12 of them at present count. It is made only in quarter-ounce sizes. What is different from most jigging spoons is that it is rigged with a single, long-shank Aberdeen-style hook. And it’s the hook that gives the lure its biggest advantage.
As a rule, jigging spoons are rigged with a treble hook. However, when fished around brush, trees or downed wood, a three-pronged hook will end up snagged in wood frequently. And too often that leads to breaking off the jigging spoon.
The single-hook Crappie Bomb obviously has two fewer points the snag. But the design of the spoon, its weight and the gape of the hook make it possible to shake the lure free.
There is a short video on the Jelifish website (www.jelifishusa.com) that demonstrates the shaking technique. “The key thing is to get right over the snagged lure,” said Brad Jelinek, Bailey’s brother, “and then give it some slack and shake it.”
And if that doesn’t work, a direct pull can straighten the hook, which can be re-shaped with a pair of needle-nose pliers.
For fishermen, the quality of the lure and the way it fishes is enough, but the Jelifish story is much more than a better angling mousetrap.
Bailey Jelinek is the inventor and founder of the company, but it’s his brother, Brad, and his mother, Jennifer Snyder, who are running the company now.
Bailey was killed in a crash caused by a driver in the wrong lane on March 14, 2021.
After the accident, the two decided to continue the company in Bailey’s memory but also because the products were selling well. “We even had an order for 40,000 Crappie Bombs just before the accident,” Jennifer said.
“We are getting orders and signing up new stores. In fact, we recently added a store in McCordsville, Indiana, the first in that state. We have 20 stores in Missouri and some in Illinois, Texas and Arkansas.”
She also added that they are getting orders from their website from New York and California.
Clinton’s Everharts Outdoor Store and Warsaw’s Cody’s Bait and Tackle both stock the Jelifish products. “We sell a lot of the Crappie Bombs,” said Cody Vanattan. “They are really popular.”
Currently, two finishes are out of stock on the Jelifish website, due to shipping delays and other Covid-related situations. The company imports the packaged Crappie Bombs, and normally the time from order placement to receiving the products is four-to-six weeks.
However, the clothing and hat line are locally produced, so shipping isn’t an issue. The Minnow Man bait bucket and holder also are available on the website.
As for the company name, “It started when the kids were little,” Jennifer Snyder said. “They would go visit their dad, and it helped me get through the day thinking of them, and I just started calling them ‘my Jelifish’. It seemed natural that Bailey would name the company that.”
Both Brad Jelinek and Jennifer Snyder are the only employees, blending their other jobs with company responsibilities. Snyder is a real estate agent based in Lee’s Summit, and Jelinek is a fishing guide and professional bass fisherman based in Warsaw. “Brad is going to run the company,” his mother said, “and I’ll handle the marketing and social media side of things.”
The result is that the company has office addresses in both Lee’s Summit and Warsaw.
As for the future of the company, the plans are to add more finishes of the Crappie Bomb in the near term and look at the future product offerings that Bailey had considered.
