Aquatic sowbugs are prolific in many streams and lakes where they are overlooked by fishermen, but never by the fish. This thought fueled my desire to design the perfect aquatic sowbug pattern. It became a years-long family project. My two boys, 5 and 7, became junior sowbug experts. Armed with nets, they found them virtually everywhere they looked. We studied them together and made many observations.

Aquatic sowbugs are not good swimmers. They do not have a tail to flip like a scud, but have a flat body with long legs made for clinging. When caught up in the current, an aquatic sowbug does not roll up in a ball like a roly-poly, but arches its back, positions itself straight up and down, and flails its long legs about wildly in an attempt to grab onto something. This is the posture Sow Chow imitates.

Aquatic Sowbugs have a semi-translucent and segmented exoskeleton with a dark intestinal tract. Fish will come out of their feeding lanes to eat a Sow Chow, which has the same underwater glow and gleaming dark contrasting line as the naturals. The Sow Chow sinks fast and the rubber legs provide the perfect movement.

– Signature Tyer Kevan Lee Davidson