Corpusfishing.com

Prof. Salt · Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:16 am Post subject: Stretchy Soft Plastics

A couple of months ago Joe at Roy's turned me on to Z-man lures. I had tried them previously with frustrating results (I will explain) and decided that regular plastics were easier. Thank goodness I was redirected, because I can see the light now on how these baits are a great plastic option. The plastic Z-Man uses is called elaztec, and other companies make baits out of a very similar material. They are really soft and stretchy, but incredibly durable and resistant to the normal damage that happens way too often with regular plastics. The plastic is also buoyant and floats without a weight. The difficulty that had initially frustrated me had to do with my frugal nature and trying to save a few bucks on tackle. I got some of these baits and tried running them on my regular jig hooks. The screw-locks wouldn't penetrate the plastic, and every strike pulled them out of place on a worm hook. I quickly went back to "normal" plastics and continued on.

A couple of months ago while visiting at Roy's I was told about how much success a few guys were having with the baits, and when I offered my past problems as reason to pass, they showed me how to solve them. Z-man has created a line of jig hooks that have several styles of retaining devices to keep the plastics from shifting, and they work incredibly well. I have been using the Texas eye jig head, which is a weedless hook with a collar that keeps the bait in place, and the weight is attached in a way that allows it to swivel. The motion it gives the bait needs to be seen to be believed. All paddle tails have that thumping tail when retrieved that gives them a good kind of disturbance in the water. Predatory fish feel the rhythmic thumping and interpret it as a baitfish swimming fast to escape trouble. The Texas eye jig adds a side to side wobble and it allows the fish at a distance to see the flash of the lower side of the bait alternating with the darker upper side. It looks like a strobe light under water, and it works really well to attract the attention of those fish we all target.

The cons:
1. these baits don't stay in place if you use most of the regular jig heads. The jig heads I'm using run a couple of dollars more, but they are very durable and well made. I've had several of the heads last for over a hundred fish before I changed them out. Even then they worked fine, I just got tired of the eyes looking scratched and beat up. I'm sure the hooks eventually lose the impressive sharpness that they had when new too.
2. The plastic compound doesn't get along with "normal" plastic baits. Don't store them together or touching for long periods of time because they'll melt. Even some tackle trays will react with these baits and they'll melt. The answer is easy, just store them in the original packaging. I store my rods with baits on them, and these baits can sit on the rod for months without any problems as long as they aren't touching another soft plastic.

The pros:
1. The baits are very soft and fish seem to hold onto them longer on the strike. This allows me to hesitate and ensure a solid hook set rather than pulling it away from the fish.
2. I kept seeing "10x" on the packaging and wondered if the baits would last anywhere near ten times as long as normal baits. On normal plastics, I usually get 2-3 fish before having to replace the bait. I can confirm that the claim on their packaging is not an exaggeration. I have caught 30 fish on most, and even 80+ on one of the baits. That bait would usually have been changed out, but I wanted to test it and see how long it could perform. It was still catching fish when I changed it out, but it was riding sloppy on the hook and needed to be repositioned every couple of casts.
3. Cost - a pack of these plastics doesn't cost any more than other soft plastics. There aren't as many baits in a package, but if you consider how long they last, the cost is an attractive quality.

This is after 31 fish on the same bait: a few dings but still going strong!

The jig hooks are sharp and even tough flounder mouths are no problem.

BayFly · Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:21 am Post subject:

Thanks for the heads up about the Z-Man plastics. I bought some of their hooks last year, due to the action, but was not aware of the uniqueness of the plastics.

CopanoCruisin · Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 5:57 pm Post subject:

Oh how very interesting of an education on the Z-Man plastics and their terminal tackle. Definetely enough to hook me on trying some. Thanks for sharing the info. .......cC

CopanoCruisin · Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 5:59 pm Post subject:

Oh how very interesting of an education on the Z-Man plastics and their terminal tackle. Definetely enough to hook me on trying some. Thanks for sharing the info. .......cC

TxMav · Finger Mullet Joined: 02 Apr 2014 Posts: 29

Thanks for posting this. I too have been frustrated by the z-man lure. Therefore, they sit unused. I'll definitely try their jig heads because I like the lure, just could not use them.

awesum · Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2022 8:19 am Post subject:

I've been using -man plastics for something like 7-8 years now. Back then you had to order from Z-Man directly. I was turned on to them by Mark Davis on Big Water Adventures. But so far I've only used the big glow tails for Snapper and Ling.

I was asking you about those you are using the other day because I want to buy some for inshore when I order again.

Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 01 May 2008 Posts: 3974

we've been using the Strike King 3X jerk shad for years, with an offset shank ("R-bend") hook and/or jighead....if you use just a hook (Gamakatsu being my favorite) you can rig them weedless, AND they will float high and you can walk the dog with them....

this set up fooled many, many bass over the years as you can walk it right over the top of lily pads, horsefeather, and algae....it was an eye opener many moons ago when I had one tied on from bass fishing, and walked in shamrock and absolutely hammered the reds in knee deep water one day...they love it too...
becky
_________________

ziacatcher · Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2022 1:25 pm Post subject:

Thanks Glen for the info

TexasJim · Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2022 1:54 pm Post subject:

If you watch Capt. CA Richardson's Flats Class, you'll see him using lots of Z-Man plastics and jigs. His shows are very informative. I don't subscribe to his lengthy classes, just watch his 10-15 minute videos and usually learn something. Glenn's reports are usually helpful, too. TexasJim
_________________
TexasJim
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time"

LagunaFisher · Finger Mullet Joined: 19 Nov 2014 Posts: 23

I don't use Zman all the time, but they make some great baits. One of the nicest things about them is that pinfish and perch can't destroy them when fishing the flats. They're very tough. I really like the little NED rigs for flounder and finesse fishing or trying to match small bait. The new NED salty shrimp look pretty good.

Capt. CA richardson on youtube has some good videos on rigging and various zman baits that are helpful. He demonstrates how the elasticity of the baits aids in rigging them and "snapping" them to the jighead. This recent video had some good rigging tips: https://youtu.be/N8iNget-AFI