Zman Bait Company Review - I am pretty impressed with these baits!
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
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Zman Bait Company Review - I am pretty impressed with these baits!
In this video I decide to take a closer look at Zman Baits and specifically Z-Man ElaZtech soft plastic baits. I have been using the Ned Rig and using the TRD for years now but it wasn't until recently that I started looking deeper into all of the different products that they have to offer. I bought a few bags of each and did some testing in the tank and I am extremely impressed with the action and how these baits perform underwater. They also have a few drop shot baits that are on the market and I am really excited to start using them and trying them out both for Largemouth this spring as well as those big offshore smallmouth bass this summer.
What really caught my attention when it comes to Zman's Soft Plastics is the fact that they are extremely durable and float. All the baits float and so it gives a real unique look to the bait and allows you to experiment with different presentations.
I also talk a bit about the Zman Chatterbaits specifically the Jack Hammer and a few of their other style of hard baits like some of the jigs that they also make.
I would encourage anyone who likes to experiment with new baits to give them a try this year and let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Travis Manson's Guided Bass Fishing Trips
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Who is SmallmouthCrush?
Travis Manson was born and raised where the giant Smallmouth Bass of the north live...WISCONSIN. He started fishing from the bank at a young age and spent most of his childhood with a rod in his hand. Travis is primarily a self-taught angler that is always learning and experiencing this amazing sport of fishing. He started out fishing for walleyes and fishing in local walleye tournaments, but then in his mid 20's, he caught the BASS BUG and has been hooked every since. He competed at the highest level in bass fishing on the Bassmaster Elite Series for a number of years. He is a fishing guide offering trips on the Chesapeake Bay for largemouth bass(year round), guided trips for smallmouth back in Wisconsin (during select times) and trophy smallmouth bass guided trips in Upstate New York (May-November) His CZcams Channel is named after his passion for the smallmouth bass and will be used as a platform for "how-to" videos, on the water instruction, crazy on and off the water topics and vlogs on the day in the life of a fishing addict! Hope you enjoy! - Jak na to + styl
Hey Guys what is your favorite ZMAN bait? Let me know below!
SmallmouthCrush turbo craw and fatty Z!!! Killer for smallmouth on mushroom head and neko rig for fatty z
FattyZ for shakey heads, WormZ and LeechZ for drop shot, ZinkerZ cut in half for Ned Rigging, Turbo CrawZ for Neko rigging.
I love the new trd hogz. They are a great change from the standard trds and caught all of my fish on my last outing.
I'm from East Coast South Africa and mainly fish saltwater. I would say my favorite ZMAN lure would have to be the Minnowz in different colors especially Pearl, Space Guppy and Green Lantern...
Ned rigs and turbo craws
first day I ever fished with the TRD was prefishing a lake. Spawn/prespawn. I caught over 40 fish all 2-5lbs and a bonus 29" walleye. I never fish a tournament without a PB&J TRD rigged up anymore. Awesome finesse baits. The CrawZ is great also. Love your videos!!
Great video Travis great baits. Did the same thing you did ,put them in a plastic box what a mess
I love the TRD!!! I picked up the razor shadz and big trd. Plan to get some drop shot and paddle tails. Just running into storage problems as I mainly bank fish and I take alot of gear with me.
I have used the 4" minnow at Darwin on barramundi, rock cod and tuna. The guides use the minnow a lot at Darwin - favourite colour is white.
My favorite Z-Man bait is the Z Man Mag Swimz 8" for sure.
Z-Man produces some of my favorite products. They seem to put a lot of attention to detail in everything they produce. I live in CNY so I fish Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca River and the St Law regularly and use the TRD, chatterbait and use the finesse ShadZ for drop shot a lot. The new cross eyed jig is also a favorite of mine! Love that jig!! Great video as always! Looking forward to the next one!!!
Great I am glad you liked it! That cross eye jig looks good!
The new Z-Man TRD HogZ has been incredible for me this year.
Excellent video! Huge fan of Zman products.
Hey Travis the Razor Shadz are an awesome trailer for your chatterbaits. I couldn't agree with you more. Their durability even when you are ripping the bait through heavy grass is awesome. I use your lighter trick when inserting the Neko weight into a TRD as well. See you at the next CCBM Open on August 10th
Finesse TRD for me ! awesome video bro
Wow brotha awesome video! Thank you for making such a productive video! Looking forward to checking out your vids!
Green pumpkin orange and green pumpkin...killer for me. Wanna say also thank you for ya great flicks...helps out with researching and learning something new!
Thanks for the compliment I appreciate it!
Love your channel Mr Mason! I've been using Z-Man baits for the last 5 years or so up here on Lake Erie. The Smallies love them for sure.
A few tips/tricks I've learned so far...
The TRD or any Z-man bait is awesome straight out of the bag. But it's even better if you fill the kitchen sink full of hot water and let them soak over night. The longer they are in water, the better they get for some reason. So I'll buy 3 bags of each color, soak them over night, and then combine them all into one bag.
While the Z-Man Shroomz heads are nice, you should consider checking out the Gopher Tackle Mushroom Head jigs. They are more rounded and give the TRD or any other lure a bit more of a subtle action that's hard to explain. Instead of the bait just coming to a dead straight up position at rest these heads will let the bait sort of rock and shimmy. I think it helps simulate something dying and making little twitches and jerks as the life is leaving it. It's a bit hard to keep the Z-man baits on these heads because of their keepers, but a tube of Gel Superglue works wonders. And they are worth the little extra effort due to the fact that Gopher Tackle offers these jigs in many different weights, and hook combinations.
Last thing I like to do is take some of my go to Z-Man baits, pre-rig them on the jig heads or hooks I use with them, and put them in one of the bags the lures come in that I have left over, and add 10 drops of Pro Cure Super Gel. I've tried adding the Super Gel to loose lure and it ended up being extremely hard to try getting them on jigs because they are so slippery and the elaztech is a chore to work on in the first place.
I like running the trd on a Mustad 1/0 classic live bait hook. They have just enough weight to let them fall slow. Then I pop it a couple times and let it fall. If you put a worm rattle in the tail it works great too. Also if you put the hook into the tip of zman baits and take it out it gives you a nice starter hole for rattles nail weights and the screw on bait savers.
bout time T, they make awesome plastics, ,great action and super durable
Looking forward to testing them out this year!
I like the trd also but try the 3'' swimmerz in the deal or bad shad coloers. I rig it on a open 1/16 or 1/8 oz. ballhead jig. It will caught bass. Just done a video for my channel on this bait and caught over 15 bass on the same bait,. FLC Dennis.
Being the dropshot fool that I am, I can't wait to use these next year.
Good video Travis.
I would recommend the Zman Hula StickZ for any Shaky Head applications. That little tail on it works great for shaking. I've also had success with the Shroomz Micro Finesse Jig. I like to add a tiny 2-inch NetBait Paca Chunk to it. It's great on days that you need a Finesse craw application or in cold water situations
Yeah I have used hat hula stickz in the past. I didn't get any in this order and probably should have went through those but those baits are nice!
You make me wanna go shopping lol, I only have pb an j caught a little bass on one tho, little hyped but still new to it
I actually bought the twilight color in December it does look great. I like using the TRD in 20 to 40 feet.
I cant wait to try them out!
Great bait and yes, very durable for sure. Been using them for awhile. Good advice regarding keeping them in their packaging and those bait storage sleeves are a no brainer. Excellent system. In addition to what you already eluded to...dont mix them with any other soft plastics. They do not like to co mingle with other plastics. Also...keep them out of the sun! They melt like an ice cube. Ive had a few packs turn into the blob while leaving them on the boat deck.
Yeah they are some finicky plastic baits you have to be careful with them!
I Like The Trick Shotz in Whight and Green PK ,Twilight ,for my drop shots .
Yeah that twilight color gets me excited for sure
Finesse shadz and trick shotz are my fav ds baits. Ive used the finesse shadz for 20-30 fish... value is unbeatable... also hula stix and trd on a shroom head are great... bit of superglue and you can use a bait for multiple trips and multiple fish... as they get more beat up the action just gets better
Good points!
Great show. Since this was a March 2018 video, you may have missed the boat for a while but should be enjoying the cruise ship now. The R&D folks at Z-Man are amazing and I'm sure you will follow the release of all their new products at ICAST each year. Welcome aboard and best wishes, Don
Thanks Don
The Jackhammer Chatterbait was a gamechanger for me last year. Definitely outfished the regular chatterbait.......Can't go wrong with the finesse TRD and TRD Craws either though.
The floatation characteristics change after you stretch them. Shhhhh it's a secret.
Great video, Zman makes some awesome stuff!
Thanks!
TRD Texas riged .. hands down!!!! The toughest soft plastic ever!!! Caught 5 lg mouth bass in 45min. In a very tough over fished pond. Over 25lb. Total
Love all their products, but use the Ned & the Crawz more than the others. Great product!
My buddy Kevin went over board on getting zman😂 but hey I don't blame him. Great stuff
I like the red and chatter bait haven't seen the jig with skirt yet
I’ve Been fishing with these baits for over a decade now & it’s just about what I use every time I go fishing they,ll come through in a clutch everytime .
Glad you made the comment on why they mold together. I did the same thing and thought maybe it was from the other soft plastics in the box. Awesome videos man! Always look forward to them. Most in depth videos out there! Keep up the excellent work!
Thanks Anthony!
The only boxes that work are the Flambeau K-Series. They are made of from a different type of plastic that doesn't react with Elaztech. They aren't the most ideal tackle boxes, but Z-Man pro approved and a few of the models have perfect slot sizes for TRDs and Big TRDs. Ive stored mine for 2+ years now with no problem.
thanks good to know!
Bought a good amount of these baits after discovering how amazing the Ned rig is. I now have the double binder full and more I'm just waiting for the weather to get better in Utah to utilize them. I need this snow GONE!
Where were you fishing when you found out it was good
Yeet yeet
Hello! I see this video was made in Mar 2018. How did the baits work for you over the year? Would you now add it to your favorite drop shot lures in your video you made in April 2018? I really am curious. I have used the zman TRD ned with great success but have never fished drop shot. I want to add drop shot to my arsenal but not sure what plastics to stock up on.
Are you sure the heat/temp, changes deformed them or did you have other soft baits in there made out of Plastisol mixed together? Because that is sure to deform the ElaZtech as the two different plastics result in a chemical reaction that basically melts the ElaZtech plastic. I made that mistake the first batch of Z-Man products I purchased.
The ZMan TicklerZ is a great bait combo of a stick bait & hula grub. 2 1/2” Can only get them at Dicks sporting goods as of now...
Try their green pumpkin copper or orange color very productive color...
Great video! I started using Z Man products in late 2016. Great for Drop shotting and one style is awesome for wacky rigs. One thing you should mention is they don't take some liquid scents well (JJ's Magic being one) - they melt.
Correct and Dyes like spike it have a hard time sticking to them.
Angler Atlarge pro cure super gel is what's good on them!!
Pro cure super gel in crawfish is dynamite on them!
Quick dip one bait in JJ's (quickly put it in and pull it back out right away), then place it back in the bag with the rest without letting any drip off or shaking any off. As long as you are quick and the part you dipped is thick enough, you won't get any noticeable melting, and sticking it back in the bag right away will also transfer the scent to the others in the bag. I do this with FattyZ's for shakey heads. Holds the scent forever.
Been fishing bass with yum dinger black and small green pumpkin and for almost a year ...lately i use the big trd green pumpkin and so far is the best lure i ever used.
If i dont get any bass on big trd i will not get any fish on anything else.
I will no waste anymore $ on any world champions lure like crankbaits, jerkbaits,spinnerbaits.
I would try other zmain lure but on ned rig only.
Big trd ned rig forever
Zman is a great company! See you on the water this year!
Looking forward to it!
Been killin it on the tiny ned the past few weeks on the river. My only gripe with them is sometimes some of them do not float/be bouyant. half of them will just lay on the bottom. Think i may grab some of those finesse shadz to try on a ned as well. Great video as always!
Stretch them out several times before you rig em and every one will float
Thanks! Will deff try that out. ive read a few reviews from others having the same issue with no floating but never saw this as a option to kind of activate it.
crawlin2vgt they get more buoyant as you use them. I've even soaked them in water overnight before I rig them. It takes some of the salt out. I've caught as many as 20 bass on 1 fatty z. Seems not to matter if they get crinkled, it's the action that get em!
Can we mix 2 type of zman products Same colour (pearl) in one zman packet??
My gym shorts have the same "technology" in the waste band. I actually do like zman just wish not all their baits floated or relied on salt to sink as it tends to dissolve in about 5 mins. Not a problem for most I guess but us weightless fishermen have been forgotten by zman.
I like their craw style baits with the fat claws (not the swimming type) I feel those look more natural on a weight so I'm fine with that one being weighted.
You make me purchase a lot of stuff. Still have Mohawk River guide money tho. 😂
Sorry! It an addiction I know! Definitely need to get out with Will on the St Lawrence!
Great video buddy! What are your favorite Zman trd worm colors for the ned rig?
Green Pumkin is the one I use the most...also black and blue I try to keep them all standard colors
To touch on something you said.... I have caught over 10 different fish one just 1 ZMAN Space Guppy!!!! I'm talking about Cutlass fish, Blue fish and bartailed flathead with barely a scratch!!!
They sure do last a long time!
Zman Minnowz and Slim Swimz are my favorite bcoz I fish predominantly saltwater
zman is a very good product but the ELAZTECH technology is the key. I used the strike king 7 inch green pumpkin super finesse worm made from elaztech last summer and had my single best day ever catching 21 smallmouth in one day on the same worm. The largest was 4lbs, the smallest was a 14 inch , 1 lber
I finally lost that worm the next day on my 1st smallie. In hindsight I now wish I had kept that worm I should have had it mounted. lol!
Nice Z-man infomercial.
Awesome video
That jig and Ned rig looked great. Are the skirts on their jigs Elaztech also so they float
Would love to see that finesse worm in twilight color
I am not sure of the material but the do tend to spread out and float out. I think it is going to be a very effective bait for me!
I agree!
I use one TRD and it lasts 2 or 3 days of solid fish catching.
The good thing with the zman baits is that they don't tear or wear out very easily so you don't need to carry a whole lot of them with you on the boat, unless you break them off.
Very good point
Love it
Where in Upstate do u fish? I live/fish upstate
Almost have my fish caught last year we’re on zman baits
zwinns half*
Yabudy 👊😎
Just as a heads up they melt before a normal soft plastic will.
Ah you addressed that
I just bought the crawz
They will certainly work!
I caught my pb on the ned rig
Awesome! How big?
SmallmouthCrush 6.11 up here in Massachusetts it's a good one and it was off a bed in the pond I caught my first bass a few years ago and since then I've been hooked
I use gel super glue that works absolutely amazing gel tho that way don’t run and stuff
I thought super glue burns zman plastics
💯💪👊LET'S GO!!!
Always!
FattyZ!! most vestal bait on the market. drag it, shake it, float it, swim it! Does it all!!
pros.. good action, excellent durability, good bait variety.. cons.. their baits melt together over time. they say they don't.. but they do. I've seen many many packages go completely to waste. expect to replace the baits far more often than standard baits... and they are VERY difficult to rig depending on what hook setup you are using. rigging a zman swimbait on a jighead that has a standard keeper or a wire keeper ? It gets very frustrating. getting a bait to situate properly on the rig shouldn't take more than 5 seconds. depending on the setup, it can take forever. once zman figures out issues like these, they will skyrocket.
This whole comment is simply not true... what competing company are you sponsored by?😂😂 I've got bags of TRDs that have been in my bag a few years and still just fine, and that bad has been everywhere from frozen to left in my car on a hot summer day. They will melt for all the well known reasons that they admit but they NEVER melt in the packs in my experiance with lots of packs over the last few years. They also arent hard to rig at all, might take a couple tries to get it perfect but that can happen with any plastic, if your spending long enough that it's a problem I'd say its gotta be operator error.
Well in fairness, to make the comment "this whole comment is simply not true" based on your own experiences, isn't necessarily fair. Strangely, people do exist in some places of the internet, that do try to make accurate statements (crazy I know). I'm not new to fishing, nor do I work for a competing company. But I do spend almost all of my free time on the water. What I have experienced, is that the elaztech line of baits has a few drawbacks. Fair statement. I didnt say it was a piece of junk, nor did I make a blanket statement swearing it off all together. But in contrast to your comment, in my geographical location, with the baits I've used from zman, I have seen both melting inside the package and baits that are difficult to rig without modification. Zman has claimed before that their baits dont melt. Whether this is from heat, humidity, packaging chemistry, or the bait plastic compound being out whack, I dont know. But when you spend the money on them, and within the first season you have roughly half of your baits deforming to the point they are unable to be used, there is room for discussion. Don't believe me? I never said you had to. I'm simply providing feedback that others may have experience as well. Other area for discussion for example, I pour and paint all of my own jig heads (lending to credibility here I hope). I use a standard wire keeper on some of my eyeball jigs. The zman swimbaits will sometimes go on, but the compound is so elastic, at times it wont be able to pierce and hold the bait inside (as we see with how they DO NOT take damage from pike teeth for example). So a wire keeper? often wont work until I clip it razor sharp with a pair or pliers. Let's put into perspective that we're just discussing a bait. Do I hate these baits? No, I like them actually. They have great colour varieties, and unlike most other baits at twice the price point, they dont get destroyed after one or two fish. You appreciate a bait like this when you fish around pike. I can fish a single elaztech swimbait for pike all day with no real damage to the bait. That's incredible. Can they be a pain to rig on? yes. Are they a good bait ? yes.
Operator error on my part? Well I multispecies fish 12 months of the year, in Southern Ontario, northern Ontario, and into the Canadian sub arctic every year for trophy pike and walleye. I fish for everything that swims in freshwater, in every season. I would hope I've mastered threading a bait onto a jig head by now.
@@afriesen6 touché haha you make some good points, I dont really use any of their pike size swimbaits so they may be a bit more difficult to get rigged, I admit they're baits can be more difficult than plasticol to get situated, especially on a screw lock, but it's just never taken me more than a couple minutes at most, but like I said were probably useing different size/style of baits. Were actually pretty similar in that I dont have any company affiliations whatsoever (though there are a few i choose to promote because i think they're great companies) I target multiple species throughout the year, and I spend ALL of my spare time fishing, and being single and climbing trees for a liveing I have alot of spare time. I honestly fish pretty much daily even if somedays it's only an hour or 2. Were also somewhat close, it sounds like your in Ontario, I'm in NY about a mile from the southern shore of lake Ontario. I do believe you've had them melt in their packs now, I dont think anyone would write a story like that if it wasnt true, but it honestly blows my mind. Like I said I've had all types of elaztech baits in their packs from frozen to probably 100+ in a car in the sun and I've only had them melt when they were a few together just thrown in my backpack or once in a box and they got real hot, but I'll also throw one in a box by itself all the time when being lazy and it's always fine for a day or two until I take it back out. Maybe older ones in older packs or something, Idk, just seems odd. But you're right, it wasnt fair to say it simply wasnt true, I was wrong... and i dont admit that often haha either way even if a few do melt its worth it just because of the amount of fish that can be caught on one bait, I usually get 1-3 fish out of a regular plastic, elaztech baits almost always last until I snag and break them off.
Defnately the hula stick,trd and trd hogz
I like those suggestions!
Dicks sporting goods is having a sale on all Zman's products until June 2nd ..A NedRigPalooza..Buy 1 get 1 50% off! Hooks, Worms, Chatter Baits etc!!! Run!!! Run for your very own lives to Dicks! Save yourselves!! Run now~!!!!
One other thing I found, do not mix Z-man plastics with regular plastics.Lets say I found out the hard way
True!
I'm sure you have already learned but do not try to store them with regular plastics. it will ruin both the ZMAN and the regular. Even if it just on your deck in the storage bin
OH YES!
Want to see some plastics that REALLY make a difference to the fish? Power Team lures! Keep the z-man plastics separate from all other plastics or youll be sorry!
New sponsor, huh?
Nope I had to buy all those baits full price! :)
Don't let it touch any other soft plastic...
Found that out the hard way as well!
I like the brand but in all honesty it's a really love hate relationship. I love how long they last and I feel they have good action. What I hate is how they float this can be good or bad depending on the application like a TRD, or a crawfish style bait. They work well here and floating is a added benefit but besides these two applications I'm strictly a weightless fishermen, I know I'm part of the minority but I honestly feel in most applications a slow sinking bait can be ideal.
You really can't have weights on a line and expect slow sinking however, they do have salt witch is nice but it dissolves far to fast for my liking. Even with a brand new pack they start to float after 5ish mins which is disappointing I honestly get irritated when I throw one of their baits out just for it to float on top of the water. Wish they used other ingredients to help them sink (for certain baits) like sand. I know this is a relatively me only type of problem but I do like their baits just hate after using one for 5 mins it's virtually useless defeats the purpose of them lasting forever if can't catch a fish on them.
I also know floating is a side effect of the material they make the baits from it really annoys me when I hear them advertising they float as a benefit when to me that's their primary drawback...
So have you now bought 1000 packets? 😝
I am loaded up pretty good now!
@@SmallmouthCrush Ha! Good for you chap! 😊
@@SmallmouthCrush And subbed!
Dropping you a sub all the way from Kentucky man! When you get the chance hit me back when you get the chance! #tightlinesandkeepfishing🎣
Just don't dip them in spikeit
They smashed because they can't touch any other plastics even sometimes plastic boxes as well
Dont leave it in ya car, mine melted. Dont believe me leave it in the with this 90 weather, silly on me , never again will I leave my gear in my (black) car lol
I've left mine in my car when it was 100° out and it was just fine. Granted it helped that it was in my tackle bag, and my tackle bag was in my trunk. But still, I was surprised nothing melted despite my car being out in the sun all day.
I have never been to a store where they had every single Z-man bait on display, let alone all of them in stock on no particular day. How much did all of that set you back? Nice of them to send you a $75 binder for them too. They don't stock those in any store I have shopped at. This video reeks of sponsorship and bullshittery.
well thanks for the taking the time out of your day to comment...make it a great bud
@@SmallmouthCrush You're welcome. ✌🏻