“Even after fishing this amazing bait material for over a decade, we’re still exploring its outer limits and discovering new ways to rig and fish it,” suggests renowned tournament angler, David Walker, among the first to experiment with the new generation of super plastics. Legendary angler and bait designer Drew Reese, who fished the very first Bassmaster Classic, describes it this way: “ElaZtech baits exhibit the underwater angle all lure companies have been trying to achieve since the early 1900s: to…
Read MoreSet aside the snark and the time wasters posing as social media pundits and you’re left with actual people—real-world folks driven by positivity, possibility and edifying ideas. Anglers, perhaps more than most, prefer to cheer their friends’ accomplishments and pass along cool new ways to simply have fun and catch more fish. Right from project launch, this same optimistic outlook spurred the development of the GOAT ToadZ, a radical new ElaZtech® surface bait built via fan interaction, ideation and plenty of…
Read MoreTodd Spangler’s morning started off with one big bite—and a tidal wave of high-fives. Approximately 8am on Wednesday, February 9, Spangler hooked a new North Carolina state record spotted seatrout—the biggest of the species landed on hook and line in 61 years. A few hours after officially weighing the monster inshore specimen, Spangler and his friend Josh Hamby returned to the water for a few more casts. A phosphate miner and veteran inshore saltwater angler from Merritt, North Carolina, Spangler…
Read MoreSixteen months ago, Z-Man hatched an interactive, fan-fueled bass bait project. Perhaps for the first time in lure-making history, we gave anglers the chance to offer ideas and inspiration and help design a new ElaZtech® bait from inception to completion. Via a behind-the-scenes YouTube series, social media posts and fan interaction, Z-Man invited you into the circle of trust. We took an idea from concept and raw sketches to prototype and ultimately, a fully realized surface-kicking amphibian. Fan commentary, interaction…
Read MoreBehind the scenes, even before anglers tasted success with the ChatterBait JackHammer™ and its now-legendary bass vibes, the Z-Man architects were already on the water and at the whiteboard, conceiving the next phase of the bladed bass jig. On the magnum end of the Hex-blade spectrum, Z-Man pro Bryan Thrift constructed the rod-pulsing Big Blade™ ChatterBait. Meanwhile, operating on the subtle side of the ChatterBlade® continuum, Z-Man champion Luke Clausen hummed a different bass-attracting tune— a little ditty dedicated to small-fry forage,…
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