Z-Man Curly TailZ

The Curly TailZ do well with their small, wriggly tail that’s readily activated by the slightest tidal flow or rod/ reel movement! These lures often prove deadly when dragged or deployed around small baitfish activity - anything from whitebait and anchovies through to sprats and pilchards. Also a favourite for anglers fishing around the mussel farms...

Size and Qty: 4", 5 per pack 

Colours: Electric Chicken, Shiner, New Penny, Bleeding Banana, Coconut Ice, Bruised Banana, Atomic Sunrise, Glow, Pink Glow, Mood Ring (StreakZ), Nuked Chicken (StreakZ), Motor Oil (StreakZ)

Associated products: Secret Sauce and OA Lightbulb Jig heads.

On-the-water tips:

Rigging: Ensure your Z-Man is correctly rigged on the lead-head. After initially inserting the hook and exiting the belly slit, the lure should then be pulled up against the jig-head and the hook rotated 180 degrees to exit the soft-bait’s ‘back’. The Z-Man should sit nice and straight on the hook; a ‘banana’ shape makes the lure spiral unattractively. 

Technique: Z-Mans can be cast and retrieved or dragged along behind the drifting boat. Contrary to popular belief, they can be cast around while anchored up or from the shore, too. It usually pays to use the lightest possible leadhead weight that will reach the seafloor. This sees the descending lure hanging in the bite zone for longer and able to be retrieved more slowly and erratically without continually dropping into the weeds or reef and snagging.  Success often depends on your ability to identify the casting angles that allow your lightly-weighted lure to get down to the bottom and then be jiggled back with some tension retained throughout. This enables you to be alerted to bites, as the line will jiggle, suddenly slacken, or zip away. Provided the rod is kept lowered and pointing along the line during the descent and after each jiggle on the retrieve, a simple handle wind in response to these ‘line bites’ is enough to tighten nicely to the biting fish or encourage it to bite again. In both instances the rod tip gets pulled downwards by the biting fish, signalling it’s time for you to lift the rod firmly and set the hook. Z-Mans are more effective when Secret Sauce is regularly added: their attractive flavours encourage fish to bite hard and hang onto the imitation for longer, so anglers are more likely to hook up.