Z-Man Texas Eye TeXL Jighead Review (Best Applications & More)
- By: Justin Ritchey
- on
Have you checked out the new Z-Man Texas Eye TeXL Jighead yet?
It looks a lot like the original Z-Man Texas Eye jighead but, it is bigger!
These jigheads are versatile and a must-add to your tackle bag if you use different sizes of soft plastic lures.
Check out the review below!!
Z-Man Texas Eye TeXL Jighead Review [VIDEO]
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Featured Equipment:
- Z-Man Texas Eye TeXL Jighead
- Z-Man Texas Eye Jighead (Original)
- Slam Shady 2.0
- Z-Man Texas Eye Finesse Jighead
- Gold Digger Paddletail
- F.R.E.D. Paddletail
- Power Prawn
- Z-Man Slam Shady PaddlerZ (4” and 5” Models)
- Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ 4” Slam Shady
- Alabama Leprechaun
- Slam Shady Bomber
The Z-Man Texas Eye TeXL Jighead is an extra-large version of the Z-Man Texas Eye Jighead.
As an inshore angler, it is more important to have a wide variety of different sized and weighted jigheads or hooks than it is to have various soft plastic lures.
A few different style lures will cover every situation you are in.
Examples are a paddletail, jerkbait, shrimp imitations, among others.
It is more important to have different weight sizes as well as assorted hook length sizes for your jigheads and hooks.
The other types of Z-Man Texas Eye Jigheads are the Finesse jighead and the original Texas Eye jighead.
Z-Man Finesse Jigheads are thinner wire 1/0 hooks that come in a 1/10 oz. weight.
This jighead is much better utilized in shallow water scenarios with shorter soft plastic lures.
The regular Texas Eye jighead is a 3/0 hook in various sizes from 1/8 oz. to 1/4 oz.
All of the Z-Man jigheads come in different eye colors which identifies the weight of the jighead to ensure you are selecting the right one you want to fish with.
Fish will not necessarily be disinterested by the color of the jighead eye.
With regards to the original Texas Eye jighead, most soft plastic lures will pair nicely with this hook style and length.
Texas Eye TeXL Jighead Specifics
In contrast to the first two hook styles, the Texas Eye TeXL jighead is a 5/0 that works specifically well with larger soft plastic lures.
The 3/8 oz. of this jighead comes in a gold eye and the 1/2 oz. jighead is 1/8 oz.
Any soft plastic of 5-inches or more will pair very well with the TeXL jighead.
If you are fishing in deeper water with a sweeping current, the TeXL jighead has the qualities to perform in this scenario.
Moreover, the TeXL jighead allows you to fish larger soft plastics around structure in deep water of 10 feet or more.
The TeXL is not specifically designed for shallow water scenarios, however, it is not impossible.
You will not fish effectively in shallow water with this size jighead.
Consider using the TeXL in deeper water of 5-feet or more with current.
Furthermore, the chin keeper on the TeXL is the biggest of all the Texas Eye jigheads.
The larger chin weight will tear into soft plastic lures and take bigger chunks off your lures.
You will burn through more soft plastics as a result of the larger chin keeper.
Conclusion
The Z-Man Texas Eye TeXL Jighead is an excellent choice for working deeper water around passes, inlets, piers and around structure for redfish and snook.
It provides a match to larger 5-inch soft plastic lures and adds versatility to your lure by managing deep water and heavy current situations with ease.
Remember that having a wider variety of hooks and jigheads as opposed to soft plastic lures will equip you for any fishing scenario you encounter!
If you have any further terminal tackle questions, please ask me down in the comments!
And if you know someone who wants to check out a review of the Z-Man Texas Eye TeXL Jighead, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Seems like a game changer for jetty fishing. I’ve used the 3/16 oz wade fishing around oyster reefs and have gotten briefly hung up but haven’t lost any terminal gear yet. Usually a couple of pops of the rod and the jig head gets free. I seem to be using these more and more.
For sure, Ray. I think a lot of us are feeling the same way about them. These bigger Texas Eyes should be a great tool through these winter months near deeper structure.
I love these for fishing the Charleston Jetties. They don’t hang up on the rocks as much as jig heads and you can work a Zman 5 inch Jerk shad pattern down deep in the zone.
What’s up Ty!!!! Always happy to see you comment here, Brotha. Yes, these would work really well at the Jetties for sure. Can’t wait to get out there and try them down here near Ft. Pierce soon.
Nice! I find myself fishing a little deeper because I cannot get my boat as shallow as I would like. These will come in handy and have a nice wide gap.
Agreed, Steve!
I agree with you that it should be useful with the power prawn. Not so sure with the softer baits. I will be wanting to try and see.
Agreed, Donald. While these Texas Eyes “Can” work on standard soft plastics, they will definitely tear faster than an Elaztech Material or a TPE Material.
What knot do you tie to that texas eye jighead, loop or fixed?
Great question, John. I prefer a fixed (or snug) knot like the Unit Knot for the Texas Eye hooks. The free-swinging oscillation of the head takes care of the action on the retrieve & fall, so I don’t see any particular added benefit to using a loop knot in this case. But both would work well if straight retrieving a soft plastic.
Thanks for the info Justin!
A question that I’ve always had in my mind is how much abuse can the Texas Eye take before that chain link breaks and what size fish would break it?
Any ideas? Did this happen to anyone before?
Oooo, I like this question, Ahmad. Not sure what the ABS (Absolute Break Strength) is of that connection chain, but for Redfish & Snook up to 35″ they have proven to handle these fish with ease. I haven’t heard of the chain breaking before, but I’m sure there are limitations if you plan on targeting some absolute Monsters like Tarpon & Sharks (which I would not advise with these style of jig heads).
Thanks
My only comment is that it would of been very helpful if you had demonstrated best practices on how to install a tail on that type of hook system. Looks like a great jighead and should give more action to the tail, but I would be afraid of destroying more tails during install then what fish would destroy. (Maybe on some other review you having shown best installment)
Good point, David. Thanks for sharing this with us. If you’d like to learn more on how to rig soft plastics on the Texas Eye, Luke has a great video tutorial on that process here: Texas Eye Jig Head Review (Pros, Cons, & Rigging Tips) (saltstrong.com)
Good info! Thanks Justin!!!
Thanks Michael!
I can’t not comment on this one. These have changed the game for me at inlets for snook fishing. (Knock on wood) I have not lost any tackle since using these and you can tell by looking at the bottom of my jig head that I’m clearly bouncing off the rocks. Perfect for the bomber!
That’s a big ol’ 10-4 there, good buddy! Can’t wait to test these out down in Ft. Pierce in the coming weeks!