The Best Way to Rig Z-Man Jerk ShadZ For Trout & Redfish
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
Want to learn the best way to rig Z-Man Jerk ShadZ?
With Z-Man’s ElaZtech material, it can sometimes be difficult to rig these lures because it’s so tough and stretchy.
So in this video, you’ll see how to rig these lures the most effective way when you’re fishing the shallows.
Check it out below!
Best Way to Rig Z-Man Jerk ShadZ [VIDEO]
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The Slam Shady Z-Man Jerk ShadZ are made out of very stretchy ElaZtech material.
This can make it tough to rig on some hooks weedless.
I rig the Slam Shady Z-Man Jerk ShadZ in a lightweight, weedless presentation because I’m typically using these in less than 4 feet of water.
How To Rig Z-Man Jerk ShadZ On Owner Twistlock Hooks
- Create a pilot hole in the nose of the bait with the hook point.
- Take the spring on the hook and go through the pilot hole.
- Push the plastic all of the way onto the spring to the eye of the hook.
- Keeping it pinched at the head, start turning the spring into the lure with the hook.
- Make sure it’s straight so that it’s streamlined in the water.
- Put the hook through the body and out of the back of the lure.
- Bury the tip of the hook back into the bait.
Here are the sizes I typically use for water depths that are 4 feet or less:
- 3/0 Owner Twistlock Hook (1/8, 3/16, or 1/4 is as heavy as you need to go)
How To Rig Z-Man Jerk ShadZ With Mustad Grip Pin Hooks
This is the best hook overall for Z-Man Jerk ShadZ.
The weight is on the belly of the hook and there is a keeper that helps the bait not slide down the hook.
Here’s how to rig it:
- Go through the nose of the bait with the hook and out through the bottom.
- Slide the bait over the weight and onto the keeper.
- Insert the hook into the body of the lure through the slot in the belly and come out of the top of the bait.
- Lay the hook on the back of the bait.
- You can barely skin hook the hook point back into the body to make it super weedless.
Here are the sizes I typically use for water depths that are 4 feet or less:
- 3/0 Mustad Grip Pin Hook (1/8 oz)
Pro Tip: The 4″ Slam Shady Z-Man Jerk ShadZ is a great year-round sized lure but late summer into fall when the fish are dialed in on larger baits, try switching to a 5″ size!
Conclusion
These Z-Man Jerk ShadZ are very productive lures year-round.
And when you rig them weedless on weighted hooks, the fish crush them in shallow water.
Have you tried these baits yet?
Let me know what you think about them in the comments below!
And if you want to grab a pack of our Slam Shady Jerk Shadz from our shop, click the link below:
Get the Slam Shady Z-Man Jerk ShadZ from our shop here
If you know someone who has had trouble rigging these Z-Man Jerk ShadZ, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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I use the Zman finesse frog and the larger hardleg frog. Both are awesome. Like the larger one a little more now. Started using the razor shadz as a change up. Deadly…
Do you stop using jerk baits in low light conditions such as dusk?
They can work as well in low light conditions, but I prefer cleaner water if doing so.
When would you use this over the Alabama Leprechaun? Or are they fairly interchangeable, where you would use one you could use the other?
Hey Clint!
They are pretty interchangeable. Due to the color, the Alabama leprechaun would excel better in clear water with a lot of grass, and the slam shady jerk shadz could do well in both clean and dirty water, ideally around muddy and/or sandy bottom if I had to narrow it down. But at the end of the day, the Zman material will hold up much longer. So if I find myself going through too many of the leprechaun jerk shads I may switch over to a Zman.
Great description on the spring lock. I mostly use the chinlockz for colder and slower presentations, and Bulletz for forward sinking. Work great.
Good stuff Casey! I used the chinlockz for a bit but really couldnt find them anywhere for a while. The grip pins were more readily available so Ive been sticking with those or just twistlock hooks.
Thanks Tony! When finished fishing, can you leave the ZMan lure on the hook until the next outing, or do you have to remove it and put back into the lure packet? Thanks.
My pleasure Glenn!
I remove all soft plastics at the end of the trip to help save the life of my hook. When you leave a soft plastic on, salt and moisture can get trapped where the hook is in the lure and cause the hook to rust. The nice thing about Zman is that they don’t tear, so taking them off and storing them after a trip to re-use them later works way better than with a traditional soft plastic.
I like the grip pin hook the best but you can really only use it on Zman. Another option that works for tarpon is to nose hook with a bait hook or octopus style or circle hook. I actually just bought some of these to try them for tarpon.
I agree with ya there. I personally prefer to use a twist lock since they are more applicable for various types of plastics.
Great tip on how to get Zman shad onto the twist hooks. Was struggling to get on twist lock. Now I know the easy trick.
Thanks again.
My pleasure Richard!
Another trick is to heat up the spring with a lighter (all it needs is a quick touch of heat) and the spring will go through the Zman material like butter.
ChinlockZ SWS hooks work just as well as mustad grip pin
Yep I’ve used them as well. Pretty much identical aside from the Mustad hooks being all black.
Thanks Tony. I have been thinking about trying the ZMan Lures. Now I know how best to rig them.
My pleasure Jack!
Great video Tony, I was anxiously waiting for these and they work great.
Thank you for the great feedback Lance! Great lure and color for sure!