This Is How To Rig The Top 3 Z-Man Lures For Redfish
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
Z-man soft plastic lures in the Slam Shady color are an excellent choice for targeting big redfish!
Do you know what the top 3 Z-man lures for targeting bull redfish are?
Keep reading down below to find out the top lures and best ways to rig these lures for success!!
How To Rig The Top 3 Z-Man Lures For Redfish [VIDEO]
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Click here to get the Z-Man Diezel MinnowZ
Get the Z-Man E-Z ShrimpZ here
And click here to get Mustad Weighted Grip Pin Hooks
I recommend using a 1/8 oz Mustad Grip Pin 3/0 hook for all 3 of these soft plastic lures.
1/8 ounce weight works extremely well with Z-Man soft plastics because they are a lot more buoyant compared to other standard soft plastics.
There is a weight on the hook for depth control and a keeper to hold the lure in place and keep it from sliding down the eye of the hook.
PaddlerZ
- Slam Shady color paddletail swimbait
- Segmented tail which induces a lot of kicking action
Diezel MinnowZ
- Slam Shady color paddletail swimbait.
- Tighter of a wobble on the tail than PaddlerZ because the tail is not as long and it is not segmented
- Sold in 3-inch, 4-inch, 5-inch varieties among other sizes
E-Z ShrimpZ
- Best for a finesse type of presentation
- They have a slight kicking action with a segmented tail
- Works really well for targeting big redfish
Rigging Tips
To rig the lures, put the point of hook directly in the center of the top of the lure and pull right down through the bottom side of the bait.
Z-man lures will slide right over the weight on the hook without tearing.
Be sure to slide it up over the keeper to secure the head on the hook.
Diezel MinnowZ and PaddlerZ have a slot in the belly to slide the hook through so be sure the hook is coming out of the top of the lure and it’s not buried in the plastic.
If the hook is stuck in the plastic, the chances of hooking up to a fish decrease because the point is not exposed.
Another option is to barely skin hook the point just in the surface of the plastic for extra weeds or grass protection, but be sure the point will still pop out when a fish strikes.
Conclusion
Z-Man Slam Shady color soft plastics come in a wide variety but these 3 lures are the most effective for catching big redfish.
The best presentation is on a 3/0 weighted hook to keep the lures lower in the water where the redfish are patrolling.
You’ll want to make sure you are matching the size of the hook to the lure you are using.
If you want to learn more about rigging or retrieving these lures, let me know down in the comments!
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Those Grip pins are the way to go for Zman plastics. Never was a fan of the Elaztech material because of how hard it was to rig them but that hook changes things. My only issue is they don’t make it in a 3/16 oz.
Would you rather use the 1/8 oz Grip Pin or 3/16 oz Texas Eye? I’ve been going back and forth between the two.
I prefer the grip pin in the shallows. Because the texas eye is more of a jig head style, i prefer to use those in deeper water with structure.
I like the Zman paddletails but the ones the have the split fins on top drive me crazy because I have to constantly adjust the hook to stay in between them.
I know what you mean there. The hook point likes to get caught on those fins at times. Make sure the hook is nice and straight and centered and it shouldn’t give you as many issues. Also, nice to see you on the water this past week!
Yes it was cool to finally run into you! Hopefully you had better luck than I did.
The slam shady minnowZ is definitely my go to bait year round. I really like the durability of all the Z-man paddle tails. I’ve tried other sizes with some success but when nothing else is working I go right back to the minnowZ on a trout eye jig head and it always produces.
Minnowz.. or Diezel Minnowz? One is a 3”, the other is a 4”. I’ve tried the smaller ones, but the 3” don’t seem to work as well as the 4” for me using the weedless setup, like this article is talking about
Not much grass where I fish so I’m not worried about weedless. I’ve used the Diezel but the minnowZ is a better producer for me. I stick to a 3/16 trout eye most of the time unless I’m fishing really shallow. Then I’ll drop to 1/8.
The 3″ works great! When in doubt I always like to go smaller.
Have you considered using split shot on the twist locks to change the weight without having to re-rig?
Hey Colin!
I haven’t tried that but I have used nail weights to stick into the lure. Works great!
My favorite is the Z-man Slam Shady MinnowZ for all year catching slams
If I could add one more to the list that one would definitely be it!