NEW Artificial Crab Lure In The Shop!! [Z-Man Kicker CrabZ Review]
- By: Wyatt Parcel
- on
They’re now in the shop, so here’s the Z-Man Kicker CrabZ Review!!!
This won the award for the Best Saltwater Soft Plastic Lure at iCast 2022.
We had the chance to walk through the specifics and details with Glenn Young, the Sales Manager at Z-Man.
Check it out!!
Z-Man Kicker CrabZ Review [VIDEO]
Currently, other crab lures and baits out on the market look super realistic and appeal to the angler, but the action is minimal.
In an effort to mimic natural crab movements and behavior, Z-Man designed the Kicker CrabZ.
The Kicker CrabZ is a soft plastic lure made to look like the body of a crab with a kicking claw extending off its side.
Z-Man’s objective was to create a lure that imitates the behavior of a real crab and doesn’t need to be constantly retrieved in a specific way.
The majority of crab lures have pre-mounted hooks and appear to look exactly like real crabs due to over-the-top detail.
Z-Man focused their efforts on the action of this lure.
As far as application, this lure is designed to be slow-moving with more finesse.
Unlike other crab lures, you can rig the Kicker CrabZ up weedless.
Oftentimes, we are fishing around lots of grass or another structure and a weedless application eliminate those headaches.
Furthermore, inshore fish like redfish and others root around in the mud for crabs and once they have a meal in sight, they commit.
Redfish instinctively inhale crabs in an effort to break their shell open so they can eat quickly.
Due to the buoyant material Z-Man uses in their lures, the crab arm extending off of this lure points to the surface when sitting on the bottom.
So any little shakes or pops you give the lure make it seem as if a crab is dancing in and out of the grass.
In turn, you can dead-stick this lure and call the fish over.
Snakelock hooks are a terrific pairing with this lure because of the bullet head to move through grass and the wide-gap hook.
This is the best overall presentation for this lure.
If you want to slow things down a bit, Chinlock weighted hooks are another option.
With Chinlock hooks, you have a bit more control of the fall of the lure.
Conclusion
As we approach Fall, it is time to start thinking about bait transitions and changing diets.
Redfish like to dig around in the mud, especially in the upcoming colder months, for crustaceans and easy meals.
Be sure to have some Z-Man Kicker CrabZ with you this Fall and Winter!!
Do you have any more questions about the Z-Man Kicker CrabZ Review?
Have you had the chance to fish with these lures yet?
Tell me what you think in the comments section!!
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The Z-Man Kicker Crabz pairs perfectly with original Texas Eye, Trout Eye, RedfishEye, WeedlessEye or Swimbait Eye jigheads.
Once this storm gets past I want to try these out for tarpon. See if the blue crab with Dr juice will work.
Great video Justin! Outside of the Slam Shady color, what color would you recommend for the muddy marshes of southeast LA? The Deal or Blue Claw?
Good question! I think the Blue Claw would work really well, especially if the water is a bit Muddy. The Blue Claw color has that aggressive Red Flake across the back of the lure, so that should stand out very well!
Hey Matt can’t wait I just ordered three online will let you guys know how good I do
i like them, i rigged it on a pro bulletz hook from zman
Another great rigging option!
Hey Justin, I bought all three colors recently and I was wondering which size hooks, 3/0 or 4/0? I was also wondering if they would work with the hoss helix hooks because I remember watching a fishing tip video with I believe it was Luke using the point of the hook to start a hole for Z-man soft plastics.
Great question, David. Truthfully, both the 3/0 and the 4/0 ChinlockZ are very close in size, but I tend to think the 4/0 is a slightly better option. Some might argue they wouldn’t even notice a difference between the 2 sizes though! I would not suggest using these Kicker CrabZ (or any Z-Man ElaZtech Lures) with a hook that uses an Owner Centering Pin/Twistlock design, as it can be a bit tricky to attach them properly. It was Tony that made that video a while back where he created a “pilot hole” before inserting the Twistlock Pin on Z-Man lures, but it’s still pretty challenging to attach them that way.
Thank you for the helpful info.
Do these come in a smaller profile, like maybe for targeting sheepshead?
I’ve been using the Crusteaz. Although the arms are not very durable, they attract a lot of attention. I wouldn’t blind cast them as the little pin perch love eating the arms off.
For Sheepshead, I strongly recommend using either the Chasebaits Crusty Crab, or the Savage Gear 3D Crabs in 3/4″ size. They come pre-rigged and have been proven effective for Sheepshead on both bridge & dock pilings:
ChaseBaits Crusty Crab – Salt Strong (fishstrong.com)
Savage Gear Duratech Crab – Salt Strong (fishstrong.com)
Kinda ironic because I just received my order from saltstrong on these lures haven’t tried them yet though and I also have a few other varieties of crab lures as well I also ordered from saltstrong the 2 colors of wakebaits and from zman the hurculez swimbait in a variety of colors all kinds of new baits to try thanks for the info and all you do😉👍
Give them a whirl and let us know what you think, Steven! Hope you catch some nice Reds on these CrabZ. Definitely slow-roll them across the bottom near the edges of Marsh Grass and you’ll likely pick up a few this Fall.
thank you Justin, this is a very timely review, as I just purchased some CrabZ lures from our tackle shop a few weeks ago. I quickly learned the ElazTech material does not rig into the Hoss Helix hooks so I ended up ordering the ChinlockZ & SnakeLockZ hooks as well. I am going to work them hard these next few weeks as I think it should be an outstanding lure for the SC lowcountry waters.
Thanks for chiming in here, Bud. Yes, I added those ChinlockZ Hooks to our Shop Page to help match up with these Kicker CrabZ. Glenn likes the Snake LockZ, but I much rather prefer the ChinlockZ for a more neutral fall in shallow water.
Look and acts like a paddle tail when rigged up and in the water.
Very similar, just a different body design & trailing arm/claw design. I kind of think it looks/performs similar to a Speed Worm in freshwater.