I have fished a ton of different soft plastics over the years in the San Diego’s inshore fishery. Over the last five years I have transitioned entirely to Z-MAN Products for inshore fishing and for lake fishing.
The main driver for this decision is the products catch fish number 1, however they are also a very economical product as each bait lasts, and lasts and lasts! The benefits of not having to put new baits on are threefold for me. First catching fish is about opportunity meeting chance, the more casts you make in a day the more opportunities you have to capitalize on that chance a fish bites your bait. Second they make my wallet happy, I average 45 fish per bait in the bay, a package of 8 varies in price, but lets assume $4.49 (most recent I paid) that puts the baits at .56 cents each, with 45 fish you are at 1.2 cents per fish! The third reason I have moved to Z-MAN is environmental, (no they are not bio-degradable) however I can’t think of the last time I lost a bait, once they are worn and not holding a hook they go in my cooler (not the water!) My current favorite bay setup is a Ned rig, this consists of a Z-MAN Finesse TRD (2.75″) size, this goes on a 1/5 oz (less than 20 feet of water) Z-MAN Nedlockz, when fishing deeper water I go with a 1/3 ounce Z-MAN Pro ShroomZ Jighead. The 1/10 oz has proved very effective in the shallow waters of South Bay (south of Coronado bridge). Pearl and Smelt are my go to, also got some green pumpkin/goby on clearance that get bit well. I have caught halibut (multiple legals), spotties, sandbass, calicos, needlefish, barracuda, jacksmelt, and short-fin corvina on this setup. To limit your break offs I recommend a short 14-20 inch leader of 15lb Seaguar Flouro, lastly I add a split ring to all my jig heads in the bay, I can’t tell you how many times that extra 1/8″ has saved me from a big halibut biting through my line.Ned rig for bay bass
