Z Man SlingBladez Spinnerbait Review 3/8ths oz.

[Casslaw]

Well, I finally got my order of the new Z-Man SlingBladez 3/8ths oz spinnerbaits. I have only thrown them for about an hour this morning in my heavily pressured golf course lure testing pond so I’ll take any advice or tips but here is what I found.

Pros: blades look great, thin piano wire that is a dull finish, nice trailer keeper, decent hook, copper wire tied skirt, throws very well!!, catches fish.

Cons: Skirt is lacking! When they tied the skirt they cut the inner half off so the strand count is low. Skirt doesn’t pulse in the water, it’s just kinda there. The willow leaf blade isn’t to my liking for this time of year so I put a Strike King #6 Indiana blade on and it worked great.

Bait doesn’t run incredibly straight with a trailer. I go with just the skirt 60-70% of the time but I won’t with these. The skirts lack bulk and movement so my zoom craw went on and it did well. I caught two (kinda, you’ll see) this morning and the skirt is already beat up. The pulling point of this bait deforms the wire so after each fish you will be bending them back into position.

Overall I like the spinnerbait, just wish it had more blade options and I hope I can get a Strike King skirt on it. It fishes smaller than a 3/8ths spinnerbait but it throws very well! It handles the fish really well, both were hooked solid. My spinnerbait rod is a 7’ Medium/Fast BPS Carbonlite 2.0 with a Daiwa Tatula-R 100HS in 6.3-1. If you reel the bait too fast it does twist with a trailer on it but without it tracks straight.

I will keep these in my box, and I think they will hold up, but it’s not a game changer. It’s a good spinnerbait, I’m not nocking it at all, I just need to throw some 1/2oz now and see how they stack up!

[eyra_kid]

Glad you got to try them out, Casslaw! Good, honest review.
I never tried them with a plastic trailer. I just rarely do that, I guess.
Surprised you didn't care for the skirt. That was one of my favorite aspects, as it's very similar to how the War Eagles are tied.
Would be nice to see an Indiana blade. It sure is hard to find that combo.

[Casslaw]

I was really excited about the skirt when I ordered them but do you see how the skirt is dead looking and tangled in that tiny fishes mouth? Well that’s how these look in the water as well. They don’t pulse or bloom out at all, which is the only reason I added the little zoom craw trailer.

When I look at my Strike King swim jigs and spinnerbaits the skirt really blooms and gives a lot of action. I’m going to cry doing it but I’m going to cut one of these skirts off and put a SK one on to see how it does.

[eyra_kid]

I had hoped to get my new baits out this weekend, but it was just too dang cold and windy! Jealous of your Florida weather right now.

Do your Strike Kings have those all-in-one skirts? Like the regular Chatterbaits?

[Casslaw]

Yeah the Strike King skirts in the spinnerbaits I have are just like this swim jig

They stay put..barely ever move. They poof out and pulse in the water really well and the strands don’t stick together.

I threw this guy a lot yesterday as it matched the shad really well and it caught fish, I just don’t like how the skirt lays there like a dead fish.

Oh and be jealous! The weather is absolutely gorgeous right now. Yesterday was 56-80...almost perfect!

[DrewFlu33]

Solid review. I had been debating about whether I was going to try these given that I'm pretty well stocked up right now on spinnerbaits from ACT and really didn't throw them much at all this past year. This review probably cements that choice for me.

We've got fishable ice almost across the entire state of Minnesota at this point. A little warm up on Thanksgiving will probably trash it enough around the Metro to make it unfishable, but the boat is away and the only bass fishing I'll be doing between now and spring is probably wading on the Upper Miss around a power plant discharge. Tubes and shakeyheads almost exclusively over the winter...The withdrawals have already begun! Hopefully the first ice trip up north in a week and a half will help.

On a related note: Who am I kidding on saying I won't try these? It all sounds good now, but come March or April I'm going to be in buying-stuff-I-don't-need mode full bore.

[Casslaw]

I wouldn’t say to not try them at all...I have them tied on!

I throw a lot of Terminator T1 amd Strike Kings but these have their place. They cast incredibly well...impressive distance! Plus I rarely ever use a trailer on my spinnerbaits but with these I do.

Plus, since fish havent seen them it has to be new to them! I know chain pickerel like them too after Sunday. I’ll be doing more “testing” tomorrow!