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StreakZ Curly TailZ
Matt Reeves
The 4" ZMan StreakZ Curly TailZ is a deadly soft plastic with an array of uses from estuary to offshore fishing. From the flick and curl of the tail to the grub styled body, it had me itching to get it in the water and into the mouth of something big and hungry from the moment I laid eyes on it!
As with all ZMan soft plastics, they are constructed using a material called 'ElaZtech', a material that separates ZMan plastics from the rest on the planet! The ElaZtech material gives the plastic a natural float, appealing to a lot more fish than other soft plastics. The natural float of ZMan soft plastics allows the tail end of the plastic to hover above the sea floor, while the jighead side of the soft plastic is burrowed into the sand imitating an injured or feeding baitfish to perfection. I'm finding that this gets the attention of a lot more fish than standard soft plastics that lay lifeless on the bottom. Another great advantage of the ElaZtech is that it's 10X tough, compared to other soft plastics, meaning a single lure could last months, even after numerous captures!
As I removed the StreakZ Curly TailZ from its original packaging I instinctively thought 'bream and flathead'. Over time this lure has proven itself so many times it's not funny and not just on these two species! Bream, flathead, jewfish, estuary perch, you name it, they've all had a StreakZ Curly TailZ hanging out of their mouth at some point in time.
BREAM
The versatility of this lure extends from Bream to Barra! Targeting bream on the Curly TailZ cuts down on the smaller bream, allowing the bigger, more elusive bream to come out from wherever they might be hiding and crunch it! So many times I have tied on a Curly TailZ in the middle of a 'small bream a cast session' on the ZMan 2.5" GrubZ and pulled a bigger bream, just due to the larger profile of the Curly TailZ. It's what gets the bigger bream all hyped up... its simple, big lures = big fish!
FLATHEAD
Flathead are often underestimated, commonly described as a lazy, boring fish, but this is far from the truth. They are great fun on soft plastics and one of my favorite soft plastics to target these fish with is the StreakZ Curly TailZ. There's something about this lure that the flathead just can't seem to resist, most likely the high powered flick and curl of the tail end of the soft plastic. Getting the attention of the flathead is most important and this can be triggered with a powerful hop, double hop or even triple, being my preferred technique. A great species to start targeting on soft plastics and using the Curly TailZ gives you a massive advantage!
JEWFISH (Mulloway)
The jewfish (mulloway) is a species I've been trying to crack for ages and recently I've been getting into a few on the StreakZ Curly TailZ in the Opening Night colour. Targeting deeper rock walls, in about 8-15m of water, seems to be the gun technique in my local. The jewfish (mulloway) is a species that I am yet to capture on a regular basis but I look forward to learning more about this fish in the near future. ?
ESTUARY PERCH
Catching estuary perch on ZMan StreakZ Curly TailZ dates back to when a couple of mates and I headed onto my local and smacked a perch a cast on the 2.5" GrubZ, with the fish only going up to around the 35cm. The fish were so thick we couldn't get our lure back without it being smashed! The GrubZ were producing the goods but I was waiting for that 40+ fish to finish the day off. That's when I pulled out the Curly TailZ in Motor Oil colour and landed a fish that went just over 41cm. My goal for the day was in the bag, thanks to the Curly TailZ!
The ZMan StreakZ Curly TailZ is rapidly growing in popularity and the captures this lure has produced speak for themselves. The Curly TailZ is available in a wide range of colours, so there's a colour to suit whatever species in whatever structure. Tie a ZMan 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ on and hold on, you'll soon see what I mean!?