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Rigging Plastics for Topwater Fishing
By Justin Willmer
In a recent article we looked at rigging and fishing the ZMan FrogZ range for topwater fishing, however there are a stack of different ZMan plastics that can be rigged to fish on the surface. In fact, the 10X Tough ElaZtech material has several benefits when it comes to fishing your soft plastic on the surface. The material is naturally buoyant, assisting the plastic to more easily ride on the surface, it’s super soft and flexible, so it feels realistic and fish will keep biting it until they find the hook, and the 10X Tough material allows the plastic to be rigged in many different ways, multiple times and even after a brutal surface strike the plastic isn’t torn and destroyed. So, let’s look at some different plastics and methods for rigging them to fish topwater.
Think about the different types of soft plastics that are available and how they might perform when fished on the surface, based on their profile, action and what they represent. A jerkbait profile is a long and slender baitfish profile, with limited built-in action, so it can be twitched and darted across the surface to represent a fleeing baitfish. A paddle or curl tail on the other hand has plenty of built-in action, so it may just be slow rolled (slow wind) across the surface, allowing the tail to do its thing, create a disturbance and attract predators. Crustaceans and creature baits on the other hand may be fished slower and with a twitchy and shaky retrieve to represent a crab, prawn or even insect that has found itself on or near the surface of the water. You also have the commonly used topwater plastics, such as the FrogZ and in their place the Turbo CrawZ or more recently released ZMan GOAT family that have kicking feet like a FrogZ in a more subtle and tighter action. Consider your target species, what they might eat and the environment that you’re fishing in when selecting your plastic. Now, what is the best way to rig it to fish the surface.
There are commonly five ways that I will rig a ZMan soft plastic for topwater fishing, including light TT jigheads, TT HWS (Hidden Weight System) jigheads, standard ‘J’ hooks, TT ChinlockZ and TT ChinlockZ SWS. Let’s look at each option in more detail.
Jighead Weight
We add more weight to increase our casting distance and sink the soft plastic to the desired depth, so by reducing the weight we can keep the soft plastic higher in the water column. One option then is to reduce the jighead weight as much as possible to slow the sink and allow it to run higher in the water column. By lifting the rod tip higher and potentially winding a little quicker, you can then get that plastic running on the surface. I generally use this technique when I still require a bit of weight for casting and when I am fishing quicker. This may include swimming plastics high in the water column for tailor, trevally, queenfish and other pelagic species, where I would generally fish a 3/8oz to 1/2oz when fishing my plastics slower from the beach, changing up to a 1/8oz when wanting to fish the soft plastic on the surface. I still have weight for casting, however the paddle tail or jerkbait can be fished faster on the surface, with a few pauses, rips or twitches thrown in if I want to mix up the retrieve.
HWS (Hidden Weight System) Jigheads
HWS jigheads feature a belly weight on the shank of the hook that sees it concealed inside the plastic when rigged, creating a very natural presentation and a slow horizontal sink. These jigheads are available in extremely light weights and in sizes to suit everything from bream to barramundi. These are ideal in you want to keep the weight down, while still running and exposed hook and are my go-to for fishing smaller plastics on the surface for bream and by-catch species around the mangrove edges, pontoons, rock walls and other structure, or across the shallow flats.
The ZMan 2.5” GrubZ, 2.5” Slim SwimZ and creatures and crustaceans, such as the 2.75” TRD BugZ, 2.5” TRD CrawZ and 2” CrusteaZ, are ideal for fishing on the surface. Again, fish with the rod tip up and light monofilament leaders to keep the plastic on or near the surface, with the paddle and curl tails offering plenty of action, while the creatures and crustaceans will need some encouragement, with shakes and twitches of the rod tip. Fluorocarbon leaders sink and will pull the plastic under, so stick with monofilament leaders (keep an eye out for lighter weights in the Platypus Hard Armour Leader) or grab some Platypus Super 100 or Pulse Mono, and a good trick is to flick your bail arm over and commence your retrieve just prior to the plastic hitting the water, making it easier to keep it on the surface. As the HWS jighead is designed primarily for fishing sub-surface, you will just need to experiment a little with rigging and retrieve speeds until you have the plastic doing exactly what you want on the surface.
Standard ‘J’ Hooks
Another effective option, if you require an exposed hook, is rigging your ZMan plastic on a standard ‘J’ hook, like you would use when fishing with bait. The trick when selecting a hook is ensuring the hook shank is straight, not offset, as an offset shank will see the plastic sitting bent on the hook and not swimming correctly. I also select a hook that has a straight eye as a bent eye can cause the plastic to track incorrectly or spin. Select a straight shank and straight eye hook that suits the soft plastic you wish to fish and you’re ready to go. Based on the size and gauge of the hook, the ZMan plastic may float with the hook rigged, if you want to pause and float the plastic, or it may sink slowly, allowing you to run it on the surface or pause and sink it back to the fish. You can experiment with different hooks to effectively drive the plastic to suit your target species.
Basically, it’s then just a matter of rigging the plastic as you would on a standard jighead, with the hook coming out of the belly (bottom) of the plastic, instead of out of the back (top). The reason for this is that a standard jighead is designed with a tow point out of the top, the same as the hook, so it tracks upright. A standard ‘J’ hook rigged through the centre of the plastic would simply roll over if rigged in this way, so instead we rig with the hook out of the bottom of the plastic so that it assists in keeling the soft plastic. To lock the soft plastic in place simply rig it as with a standard jighead, pull the plastic back down on the hook a little, add a drop of Loctite Gel Control Super Glue below the eye of the hook and then slide the plastic back into place. This will lock the soft plastic in place until you wish to roll it off to change it.
Again, you can use virtually any soft plastic in the ZMan range, just think about your target species, environment you’re fishing and how you are going to fish the plastic. You may be rolling a 3” MinnowZ across the surface for bass, a 9” GrubZ for Murray cod or a 2.5” Slim SwimZ for bream… or you may be fishing a darting, walk the dog style retrieve after lobbing an 8” StreakZ XL into a school of southern bluefin tuna. Fish on!
TT ChinlockZ Jighead
One of the easiest and most effective ways to rig a soft plastic for surface fishing is on a TT ChinlockZ Finesse or heavy duty ChinlockZ jighead. This is a weedless rigging option, utilising the ‘chin lock’ keeper to secure the soft plastic in place, with the chin lock the only weight added to the hook. The bend of the hook sits below the plastic to assist in keeling it, while also allowing plenty of room for the super-soft and flexible ZMan plastic to clear when a fish strikes. The weedless element allows you to cast this presentation almost anywhere and retrieve it through and over structure of all types.
A popular option for rigging FrogZ for bass, mangrove jack, barramundi and more, this rigging option is also suitable for almost any soft plastic in the range. A favourite for myself is rigging a ZMan 3” MinnowZ on a 3/0 ChinlockZ and skipping in the mangroves for jacks and barra when up north, with other anglers having success walking a 5” StreakZ for everything from impoundment barramundi to kingfish, tailor, and salmon. The addition of the ChinlockZ Finesse brings the smallest plastics into the arsenal for topwater bream fishing.
TT ChinlockZ SWS
The last of the surface plastics rigging options that I utilise is a variation on the TT ChinlockZ. The ChinlockZ SWS (Snagless Weight System) has a belly weight built onto the bend of the hook that serves a few purposes. It assists with casting distance, which can be handy in windy conditions and when the fish are finicky and require a longer cast to keep the angler at a distance. This weight also assists with keeling the soft plastic, especially when fishing faster, while also placing more weight to the rear of the presentation, which can encourage legs and tails to work more aggressively. Finally, this weight also allows you to sink the presentation into the snags prior to commencing your topwater retrieve or drop the plastic back to a fish following a missed strike.
This is also a popular option for rigging the range of FrogZ for skipping mangrove edges, buzzing weed beds and fishing lilies, while making a deadly option for slow rolling a paddle tail or curl tail on top, working a jerkbait through pelagic schools or twitching a crustacean around the top of the snags. Again, think about your target species, the plastic you wish to present to them and how you want it to behave to attract the fish and trigger the strike.
The Wrap
That’s a quick look at five options for rigging your ZMan plastics to fish the surface. Topwater fishing can be exciting, with bow waves appearing behind your lures and explosive surface strikes making this type of fishing addictive. Remember that if you have ZMan 10X Tough soft plastics in your kit, then you already have a stack of topwater options at your disposal. It’s now just a matter of thinking about your target species, selecting a plastic to suit and then rigging it in a way that allows you to effectively present it on the surface. What are you waiting for… get out there and get them eating your plastic off the top. BOOF!
See you on the water…
Justin Willmer
Gearing Up:
ZMan 10X Tough ElaZtech Soft Plastics
TT Lures Jigheads
TT Lures ChinlockZ
TT Lures ChinlockZ SWS
TT Lures HWS Hidden Weight System