ZMan Baby GOAT Saratoga Fishing

By Ethan Flowers

Ethan Flowers has been landing numbers of quality saratoga on soft plastics, stirring up plenty of interest across social media, so here’s the nuts-and-bolts breakdown on the gear and techniques, straight from the man himself. Fish on!

My year-round favourite presentation for targeting saratoga is the mighty ZMan 3” Baby GOAT, and with saratoga being my favourite species to target, I thought I’d put together a few tips on how I tend to target saratoga utilising this 10X Tough soft plastic presentation.

Rigging

I find the ZMan 3” Baby GOAT is best paired with a TT ChinlockZ 2/0 jighead, with the ability to rig weedless allowing you to cast into lilies, timber and weed edges, with minimal chance of snagging or fouling up. The Baby GOAT design means that you won’t need to bury the hook point into the plastic to make it truly weedless, as it sits flush against the top of the plastic, making it a true weedless presentation from the get-go.

Another huge advantage of using the Baby GOAT is that after catching lots of fish... and I mean lots, if the hook doesn’t hold snug after a while, simply turn the Baby GOAT upside down, or even sideways, and rinse and repeat. With ZMan’s ElaZtech material and the Baby GOAT design, this would be hands the most hard-wearing, long lasting soft plastic available by a long shot.

Rods, Reels & Lines

Rods - The TT Black Mamba 7’0”, 2-4kg is my go-to. It has enough taper to fire a long cast with the ultralight Baby GOAT and more than enough backbone to help drive the hook set on the extremely bony mouth of the saratoga, while packing enough punch to handle the larger models too.

Reel - Okuma ITX-2500H (high speed). The Okuma ITX offers excellent value, loads of features and is in my opinion the most reliable reel available in its price range. It has a smooth drag and plenty of stopping power. Being mechanical in nature you get a true feel for the torque and strength of the ITX when fighting it out with a fish and can feel the ease with which it handles larger fish. I run the high-speed model in the ITX predominantly and strongly believe that you can always slow down your retrieve. When you find yourself in those scenarios where you need to pick up line quickly, the high-speed model really shines. For example, saratoga can eat lure before it has even hit the water and when this happens line pick up is paramount.

Lines - I run between 8lb and 15lb braid, and my go-to is Platypus Pulse X8 Braid. Leader varies between 8lb and 15lb, opting for either the Platypus Hard Armour FC Fluorocarbon or Hard Armour Supple Nylon monofilament leader, depending on whether I’m focusing on topwater, utilising the buoyant monofilament, or switching to subsurface using the denser and heavier fluorocarbon. Both leaders work extremely well and as a rule of thumb, if you’re working areas with heavy timber, up your leader to suit. Saratoga wont generally rub through leader; however, their weight and acrobatics will try and throw hooks.

Where and when?

The number one question that I am asked, and it can only be answered with a two-part response.

Firstly - The ZMan 3” Baby GOAT will work all year round, however a sure-fire way to maximise your chances of catching your first saratoga or upgrading that PB would be locating dragonflies. If the dragonflies are flying around you, landing on your rod, kayak, etc., in your impoundment or river that holds saratoga, then you are in the right place at the right time. Look for timber! A stick in the water, a tree overhanging... whatever timber you can find. Saratoga are built to eat looking upward, so throw creature baits like the Baby GOAT on the surface when the dragonflies are in full swing, and they just can’t resist.

Secondly - Be a ninja… you must be quiet in your approach to fishing an area. Most importantly, make sure you’re casting the Baby GOAT into the shadows. So, working an edge where the trees, lilies, and other vegetation are casting a shadow onto the water is often your best target areas for actively feeding saratoga. When the sun is high, saratoga will often sun themselves and swim outside of the shadows/edges, however they become much more difficult to target around this time as they spook easily.

Colour Selection

It’s probably no secret that Pearl (White) is my favourite colour in the Baby GOAT, when chasing saratoga, however I have caught saratoga on all the colours currently available in the ZMan Baby GOAT range. The reason that I love throwing Pearl so much is because, not only does it take on the natural colour of the water, but it is also ultimately due to the visual aspect that Pearl offers. I love seeing the way the Baby GOAT works (lure action) when retrieved and seeing it clearly as saratoga attempt to destroy it. It is epic every time! It also helps with short strikes, being able to see the Baby GOAT get knocked around by an aggressive saratoga that hasn’t committed, giving you the advantage of being able to pause or speed up your retrieve, based on visually what you can see.

These are a few helpful tips that have been effective for me when it comes to chasing saratoga and utilising the Baby GOAT. Anyone who has fished with me, when chasing saratoga, has heard me say “trust in the Goat and you will get it done”. Persistence is the key when targeting saratoga and the ZMan 3” Baby GOAT stacks the odds in your favour.

Happy hunting & fish on!
Ethan

Gearing Up:
TT Black Mamba Spin Rods - BMS701ML 7', 2-4kg
Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reels - ITX-2500H
Platypus Pulse X8 Braid - 8-15lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 8-15lb
Platypus Hard Armour Leader - 8-15lb Supple
ZMan 3" Baby GOAT
TT ChinlockZ Jighead - 2/0