Z-Man's CrusteaZ

Several years ago Z-Man Fishing Products created the CrusteaZ for Australian saltwater anglers who fish for southern black bream.

Recently Z-Man introduced it to freshwater and saltwater anglers in America, telling us that when it is rigged on a small jig that it replicates many of the invertebrates that largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and spotted bass forage upon.

It is two-inch long. Its short and flat torso has a modified rhombus or diamond shape, which is endowed with a hook pocket or slot. Three small appendages radiate from each side of its torso. Two tiny antennas branch out from the tip of its head. Two extremely thin and somewhat U-shaped claws extend from each side of its head.

It is available in eight colors: Bloodworm, Chartreus Sparkle, Greasy Pawn, Gudgeon, Motor Oil, Pumpkin, Shimmer Pearl, and Watermelon Red. The price for a package of six CrusteaZ ranges from $3.99 to $5.49.

Travis Myers of Paw Paw, West Virginia, is a correspondent on the Finesse News Network, and he is a veteran and talented smallmouth bass angler who spends his most of days afloat on the mountain rivers and streams that grace the countryside of West Virginia. And Myers says he likes to rig the Z-Man's Gudgeon CrusteaZ on a 1/32-ounce orange Gopher Tackle Mushroom Head Jig.  He prefers to paint the jigs rather than buying painted ones.  And before he affixes the CrusteaZ to the jig, he marinates it in Pro-Cure Bait Scents' Garlic Crawfish Super Gel.

Myers says the CrusteaZ's two claws undulate incessantly. Its wide and diamond-shaped body sways as a young crayfish does when it slowly falls to the bottom of a stream or river. To Myers' delight, the CrusteaZ is not impregnated with salt, which enhances the swaying action. He also points out that it is essential to use a light jig, noting that a heavy one will inhibit the sway when it plummets to the bottom. The most effective retrieve for Myers has been what he describes as a slow-swim-and-pause presentation.

Mother Nature's wintery ways and spring deluges have caused the rivers and streams in West Virginia to be either frozen or in flood stage for most of 2015, but when Myers was able to wield the Gudgeon CrusteaZ on a 1/32-ounce orange Gopher jig, he caught a potpourri of fish: channel catfish, bluegills, fallfish, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass. And the CrusteaZ allured these fish when the conditions were much less than ideal.

In Myers' estimation, the CrusteaZ is deadly on what he calls "small-flow smallmouth bass," which are smallmouth bass that abide in streams that are what he calls "two-casts wide."

---

He also lauded its durability, saying that it can withstand 30 to 40 donnybrooks with smallmouth bass before it becomes to tattered to stay affixed to the jig.

As the spring and summer unfolds, Myers said that he will file briefs and logs on the Finesse News Network about the CrusteaZ and its ability to inveigle big and discerning smallmouth bass in small-flow streams and riverine largemouth bass in crystal-clear water.

 

 Endnotes

Dan Baldridge of Springfield, Missouri, is a contributor to the Finesse News Network and a YouTube creator and producer. On May 15,  he posted a YouTube video that features the CrusteaZ affixed to a red 1/32-ounce Gopher jig. Baldridge used this combo to catch bluegill, green sunfish, and largemouth bass at a strip pit in western Missouri. Here is the link to Baldridge's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FPdMKABYIw.