Zoom Bait Company's Beatdown

A soft-plastic stick-style bait has played a significant role in the repertoire of Midwest finesse angling for many years. This history stretches back to the creative endeavors and piscatorial talents of the late Chuck Woods of Kansas City, Missouri, during the late 1950s and into the early 1970s.

Thus, whenever a finesse-size stick-style bait is introduced to the angling world, it inevitably garners the attention of scores of Midwest finesse anglers, who provoke us to publish a gear guide about it.

And upon Zoom Bait Company’s recent creation of their Beatdown, we contacted Chris Baxter of Watkinsville, Georgia. He is Zoom’s production manager. We talked on the telephone and exchanged several emails with him. And he sent us several Beatdowns to work with and describe.

Here is what our work with it revealed:

One Internet site noted that it is 3.25 inches long. Another one described it as being 3.50 inches long. Our measurements indicated that it is 3 7/16 inches long.

It is cylinder shaped.

Its head is flat with a width of five-sixteenths of an inch and a circumference of about 1 1/8 inches. In the center of the head, there is a tiny cavity, which is where a Midwest finesse angler will insert the hook and collar of a mushroom-style jig.

The Beatdown’s anterior section is eleven-sixteenths of an inch long. It is adorned with 12 minor ribs. Its torso is about five-sixteenths of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 1/8 inches.

Its clitellum, which most anglers call an egg sack, has a smooth epidermis. It is nine-sixteenths of an inch long with a circumference of about 1 1/16 inches and a width of five-sixteenths of an inch.

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The posterior section is 2 3/16 inches long. It is encircled with about four dozen small ribs. Adjacent to the posterior section’s junction with the clitellum, the torso is seven-sixteenths of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 1/8 inches.

At one inch from the posterior section’s junction with the clitellum, the torso possesses a circumference of about 1 1/8 inches and a width of five-sixteenths of an inch.

At 1 1/2 inches from the junction with the clitellum, the torso has a circumference of about one inch and a width of about a quarter of an inch.

The tip of the posterior section is flat with a width of about three-eighths of an inch and a circumference of eleven-sixteenths of an inch.

It is manufactured in the following hues: Blueberry, California 42, Electric Shad, Green Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin Green Flake, Green Pumpkin Purple Gold, Houdini, and Watermelon Red.

It is infused with salt and scent.

For more than two decades, Gerald Swindle of Warrior, Alabama, has been a successful professional tournament angler, who has garnered two Bassmaster Angler of the Year awards. He also works for Zoom and helped them create the Beatdown. In his eyes, they have created a state-of-the-art stick-style bait.

Swindle affixes the Beatdown to either a 1/16- or 1/8-ounce aspirin-style jig.

Most Midwest finesse anglers will affix it to a 1/32- and 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig, and occasionally they will opt for a 3/32-ounce one. And they will present it to their black bass quarries by employing all six of the standard Midwest finesse retrieves.

At times, Midwest finesse anglers will affix the jig to the posterior section of the Beatdown rather than affixing it to the anterior section. For some unknown reason, there will be spells when the posterior rigging is more effective than the anterior rigging.

What’s more, when one end becomes too tattered and torn to stay affixed to the jig, anglers can enhance its durability by affixing the jig to the other end.

A package of 10 costs $3.49.

Endnotes

1. Here is the link to Zoom Bait Company’s website: https://zoombait.com/beatdown/.

2. Here is a link to Gerald Swindle’s insights about the Beatdown: https://majorleaguefishing.com/press-releases/zoom-prepares-to-give-pressured-bass-a-beatdown/.

3. Here is a link to our Midwest Finesse column that explains how we employ the six standard Midwest finesse retrieves: https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/153946.