Turbo CrawZ – Dan Kaggelis 2017
One of the best attributes of soft plastic lures is the diversity they offer the angler in terms action, attraction and presentation. The quality of a soft plastic can often be determined by the amount of diversity it offers and the latest offering by ZMan the Turbo CrawZ is one plastic that has diversity in spades.
When you first see this plastic it isn’t hard to recognise its potential as a sub- surface sand species slayer as its crayfish/ prawn like pattern and oversized claws really appeal to the likes of flathead. However on closer inspection this plastic has a lot more to offer than just ‘another’ flathead soft plastic.
Firstly it shares many attributes in terms of presentation and attraction with one of the classic soft plastics – the prong- which has been a proven fish slayer for longer than I can remember. The Turbo CrawZ extra oversized claws provides that unmistakable flapping motion whether it’s on the drop, retrieve and even pause which just has that uncanny ability to catch a fishes eye and get it into the mood to feed. In fact this softy requires virtually no impart or rod manipulation by the angler to get it performing at its best which is testament to its action and attraction.
To give you an example I fished the other day just prior to the close of the barramundi season up the Daintree River with a good mate who is a diehard hard body angler. He was keen to give the soft plastics a go and the Turbo CrawZ was an obvious choice to get him started. The instructions were pretty simple, throw it deep in the snags and then work it back on a slow retrieve back to the boat. He had the little four inch CrawZ humming nicely through the water and after a steady of string of barramundi begun sucking it down I had him convinced the CrawZ had the goods. So good in fact my last packet amazingly disappeared on the way back to the ramp.
This lure fishes so simple and yet it is so effective and rigged on a 4/0 or 5/0 TT ChinlockZ jig head you can simply throw this lure deep into the snags and it will do its dance even before you turn the reel. This is what makes it such an incredible jack lure as when fished deep into timber it has so much attraction on the drop that more often the violent strike occurs before the reel is engaged. Unfortunately this has seen many a bricked angler on this lure so you learn quickly to stay on your toes and in contact with your lure as best as you can, ready to do battle at any second.
If you don’t get the strike on the drop its great to just hop it slowly back to the boat or just roll it back with a slow retrieve and if you love a lure you can fish ultra-slow than this is one for you.
Sounds pretty good well wait and see what happens when you fish it weightless. This is where the diversity of this lure really stands above the rest as it performs just as incredible on the surface as it dies below. That’s right when you fish the Turbo CrawZ on a weedless hook without any weight and retrieve it at speed with the rod tip pointed high and around 50 degrees the lure becomes an awesome top water presentation.
Much like the Hard LegZFrogZ from ZMan the Turbo CrawZ is super light and just like the FrogZ legs its oversized claws flap across the top of the water creating a frog like presentation. In fact I tend to prefer this lure over the FrogZ as its smaller body profile allows you to cast it more accurately and with less obstruction under overhanging mangrove structure and it also skims really well too.
Basically if you love fishing surface with the ZMan FrogZ than you are going to love this thing to bits. The thinner body also tend to have a better hook up rate as well as there is less plastic to bite through which makes it less prone to fish spitting it out once they bite into the plastic. The thick round head also allows for excellent hook hold and slippage down the worm hook is not an issue.
Fishing this lure top water over weed beds have seen jacks, Barra and trevally climb all over it and like other ZMan lures the tensile strength of this lure is unmatched. No need to worry about tearing or losing a claw here and I’m still fishing the same plastic from four trips ago with no sign of wear and tear or integrity loss at all.
Where I believe this plastic really shines is when worked through or over weed. Because its body is quite slender with the majority of the action coming from the claws, it tends to swim through the thickest of weed without major disturbance and most importantly fouling up. For this reason it will be absolutely perfect for throwing right up into impoundment and weed beds and fishing it back to the boat sub surface without dragging back half the weed bed back with it. This can make a huge difference as some lures rampage through weed like a bull disturbing barramundi and spooking them off the bite.
This lure has a very stealthy movement which makes it perfect for moving up on a fish and presenting it right in front of its big bucket mouth. Its crayfish pattern will suit the red claw profile perfectly and at 4 inches it’s the perfect snack size for a big barramundi to wolf down as it flutters its way through or just above the weed. The Turbo CrawZ is really an excellent plastic and one I would highly recommend if you are starting out using plastics. Its ability to be fished both top water and sub surface is also a quality that has to be recognised as a stroke of genius. The action and attraction makes them perfect for just about any species so if you are after a good all rounder check them out.
