ICAST 2015: Z-Man's Brand New RaZor ShadZ™

In fresh or salt, fished as a bladed jig trailer or by itself, the RaZor ShadZ™ performs like no soft plastic baitfish imitation thanks to its realistic design and buoyant, 10X Tough ElaZtech construction.

Featuring a segmented, fish-shaped body and forked tail that create an extremely lifelike baitfish profile, the RaZor ShadZ pulls double duty as a first-of-its-kind floating/diving soft pastic jerkbait and the perfect bladed swim jig trailer to complement the new Project Z^™ ChatterBait.  The combined softness, buoyancy, and extreme durability made possible by its ElaZtech construction allow it to perform above and beyond other soft plastics for both applications.

The RaZor ShadZ is the ideal bladed swim jig trailer when conditions call for a bulkier ChatterBait profile to mimic full-bodied forage like bream, shad and herring.  While other segmented swim jig trailers are notorious for ripping apart, Z-Man’s exclusive 10X Tough ElaZtech material allows for deep body cuts that cause the bait to move in a lifelike manner while still holding up to repeated strikes without tearing.  The RaZor ShadZ is sized to pair perfectly with the newly released Project Z ChatterBait, and its durable super-plastic construction and broad head allow it to stay put securely on the Project Z ChatterBait’s twin keeper barbs without sliding down throughout a day of hard casts, bass bites, and fish catches.

“RaZor ShadZ are, hands down, the best ChatterBait trailer I’ve ever used,” remarks Z-Man pro staffer, Luke Clausen. “They mimic a baitfish profile nicely, and their segmented bodies vibrate freely behind a bladed swim jig,” the former Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup champion continues. “Top all of this off with extreme durability and unmatched fish-catching ability, and you simply have the perfect trailer!”

When fished unweighted on a 3/0 or 4/0 EWG style hook, the RaZor ShadZ floats on the surface at rest, yet a broad, sloped head causes the bait to dive on a twitching retrieve, creating a floating/diving action that cannot be duplicated by other soft baits. A belly slot and dorsal hook pocket make weedless rigging a breeze, allowing it to slide through grass, lily pads, and other surface cover and dart enticingly within two feet of the surface.  The shallow diving action, followed by a slow rise on the pause, provides a unique motion unlike that of standard sinking soft baits and triggers explosive subsurface strikes, particularly as the bait shimmies back to the surface like a dying baitfish floating to the top.  Rigged with a properly-weighted swimbait hook, the RaZor ShadZ will even suspend in the water column like no other soft bait before it.

“During testing last fall, I found the RaZor ShadZ to be an incredibly effective skinny water redfish bait that produced in places where other artificials would just get hung up,” says Nussbaum.  “When the fish were feeding over oyster beds in a foot or two of water, I could fish it unweighted and dive it down just above the bottom on a slow, twitching retrieve without getting it hung up in the shells.  Any other plastic would have settled to the bottom and snagged on the oysters.  Trip after trip, the reds absolutely crushed it!”