I’m an ICAST person; I review and get to test most products that win the “Best in Show” contest. It’s my duty as a writer to report my experiences with various products. I don’t endorse products that don’t work for me and my fishing style. I don’t condemn them, or talk bad about them; I just don’t mention them in my writings.
A few months ago, a good friend, Leslie Smith of Como, MS called. Les was ecstatic, “Bernard, you’ve got to get you some Ziptailz. I ordered an assortment of colors to try. I got them in on Tuesday and got my first opportunity to use them a couple of days later pre-fishing for Crappie Masters MS State Championship at Grenada Lake. As most fisherman know “we always need one more bait in our arsenal” ha, ha. I had a friend Harry Riddle in the boat with me and we put Ziptailz on two minnow hooks just to try. I got to admit they sure looked good, but the jury was still out. The weather was horrible, raining, cloudy and overcast. Before we got our eight poles out, one of the Ziptailz poles had a fish on, 3+ pounds. We landed that fish, then a few minutes later, bam, another 2.5+ pound fish on the other Ziptailz pole. Harry and I started scrambling for the bag of Ziptailz and began putting them on all of our minnow hooks, jig heads, road runners and walleye jigs, and the bite was on. It did not seem to matter whether it was a road runner, jig head or just plain minnow hook, they just worked. We ended a horrible weather day with a 30 fish limit and our top 7 fish were pushing 17 lbs.
All I can say is that from that day forward Ziptailz made a believer out of me. I have shared this wonderful product with several of my fishing buddies and they would all say the same. No matter whether I am slow trolling or power trolling a Ziptailz combination of some sort has been on my pole since that day. Ziptailz have become a vital part of my fishing techniques and to be honest, I don’t go fishing without them” says Les. “When I find a combination that catches fish, I seldom make any changes. I keep on trucking with what’s working for me.”
Les, what makes Ziptailz catch fish? First of all, its unique rubber neck allows you to run the skirt up on any style of hook or jig head and it stays there, the skirt is easily interchangeable for certain color combinations due to sunny or cloudy days, stained or clear water, just slide the skirt off and put another color on, the silicone skirt has a pulsating motion in the water that attracts attention, the umbrella skirt is designed to run by itself or run any type of curly tail combination under it, the crappie color combinations are unbelievable, It gives your bait a bigger profile in the water. If you’ve ever watched minnows in an aquarium closely, you can see the gills opening and closing. That’s the effect I see when I put a Ziptailz on a jig or hook and put it in the water. Another feature is the Ziptailz doesn’t collapse when you pull it at high speeds like a hair jig or bass skirt. It maintains its continuity no matter how fast you push it or pull it.”
I asked Smith about his power trolling setup, he said, “I love Power-Trolling, it’s my favorite way of fishing”, I use a 16' Wally Marshall Troll Tech with a 3 oz. egg weight. I run a double jig setup 36 inches apart using a 1/8 oz. Road Runner or walleye spinner Jig on top and ¼ oz. on bottom with Ziptailz and 3” Curly Tails in different colors. I look for schooling fish on ledges, points and drop offs where fish are staging and feeding on shad. I watch my electronics closely to see what depth the fish are holding. I want my rigs running no more than a foot above the fish. I always make an allowance for how deep my transducer is in the water. My 112 Terrova has universal sonar; it’s usually about 3’ under the surface. My trolling speed averages around .9 to 1.2 mph. Some days I find the fish on the river channel, some days in the flats and creeks connected to the river.”
“I fish from a 22’ Skeeter Bay Boat with a 250 4-Stroke Yamaha. It can take that rough water. I don’t get a lot of pole bounce. The 3 oz. weights really hold your baits vertical and in the strike zone. The Ziptailz adds color and motion to any lure. I am sold on Ziptailz, they work on any lure, from crankbaits to jigs. My advice to any crappie fishermen, take some with you but don’t tell your fishing partner. It won’t take long for your partner to realize you’re doing something different. The Ziptailz prices get real high on the water”, says Smith.
Professional Tournament Fisherman, David McWilliams says, “I picked up a few prototypes at the Crappie Master National Championship at Lake Washington a year or so ago. I forgot I had them till one day out on the lake I saw them in my tackle bag. I slid on a couple and low and behold, my bite turned on. It’s the perfect addition for a dry spell. I’m totally sold on Ziptailz. I use a lot of soft plastics, mostly Bobby Garland, power trolling and long lining. Ziptailz adds to the profile causing more reaction bites on my soft plastics and crankbaits. Just ask Wayne, my last order was almost $300 worth.”
My experience with Ziptailz is they work, they are almost indestructible, and they add a different profile to my lures. This review is focused on crappie fishing, after reading the reviews about this product; Ziptailz “Ultimate Fishing Skirts” are effective with many other species, both fresh and saltwater gamefish. If you’re a Walleye, Bass, Musky, Salmon, Northern Pike, Lake Trout, Inshore, Offshore, or Ice Fisherman, you need to try Ziptailz.
This little skirt is available in 50 colors and you can purchase Ziptailz directly from Wayne and Patti Rossi at www.ziptailz.com. Tell Wayne Les and I told you about them and he’ll add a free skirt to your order! Try them on your next fishing outing, post this to your social media site. I promise you one thing; you’ll see the results in your livewell. By Bernard Williams, Outdoor Writer
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