Zoom Baits!

[Avid Angler FL]

Does anyone here love using Zoom baits? If so, what kind and what are some ways you fish them? I've been using Zoom for the past 4 years I've been bass fishing, and have always loved using them.

Also, I have a few bags of Zoom Small Tubes, they're like a 3 in version of the regular Zoom tubes. Anyone have any luck with these??

Thanks, Garrett

[Stasher1]

Zoom stuff is okay, but definitely not in my top 5...probably not even in my top 10. The quality (or lack thereof) of some of my past Zoom purchases has really turned me off.

One or two mis-shapen baits per pack I can live with. When over 50% of the pack looks like this, I start looking for new supplier.

I emailed Zoom about the "quality" of this pack and never received a response.

I've bought the "Dents & Dings" from a former site supporter, and all of them have been better than what Zoom is trying to pass off as top quality.

[Captain Obvious]

I love zoom baits. They are what I call my core "soft plastic brand"

As for fishing them my best producing bait is the utlra-vibe craw on a jig head crawled along the bottom.

The Trick worm is the best worm on the market, fish it as you like it will catch fish.

The Fluke and Brush Hog are also classic baits that have more than prove themselves on tour and by the weekend warrior.

No they are not the best quality brand but for the price they are unbeatable.I have seen bad packaging in all brands, we are talking about soft plastic baits its going to happen.

Capt.O

[wormycrm99]

Zoom trick worms seem to work when nothin else will. I have had alot of good days using Brush hogs and ultra vibe speedworms also. I have noticed a few more defective baits in packages of zoom baits lately though. You can get other brands of the same designs and probably get a better made bait that will perform the same as the zoom versions.

[Siebert Outdoors]

About the only plastic I use is their lizards. I dont fish a whole lot of plastics anymore except creature baits. I mostly use some handpours I make or Rage craws this year.

[Fat-G]

Zoom's QC is absolutely horrible. I have had countless bags in which every bait in the pack looked like the picture above. Their Trick and Finesse worms are OK, but I would rather throw a Roboworm.

They do catch fish if you can get a "good" pack. I've caught probably nine 5-7 pound fish on a weightless wacky Trick Worm.

[senko_77]

Zoom's QC is absolutely horrible. I have had countless bags in which every bait in the pack looked like the picture above. Their Trick and Finesse worms are OK, but I would rather throw a Roboworm.

They do catch fish if you can get a "good" pack. I've caught probably nine 5-7 pound fish on a weightless wacky Trick Worm.

Have you really seen your catch rate drop from a bag of plastics that had some air pockets on their sides?? If so, I'm telling you now, it's all in your head. I've had fish rip the tail off of a swimming fluke or mag 2 and as I'm reeling it in, it gets slammed. How about all the times you've glued appendages on a bait and the craftsmanship is crappy and then you chuck it out and start catching them?

[Fat-G]

Have you really seen your catch rate drop from a bag of plastics that had some air pockets on their sides?? If so, I'm telling you now, it's all in your head. I've had fish rip the tail off of a swimming fluke or mag 2 and as I'm reeling it in, it gets slammed. How about all the times you've glued appendages on a bait and the craftsmanship is crappy and then you chuck it out and start catching them?

I don't really buy Zoom anymore, but the air pockets neve affected the catch rate, it just ticked me off.

[Avid Angler FL]

I'm not sure where you're shopping at to find defective ones, because I rarely find a defect in their baits. They're usually all pretty consistent when I get them, and I've used plenty of em! Anyone know a good way to rig/fish the small tubes? Thanks

[clayton86]

I love zoom baits I throw flukes and tubes mostly and iv never had an issue in over 5 years when I started the only issue iv had and it was a good one I got 15baits in a pack labeled to have 10 so go me. I have some u tail worms as well that are all fine as well. But I am mostly a rage guy but steve hasn't come out with a rage fluke or tube

[central.PA.bass]

i love zoom plastics as well.. their lizards, shaky head worms, and speed craws are killer!

[I.rar]

I like zoom. Flukes ,lizards , and speed worms caught me plenty if fish.

I've never had any qc problems with them either.

[RangerEnthusiast]

Zoom baits dominate in my soft plastic boxes. I'm a Zoom guy. I also use Bitters Baits too there a lot like Zoom's baits.

[Avid Angler FL]

I'm always trying variety, and I have many different brands of plastics, but Zoom has to be in my top 5! No other company has been able to replicate the classic "Fluke"! Other shad immitations are either not what they say they are or they're more pricey for less product. I think I'll be fishing Zoom baits forever! There's just such a variety in styles, colors, and applications for which you can use them, they've become a mainstay in my tackle bag.

[dhami013]

I love Zoom baits. Baby Brush hog is my go to. I like it in green pumpkin. I've also grown fond of the super fluke. I use that in watermelon red flake fished weightless on a 3/0 hook.

[Stasher1]

Have you really seen your catch rate drop from a bag of plastics that had some air pockets on their sides?? If so, I'm telling you now, it's all in your head. I've had fish rip the tail off of a swimming fluke or mag 2 and as I'm reeling it in, it gets slammed. How about all the times you've glued appendages on a bait and the craftsmanship is crappy and then you chuck it out and start catching them?

It's not a question of whether or not they'll still catch fish. It's about paying full price for a defective/blemished product. They're mass-produced soft plastics, and I have no problem with a defective/mis-shapen bait every now and then but over 50% of this particular pack were as shown above. That wouldn't be acceptable in any other product, why should my soft plastics be any different?

[Bluebasser86]

I fish the trick worm a ton, along with baby brush hogs. I like the meathead on a dropshot, speed craw as a jig trailer, mag 2 worms, and the fluke. I guess I've never noticed the large amounts of defects in the baits, but then again the fish must not notice either

[SirSnookalot]

The only plastic baits I use are flukes, have never really noticed any defects from Zoom or any other brand. Flukes are a big part of my arsenal, I use them a lot for bass, but I use them more for snook and tarpon. Just about any fish will hit them, great for toothy critters if you don't mind putting a fresh one after each strike. I use Zooms, but have no loyalty to any brand, my catch rate is fairly constant from brand to brand.

[Quillback]

Lot's of Zoom plastics in my tackle boxes, I love U-tales, Ol' Monster, Trick worms and Brush Hogs. Price is reasonable also. Great color selection. My only complaint is that some colors are not available across all products, for example green pumpkin/purple flake.

[ww2farmer]

About the only thing I have been using from them this year are Tiny Flukes for drop shotting, and the swimming fluke. I still have a lot of super flukes, fat albert grubs, trick and finesse worms, jr. super chunks, super chunks, and horny toads, but they have all been moved to the bottom of the rotation. I have been using a lot of Strike King plastics this year. I'll keep that zoom stuff, it works just fine, I just like trying other things. No one pays me to fish with there stuff.

[MuffinMan]

I love this brand and my top 3 favorites are the zoom lizards, baby brush hogs, and the new Houdini super fluke!

[Primus]

I use a few different brands of soft plastics and Zoom is part of the rotation. I have not had any quality control problems and I've been using their stuff for years. The baits I use would include...

Speed Craw

Centipede

Brush Hog & Baby Brush Hog

Super Fluke & Jr.

U tail worms

Trick Worm

[grimlin]

It's not a question of whether or not they'll still catch fish. It's about paying full price for a defective/blemished product. They're mass-produced soft plastics, and I have no problem with a defective/mis-shapen bait every now and then but over 50% of this particular pack were as shown above. That wouldn't be acceptable in any other product, why should my soft plastics be any different?

While I can see where you are coming from,but the ones I buy from Walmart seems to be where I get most of my messed up baits.Since I use the fat albert grubs and I mean a lot of them,I want to say about 30% of them has been found messed up. But for $2 & some change I'm willing to let it go since they do catch fish.

[The Bassinator]

As senko 77 said I dont think minor misshaping of the baits affects lure performance. Now if you have a bait like a swim bait or a craw with flapping claws and the appendages are misshapen then it affects the action and I would agree that I wouldnt use it. I have never had a problem with zoom baits and they are my #1 bait of choice. You just cant get a better bait for the price IMO.

[piscicidal]

I love Zoom products, but they do have an issue with quality control. I buy my stuff from the BPS store here in Fort Lauderdale and I will always check the bag I am buying to look for misshapen baits. I do think it can be an issue, especially with the horny toads. If one side of the bait has an abnormal amount of "sink" (a molding term, indicating a non-filled condition) the bait might not run true. The worms I am not so concerned with, but I will check them anyway. I realize this is no consolation to someone who might be buying online.

My favorites: Horny Toad, Ol Monster, Dead Ringer. I probably go through more packs of horny toads than I do any other soft plastic.