Like a Wrecking Ball

New Z-Man® Big BallerZ™ crashes coastal parties from South Padre to South Carolina

“This is the bait we’ve been waiting for,” exclaims Captain Ernest Cisneros, a legendary inshore guide and influential voice on South Texas’ Laguna Madre. 

An action-optimized, mullet-suggestive profile, the new Z-Man® Big BallerZ™ is already making strong statements on the inshore saltwater scene. Concepted and crafted to probe key seatrout and redfish-holding zones, the new ElaZtech® inshore bait thumps across underwater depressions and potholes, skips and slinks beneath boat docks and overhanging mangroves, and just plain tail-thumps through strands of seagrass. 

“Texas is ground zero for the Big BallerZ,” notes Cisneros. “Our trout here are big, wary and often, super bait selective. Fortunately for anglers, this is a profile and action that plays all the right notes, and that catches loads of redfish and snook along the way. Safe to say, the BallerZ is already a go-to for guide trips, especially when the wind lays down, the sun shines and bites on other baits fade. What I’m also saying is because the Big BallerZ produces here, it’s equally deadly across the Gulf and all along the East Coast.”

Z-Man Director of Product Development and confirmed saltwater sneak Jose Chavez chimes in on the company’s newest inshore star. “During field testing, Z-Man pros and guides immediately praised the Big BallerZ’ erratic, unrestrained tail action,” notes Chavez. “While other jerk-minnow style baits mostly tail-kick with either a side-to-side or up-and-down vertical motion, the BallerZ does both, depending on your retrieve.

“We built the segmented tail to wag vertically during slower, rod-shaking moves or horizontally with straight retrieves—and an array of other motions in between,” he explains. “The BallerZ is sculpted with a streamlined, tapering profile. It’s built to slide cleanly through tight spaces in grass or other cover, while its unconventional tail design rattles cages like a wrecking ball.”

Chavez further explains the bait’s V-shaped dorsal and ventral ridges and articulated, diamond formed cross section, which empower the BallerZ’ erratic quivering, thumping action: “I’d describe the bait’s range of motion as unhinged, exhibiting multidirectional tail wags with various twitches of the rodtip. Rigged on a ZWG™ Swimbait Hook, the BallerZ also does a wicked subsurface walk-the-dog dance. Possibilities are almost limitless.”

To entice aggressive predators, the new Z-Man Big BallerZ features a meaty 5-inch profile, perfect for Texas-sized seatrout. Or, to trigger nitpicking inshore predators, a 4-inch version offers the same free-flowing action in a downsized profile. Built for shallow, inshore applications, the BallerZ leads with its dense, wrecking ball tail, highlighted by a low profile, mullet-replica head, body and bulging baitfish eyeballs. 

“We’ve been pretty impressed by the Big BallerZ’ fine-tuned details and how they translate to underwater action,” notes Captain Cisneros, also referring to his son and fellow guide, Captain Aaron Cisneros. “The bait’s V-shaped segments enable multidirectional tail movement, showing fish different random actions during the same retrieve. Even the bait’s bulging eyeballs make a statement.”

“It’s the ideal bait for so many situations because the tail wags with a subtle pulsing action at any speed—more movement than a Jerk ShadZ™ but a little less aggressive than a paddletail.”

Composed of Z-Man’s exclusive, made-in-the-USA ElaZtech® superplastic, the Big BallerZ is extra soft and naturally buoyant for maximum underwater movement. “The bait’s so soft that people can’t believe it holds up to continuous violent bites, but that’s the magic of the material,” notes Cisneros, who rigs the Big BallerZ several different ways.

To ease hook placement and arrow-straight rigging, the bait features back and belly hook slots. “When rigged weedless with a weighted ZWG Swimbait Hook, the bait slides cleanly right through the grass,” he says. “But if I want to add extra dimensions of bait movement and also retain max snag-resistance, the articulated Texas Eye™ Jighead is an ideal match for the 5-inch BallerZ. And when conditions get super tough, my go-to is a 4-inch Big BallerZ on a Texas Eye Finesse Jighead.”

Meanwhile, for exposed hook jighead rigging, the 5” Big BallerZ fits a Swimbait Eye™ Jighead, while the 4” size matches a Trout Eye® or Trout Eye® X jig to perfection. (Rumor has it that Z-Man bass pros are also secretly rigging the BallerZ on the back of a ChatterBait® to devastating effect.)

As Cisneros suggests, the Big BallerZ’ dialed-in design allows for a range of different retrieves, from slow and deliberate to straightforward, moderately fast swimming. “I throw this bait two different ways,” he notes. “One, cast it past the target and while holding the rod at a 45-degree angle, drop to bottom and give the BallerZ two fast, aggressive ‘pops.’ Let it drop slowly, pause and then restart the 1-2 pop sequence. 

“Secondarily, I’ll throw the BallerZ like a swimbait. Drop to fish depth and begin a slightly faster, straight retrieve, while constantly jigging it up and down. You’ll note how the tail bobs and weaves differently—up and down or side to side—depending on your cadence. That’s a pretty cool (and rare) quality in a softbait, and a big reason this thing’s going to keep crushing it, from Texas all the way to the Atlantic Coast.” 

Landing in fishing tackle retailers in October, the new Z-Man Big BallerZ features 10 guide-inspired colors to match diverse fisheries and water conditions encircling North America and beyond. Made in the USA – MSRP $5.99 per 4” (5-pack) or 5” (4-pack). For more intel, visit www.zmanfishing.com.

About Z-Man Fishing Products: A dynamic Charleston, South Carolina based company, Z-Man Fishing Products has melded leading edge fishing tackle with technology for nearly three decades. Z-Man has long been among the industry’s largest suppliers of silicone skirt material used in jigs, spinnerbaits and other lures. Creator of the Original ChatterBait®, Z-Man is also the renowned innovators of 10X Tough ElaZtech® softbaits, among the most coveted baits in fresh- and saltwater. Z-Man is one of the fastest-growing lure brands worldwide.