The Big Reveal

New Z-Man® Baits highlight the 2024 ICAST New Product Showcase

It’s the angling equivalent of kids in a candy store. Which makes perfect sense, given that most folks view anglers as kids who never grew up. If you’ve ever visited fishing’s version of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory—aka the ICAST New Product Showcase—then you understand the allure and the excitement.

But if you’ve been blessed enough to stroll these hallowed aisles, you also know how tough it is to see it all; to actually absorb or understand all the cool new stuff arranged in one giant ‘tackle box’ of our dreams.

New for ICAST 2024, Z-Man has unleashed thirteen new products, from ElaZtech® softbaits and ingenius lure systems to ChatterBait® bladed jigs and select jigheads and terminal tackle, all geared toward elevating your angling game to new heights of awesome. Check the snapshots of new headliner Z-Man products below, each appearing live at the 2024 ICAST New Product Showcase:

ShadtronLT Line-Through Swimbait (Freshwater Soft Lure)

A true-to-nature shad profile swimbait, the Shadtron LT features a pioneering over/under line-through harness that allows for both top hook rigging with an included single hook or belly rigging with a treble hook (not included.) Propelled by a rounded, wedge-shaped tail, the Shadtron swims with a genuine shad motion, activated at a wide range of speeds, including extra slow retrieves and on the descent.

From Florida’s big bass lakes to TVA reservoirs and beyond, the new Z-Man Shadtron LT mimics the bass’ most prolific meal on every level. Available in two sizes and rates of fall (ROF)—4.5- and 6-inch sizes in both Slow Sink (ROF 5) and Fast Sink (ROF 12). Eight lifelike photo-printed and hand-painted color schemes were ascribed by input from top Z-Man pros. MSRP $12.99 (4.5”) and $15.99 (6”).

Tungsten ChatterBait® Elite EVO (Freshwater Hard Lure)

Concepted and chiseled to delve deeper in the water column— thanks to its compact, heavy metal tungsten head— the Tungsten ChatterBait® Elite EVO features the same award-winning DNA as the original ChatterBait EVO. A low-profile, high-density 96-percent tungsten head gets down fast, shimmying, hunting left and right and emanating its own unique sound spectrum and vibration.

Set to arrive at retailers in August, the heavy metal Tungsten ChatterBait Elite EVO sports two sizes—3/8- or 1/2-ounce—in twelve pro-driven color patterns. MSRP $15.99.

PrawnstarZ (Saltwater Soft Lure)

For a Funkadelic day of inshore action, tie on Z-Man’s new ElaZtech® PrawnstarZ, perfectly weighted and balanced to maintain an authentic horizontal posture as the bait freefalls and when it sits on bottom. The pre-rigged PrawnstarZ excels at an array of inshore applications: shallow sight-casting to redfish, drifting and freelining for seatrout, dragging bottom for flounder, plying oyster bars, docks and mangroves for snook or simply hovering under a popping cork.

Each PrawnstarZ lure is armed with wicked sharp, 2X Strong 2/0 (3.5”) or 5/0 (5”) Mustad® UltraPoint® hooks. Twelve super vivid, hand-painted color apps match every water clarity and shrimp color phase, coast to coast. Available in 3.5”, 3/16-ounce (2 per pack) and 5”, 1/2-ounce (1 per pack) sizes, MSRP $8.99.

Trout Eye XJighead (Terminal Tackle)

Built to perform at the highest levels, the Z-Man Trout Eye® X Jighead employs a custom-made 2X strong Mustad® 2/0 hook with AlphaPoint® 4.8 technology for extreme sharpness, instant penetration and 10X durability over standard needlepoint hooks. Titan Steel (tS) coating offers 10 times more saltwater corrosion resistance over standard black nickel finishes. The elite-grade Trout Eye X Jigheads feature oversized 3D eyes, creating a discernible strike target and are adorned with durable powder coated finishes and color matched eyes. Molded conical keeper barbs grip and hold ElaZtech® and standard soft plastic baits tight to jighead. Available in 1/8-, 3/16- and 1/4-ounce weights. MSRP $6.99 per 3 pack. Made in the USA by Z-Man Fishing Products & Eye Strike Fishing.

Micro WormZ (Ice Fishing)

Crafted in the USA with Z-Man’s exclusive ElaZtech® superplastic, the new Micro WormZ represents the latest critter in the refined Micro Finesse system. A lively little annelid imitation, the Micro WormZ appeals equally to trout, crappie, perch and sunfish—ice and openwater. (Tip: It’s also bait’s killer for super selective bass in bait finesse (BFS) applications.) 

Delivering unmatched action, soft texture, lifelike buoyancy—and the toughness to withstand countless bites—the multitalented Z-Man Micro WormZ is offered in 10 choice color patterns, from Hot Chartreuse and Bubble Gum to natural Green Pumpkin and Yoga Pants, MSRP $4.99 per 8-pack.

For a first look at the entire lineup of Z-Man new products, visit ICAST booth #4808. Or, for on on-water demo, find us at the On the Water media expo, 10am to 2pm on Tuesday, June 16). And don’t forget to rock the vote at the ICAST New Product Showcase!

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.