SWAG™ Tail Action and 10X Tough ElaZtech® Construction Bring a New Breed of Ribbed Swimbait
Ladson, S.C. (September 21, 2026) – Fresh off a standout debut at ICAST 2026, the new Z-Man® Octane MinnowZ™ is in stock and shipping to retailers nationwide, ready to raise the bar in the proven ribbed swimbait category.
Built around Z-Man’s exclusive SWAG™ tail, the Octane MinnowZ delivers a strong, consistent tail kick across all retrieve speeds. Its hybrid wedge-and-paddle tail keeps working whether it’s crawled slowly, steadily retrieved, or burned back to the boat, while the ribbed body adds water displacement and vibration that gives fish even more reason to commit.
“This isn’t just another me-too ribbed swimbait,” said Z-Man Director of Product Development Jose Chavez. “The SWAG tail allows you to fish it as slowly as a traditional wedge-tail swimbait and still get outstanding action, but when you speed up your retrieve it continues to track true without blowing out.”
Made from ElaZtech® superplastic, the Octane MinnowZ sports a supple body that boosts its natural swimming action, while its 10X Tough construction lets anglers land fish after fish on a single bait, spending more time fishing and less time replacing torn plastics. Sculpted eyes, a molded gill plate, realistic scale pattern, and a raised dorsal fin add lifelike detail, while dorsal and belly hook slots allow for easy rigging and clean hooksets.
Designed for the serious bass angler but equally effective on walleye, stripers, and saltwater species, the Octane MinnowZ can be fished on a jighead, rigged weedless on a weighted swimbait hook, added to an umbrella rig, or used as a trailer on a swim jig or ChatterBait® bladed jig. Offered in three sizes (2.8”, 3.3”, and 3.8”) and twelve pro-selected color patterns, there’s an Octane MinnowZ for any small swimbait scenario.
Veteran tournament angler and professional guide Josh Douglas has put the Octane MinnowZ through its paces and has seen the difference in action firsthand: “The SWAG tail provides significantly more tail movement than a traditional paddle tail. It looks incredibly realistic no matter what speed you work it. Combined with how many ways you can rig it, that gives me the confidence to throw it in a lot of different situations.”
Injection molded at Z-Man’s South Carolina facility, the Octane MinnowZ carries an MSRP of $7.99 and is in stock now, ready to ship to retailers nationwide.
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 over three decades. The company’s roots trace back to producing silicone skirts for many of the industry’s top lure makers, a foundation that set the stage for its evolution into a full-fledged lure brand. With the addition of the Original ChatterBait® bladed jig and the development of its proprietary 10X Tough ElaZtech® superplastic material driving its transformation, Z-Man broadened its offerings into a comprehensive lineup of innovative freshwater and saltwater lures. Today, Z-Man remains family owned and is among the fastest growing lure companies in the fishing industry, with its products distributed across North America and in more than 40 countries worldwide.
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