Tips & Techniques

Fishing Your Zed Lure

General: The Standard (ST) series Zed Lure is one of the world's most versatile fishing lures. No lure, that we know of, is as effective at catching fish within its total fishing range. It can be easily fished in an inch of water over weed beds, or allowed to swim down to several hundred feet, or whatever your chosen depth should be. When you purchase a Zed Lure each Zed-Pack Backing-Card has a full range of fishing instructions inside. These instructions explain a broad range of fishing techniques unique to the Zed Lure, each one deadly. That information is repeated here.

FOR TOP WATER

Fishing over weeds, shallow structure or to pull fish up from deeper lies, two approaches will bring amazing results. First is High-Sticking on a tight line, keeping your Zed right at the surface level, giving off a side to side wake of an injured bait fish. Every few feet raise the rod tip almost overhead, then drop the tip horizontal suddenly creating slack line which causes the Zed to Back-Swim. Bringing the rod back to High-Stick will cause the lure to shoot back to the surface and continue waking. Be ready for vicious strikes on the drop back.

Keep the falling lure on a tight line as you cast. As soon as the Zed hits the water drop your rod tip almost to water level, reel fast enough to maintain contact with the Zed while raising the rod tip a few inches, then snapping it downward. The sudden downward rod snap on a tight line will cause the nose of the Zed to rise out of the water with the lure riding tail down almost vertical, perfectly imitating a crippled bait fish gasping air. This technique brings savage strikes. Both these techniques may be alternated on the same cast and can be used in combination with any open reel at any time, allowing the Zed to flutter sink on slack line as deep as you wish.

MID-LEVEL WATER

In spite of its weight, a Zed will fall fairly slowly due to its flutter-sink action. On slack line it will actually Back-Swim to whatever depth the angler wishes to fish. The lure may be retrieved with a steady reeling motion which will give it a gentle side-to-side tail swing with a flashing, rocking motion. Better results may often be obtained with a Pulse-Retrieve, snapping the lure ahead a foot or so, then letting it flutter-sink several inches, then repeating, again imitating a wounded bait fish. Watch the line carefully on the drop back for game fish to just casually pick-up the Zed and swim off.

DEEP WATER

Zeds will descend to whatever level current and angler choice will permit. It is the only lure that can be fished directly on the surface or descend as deeply as an angler wishes. It is a great way to pull game fish off reefs without jigging directly over rocks, logs, ship wrecks or sunken debris without risking line and lure to hazards.

Tip Banging the Zed directly on gravel or sand bottoms, then lifting it vertically a few feet only to fall back and repeat will pull game fish from great distances. They will often pick the Zed up right off the bottom. An angler feeling added tension on lift should strike immediately.