Official Zoom Bait Company Site

Zoom’s New ‘Ace In The Hole’
Zoom Bait announces new Super Salty Tube

When Elite Series angler Mike McClelland and the rest of the Zoom pro staff hit the tournament trail in 2012, they will have another weapon tied on their rod. That weapon, the new Zoom Salty Super Tube, is the company’s latest soft bait.

The new tube, available in 3 ¾ inch and 4 ¼ inch sizes, differs from the company’s original tube because it’s hand-dipped for a thicker, tougher body. It is also loaded with salt and specifically designed to meet the needs of pitchers and flippers (4 ¼ inch version) and finesse guys (3 ¾ inch).

“Tubes are still an ace-in-the-hole bait,” says McClelland, a veteran angler with more than $1.2 million in tournament wins. “A lot of guys still use tubes, but many of them just don’t talk about it.

According to McClelland, the 4 ¼ inch Salty Super Tube will be one of his go-to baits for flipping and pitching. The bigger, thicker body ensures that it can hold a 4/0 or 5/0 hook, and it won’t ball up when punched through mats, flipped to water willows or skipped under docks.

Click on thumbnails to view gallery of the 4-1/4″ Tubes:

“I’ve always flipped a tube. It’s something I keep tied on to help me get out of a bind,” he says. “It has a different fall than anything else. A beaver-style bait is similar, a finesse jig is similar, but nothing falls like a tube. It swings and sways and turns around in circles…things a creature bait won’t do.”

The smaller of the tubes won’t be any less popular. A dragging tube, as McClelland sees it, the 3 ¾” size will be dynamite on a tube head, where it can be worked over gravel and sandbars in river systems or hopped to imitate goby on the Great Lakes. McClelland thinks this tube will be deadly for smallmouth, spotted bass and largemouth.

“The dragging tube is still a great go-to bait,” says McClelland. “It’s a finesse bait that catches a lot of fish; it will also catch you some good fish as well.”

For most of the last decade, creature baits have been all the rage among bass anglers looking for a soft plastic that works under a variety of conditions. While McClelland doesn’t necessarily see the tide changing anytime soon, he does believe tubes continue to enjoy a strong following.  He believes Zoom’s strong entry in the market will be very well received among the tube-throwing contingent.

“This is the perfect time for Zoom to hit the market,” he says. “They are hitting the nail on the head by offering this new tougher, thicker bodied, salty tube.”

The new tubes will be offered in 16 different colors including four new colors.

001 Black Red
005 Junebug
019 Watermelon Seed
025 Green Pumpkin
026 Blueberry
054 Watermelon Red
097 Rootbeer Pepper Green
157 White Pearl / Silver Glitter
177 Junebug Red
239 Green Pumpkin Blue
300 Disco Violet
307 Disco Green
312 Disco Candy (new color)
313 Christmas Tree Red (new color)
314 H20 Violet Gold (new color)
315 Smokin Candy (new color)

The new product codes are 120 for the 3.75 inch and 121 for the 4.25 inch tubes.

Click on thumbnails to view gallery of the 3-3/4″ Tubes:

Ed and Kym Chambers

Ed Chambers, founder of Zoom Bait Company, turns 72 today.

The entire Zoom crew hopes you have a healthy and happy birthday!

Anglers who say color doesn’t matter when it comes to soft baits likely haven’t cashed many tournament checks. There are days, it seems, when color is all that matters. That’s why in addition to giving anglers great soft bait styles, we also continue to create new fish-catching colors as well.

The latest color, Scuppernong Green, continues that tradition. By adding green flakes to the Scuppernong color already in the lineup, the company has created an offering that will excel under a variety of conditions, including in low-light and in clear to stained water.

And because the color should be a winner for all species of bass, including spots and smallmouth, we’re offering Scuppernong Green in 10 of our most popular lures, including Finesse Worm, Trick Worm, U-Tales, Mag II, Ultra-Vibe Speed Worm, Ultra-Vibe Speed Craw, Brush Hog, Baby Brush Hog, Z-Hog and 6-inch Lizard.

Click on the thumbnails below to view photo gallery:

Zoom Bait Company introduces the new Z-Hog creature bait.  The Z-Hog features a compact body with a “rabbit ear” tail similar to a Super Chunk Junior.  Two small flappers on each side help the body slide and punch through heavy grass.  The Z-hog features a nice deep groove in the body to highlight the weedless characterics of this bait.  The body is compact enough to support a three X hook, but still features the trademark softness of Zoom’s plastic.

The head of the Z-hog has a small rounded ridge perfect for a large tungsten or lead weight to rest on the body and form a sleek, smooth presentation.

The new Z-Hog will be available in eight flipping and pitching colors that include:  Black-Red, Junebug, Watermelon Seed, Green Pumpkin, Watermelon Red, Watermelon Candy, Black Sapphire and California 420.

For a look at all the colors available click on the thumbnails below to view the photo gallery:

Links to find the Z-Hog online:

Z-Hog – Landbigfish.com

Zoom has added six more lures in the new color California 420.  Now available are the Zoom Trick Worm, Ol’ Monster, Baby Brush Hog, Brush Hog, Ultra-Vibe Speed Worm and the 6″ Lizard.

Below are some photos of the new items:

Click here to see the full color gallery for California 420.

Zoom has just announced some new items in their apparel lineup.  Three new Zoom visors and one new WEC crank cap are now available.  There are three visor colors to choose from.

Below is an photo gallery with various angles and views for a closer look.  Check them out!

To Purchase some of these new visors, try these links below:

LandBigFish.com

Simmons Sporting Goods

Zoom is very excited to announce the new color Morning Dawn.  This is an excellent clear water finesse color that is extremely effective on spotted bass.

Morning Dawn is a two-layer laminated color that features a translucent pinkish top with a darker, but still translucent purple and blue bottom.  This color will be effective for most finesse applications like a drop shot or throwing a shakey head.  Morning Dawn is currently in production and should be available by the first of August.

Initially Morning Dawn will be available in four lures: Finesse Worm, Shakey Head Worm, Swamp Crawler and the 4″ Meathead.

Zoom Finesse Worm - Morning Dawn

Zoom Swamp Crawler - Morning Dawn

Click on the thumbnails to view gallery of more images:

Big worms just got bigger!  Zoom is currently in production of the new Magnum Ol’ Monster.  This will certainly make a splash with the guys that are heaving big 12 inch worms.  The new Magnum Ol’ Monster easily reaches 12 inches and it’s also beefier around the middle.

The circumference of the original Ol’ Monster was about one inch.  The new magnum version is about an inch and three eighths.   The new Magnum Ol’ Monster will be available in 13 colors that include:  Black-Red, Plum, Junebug, Watermelon Seed, Red Bug, Green Pumpkin, Red Shad, Watermelon Red, Plum Apple, Junebug Red, Watermelon Candy Red, Blue Fleck and California 420.

This new monster is in production now and should be in stores by August 1st.

The New Magnum Version shot with the original Ol' Monster

You can really see the increase of the body size here

In a relaxed position this bait measures 12 inches

Stretched out flat, this new magnum Ol' Monster easily reaches 13 inches

This dude is going to produce to monster bass!

Zoom’s popular Swimmin’ Super Fluke series has added mainstay color Junebug.  Junebug continues to be a favorite amongst anglers and has been a constant producer as a Super Fluke.

Check out the Gallery below for all the colors now in the Swimmin Super Fluke Series.

Part 2 of our Q & A session with Mike to get inside tips on some of Zoom’s most effective products.

Photo by: Rob Russow, Bassmaster.com

Zoom:  You mentioned you love to throw the football head jig.  Talk about the Zoom trailers that you use or how you fish that bait this time of year.

Not to say that plastics have not played a dominant or major role in what a lot of guys have done earlier this year, but typically when you get into the post spawn period, this is where plastics really start jumping out.  There is going to be the opportunity to Carolina rig anything from Zoom Brush Hogs to the Centipede.  The array of baits that starts getting used this time of year just opens up.

That’s what is so awesome about being tied in with a company like Zoom.  You have anything and everything you could potentially need as far as plastics.  This time of the year when you get one of those days with slick blue bird conditions,  you can pick up a Finesse or a Shakey Head worm or possibly even a Magnum Finesse worm.  I look forward to this, not only because of Carolina rigging and Texas rigging, but football jig fishing is when those fish start feeding out.  They get more aggressive and you can really start bulking the bait up.  I like to take that 3/8 to 5/8 ounce football jig and beef it up either with a super speed craw, super chunk, or the full size super chunk. When it comes to really bulking that bait up, a Zoom Brush Hog is one of my favorite baits.

Zoom:  What are the colors you focus on?

For me, the colors depend a little bit on the region that we are fishing.  Typically this time of year, I like to stay in the natural realm.  Anything green, pumpkin, watermelon, but I like the different colors added.  Zoom has done a phenomenal job of making bait that looks so naturalistic now.

I am not one of these guys that is going to have 15 bags of green pumpkin Brush Hogs or Finesse worms in my boat.  I like all of the variations.  You have green pumpkin green and green pumpkin blue, etc. I like to mix and match those colors with my jig to whatever the predominant colored foliage is in the particular lake.  There are times, maybe more in the Southeast, where you get into the tan and clear water. That’s when I feel like the Zoom june bug, red bugs and the darker colored hues really come into favor.

Fishing lakes in the Midwest and the South, you just can’t go wrong with green pumpkin or a watermelon.  Use the variations of different colors.  The “magic” colors that Zoom came out with over the past couple of years have just been phenomenal with the added metal flaking in the blue.

Zoom:  Talk just a little bit more about how you fish the football jig for someone who is just learning that technique. Do you alternate that football jig with something else?  What else do you have tied on at that same time?

Yeah, this time of year when it comes to throwing Zoom plastics, there are several things I am going to be doing to utilize them.

I will be using a jewel football jig with a Zoom plastics with a lot of different variations or a Carolina rig.  To me, this is the time of year where you have to cover a lot of water in trying to establish a pattern. Once you establish a pattern, that’s when I start alternating between the two baits to try to figure out which one is going to be predominant throughout a day or possibly only a few hours.

There are a lot of situations where I pick up a football jig when fishing these offshore, main lake points, main lake channel ledges and things of that nature. This time of year whether it is a Carolina rig or a football jig with a Brush Hog, a Super Hog, or a variation of different plastics,  you want to keep that bait in contact with the bottom as much as you possibly can until you catch a fish or two and get a school of fish activated.

This is so exciting to me since typically you are not fishing for one fish here or there. These fish are coming out of the spawning areas. They are grouping back up and you are finding schools of bass that could be wolf packs of eight or ten fish or up to schools of maybe 50 to 100.

You can sit there and alternate between a Carolina rig and a jig giving those fish a different look and getting them fired up.  Once the school of fish gets fired up, I can start hopping the jig a lot more and get a lot more aggressive bites.   In the beginning when I am looking for fish, the Carolina jig presentation is more of a slow presentation keeping it in contact with the bottom. Once those fish are fired up, I start hopping or stroking that football jig with a bulky trailer like a Brush Hog or a Baby Brush Hog or possibly the Zoom Super Speed Craw.

I want something that creates a lot of commotion and a lot of action in the water. If I can’t get them to bite the jig hopping it, a lot of times I will throw the Carolina rig on a bigger jewel Carolina rig weight, which is called the Rock.  I may go from a half ounce up to a ¾ or a 1 ounce. Basically, I keep that Carolina rig moving all the time rather than throwing it out there, dragging it and stopping it.  Essentially, I will throw it  and just almost wind it like you were digging or dredging a crank bait on the bottom.  I am slowly rolling that Carolina rig by just keeping it coming through the rocks and the gravel. Once you get those schools of fish fired up, you can definitely put the hurt on them that way.

When it comes to the tougher days, then you have to employ the spinning tackle.  You pick up the Zoom Finesse worm or a Magnum Finesse worm and, either shaking it or, if the fish get out deeper than 14-18 feet of water,  you can employ a drop shot rig on them as well.  You have to utilize the day that you are given to employ whatever tactic it is to catch these fish in the post spawn period.  When you get those bright, slick, bluebird days without a breath of wind blowing and you are fishing clear water, you better get the spinning rod out and figure out a way to finesse the biting.

Zoom has added an exciting new color California 420 to their lineup.  California  420 features a dark (almost black) top with red flake and a watemelon red bottom.

Zoom pro staffer Gerald Swindle has been fishing with this color for awhile now and loves it’s versatility.

“I normally have colors that I call ‘clear water’ or ‘dirty water” colors,” said Swindle.  “But California 420 is one of the very few colors I have ever used that seems to be effective in both.  It’s not a color you look at and really say ‘wow,’ but I have caught fish using this color from Clearlake, California to Lake Wheeler, Alabama to Lake Toho, Florida.

“This color is so versatile that it really has become a confidence color for me.  I feel like no matter where our next tournament is, I can tie on this color and feel confident that I’m gonna catch fish.”

Zoom Swimmin' Super Fluke - California 420

Zoom Swimmin' Super Fluke Jr. - California 420

Currently, California 420 is available only in the Swimmin’ Super Fluke and Swimmin’ Super Fluke Jr.  It will become available in more lures in the next few months.

Click to here to see the most recent California 420 color gallery

Zoom Pro Casey Ashley won the Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash on Lake Murray this past weekend.  This win for Casey was in front of his family and friends as he lives just two hours away in Donalds, South Carolina.

Casey used a combination of lures during his victory this past week .  He threw a Zoom Super Fluke, a Lucky Craft Gunfish and a Zoom Finesse Worm.  The Zoom Super Fluke was an extremely popular bait amongst the pros fishing this event.

Lake Murray has an abundance of Blue Back Herring and when they school up, Zoom Super Flukes can be extremely effective as they mimic the herring very closely.

Zoom Super Fluke - Disco Green

For a full story and all of the results of the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Murrary – visit Bassmaster.com