Entry 276-3
Why Strike King’s Lures Are the Way They Are with Shaw Grigsby
Editor’s Note: Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Florida, host of “One More Cast” TV show sponsored by Strike King and airing on the Versus Network from January through June, will fish his 11th Bassmaster Classic in 2009. This month Grigsby will tell us the top Strike King Lures he’s most influenced.
Part 3: Don’t Forget the Zulu
Question: Shaw you’re a big fan of the Zulu. What was your input into the development of the Zulu?
Grigsby: The Zulu was originally designed as a freshwater soft-plastic jerkbait, but when I started fishing the Zulu, I learned that it caught anything that swam in salt water or fresh water. Although the Zulu’s probably 6-years old, it’s still as effective today as it was the first day it came to the market. I’ll fish the Zulu a lot in Florida to catch redfish, snook and speckled trout. The Zulu is also an unbelievably-productive bass-fishing lure. When Strike King first came out with Elaztech, we found that we could create a bait that’s really difficult for the fish to destroy. I’ve caught as many as 50 fish on one bait constructed of the Elaztech.
When Strike King created the Glass Minnow, the company only gave me three to test. I was able to film three shows and catch fish in all of them using those three small Glass Minnows made of Elaztech, which is the same material used to construct the Zulu. The buoyancy of these baits makes the Zulu and the Glass Minnow very special. 
Because the Zulu has been on the market for years, and a number of new baits have come out on the market in that time, many people have forgotten that the Zulu is one of the most fish-catching baits on the market for both saltwater and freshwater fish.
You can rig that Zulu Texas style, cast it out and flip it on the surface, and it will resemble a dying shad. The bass will eat-up this bait. I’ve learned that the Zulu is one of the best baits to use when skipping boat docks for bass. Not only can you get the Zulu under the dock, but when you twitch it and let it fall, the bass holding under the dock will come out and eat it, because it looks like a dying shad. You also can put the Zulu on a jig head or a keel-weighted hook and fish it like the Z Too or that new Caffeine Shad, making it an underwater jerkbait. Too, with the Zulu, I can make great casts keep the bait on top and fool the fish into thinking the Zulu’s a live baitfish in distress.
Contents:
- Part 1: This Ain’t Your Granddaddy’s Spinner Bait
- Part 2: The Little Spinner Bait with Lots of Weight
- Part 3: Don’t Forget the Zulu
- Part 4: Take the Glass Minnow to Salt Water
- Part 5: The Big Brother of the Red Eye Shad
