Pinfish proof tails?

[Hit-n-Miss]

What is the brand that pinfish can't tear up(grubs) and where can you get them?

[Atticus]

Norton?

[Tom Keels]

I use Gotcha grubs and they are super tough.

[RodBow]

Has anyone else thought of using tiny rubber bands - like orthodontia bands - to put around the grub neck to keep them on longer? Seems like a good idea but I haven't located the little rubber bands... ?

[CairoTrout]

surecatch

[BAD BEHAVIOR]

Berkley Gulp is coming out with a new Kevlar formula just for you!

[Littoral]

Good question that has a very (VERY) good answer.
I have 2 go-to baits inshore. Chug Bug with upgraded hooks and this in pearl white:
http://www.strikeking.com/tips/3x_zulu.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
They hold up under repeated Spanish (much less Pinfish).

[Hit-n-Miss]

Where can you by the zulu tails?

[Littoral]

Guessing I might get that good question.
Wally did carry the pearl but I haven't seen them there for 2 months.
I fussed about it to a manager last week. Who knows.
I also asked Advantage to carry them but it hasn't happened (yet). That's what I'd prefer
but for now my source is Cabelas. That works for me because they have all the color options.
Another reason I like them, by the way, is that they will suspend horizonal with a 1/16oz jig.
I do very well fishing them slow & I think that's why.

[grim reeler]

Has anyone else thought of using tiny rubber bands - like orthodontia bands - to put around the grub neck to keep them on longer? Seems like a good idea but I haven't located the little rubber bands... ?

You might want to look into different jig heads. The ones with the bump or the mushroom shaped tail retention pieces tend to work poorly. Look for the ones with barbs or more substantial tail holders. You can also use a few drops of superglue. The gulps are so soft that no matter whay you use, its just delaying the inevitable. But it was pointed out to me recently, that the fish seem to hit gulps the same no matter where the tail is. It could be chewed down to a nub and hanging off the end of the hook, and the fish still hit it the same as a new one.

[Mook!]

Good question that has a very (VERY) good answer.
I have 2 go-to baits inshore. Chug Bug with upgraded hooks and this in pearl white:
http://www.strikeking.com/tips/3x_zulu.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
They hold up under repeated Spanish (much less Pinfish)
and even caught that brown fish to the left of this here post.

x2

Where can you by the zulu tails?

x3

I used to pick them up at Wally World too, but the one on the parkway by me hasn't had them in months. I got my last batch at Gander Mountain. Mooksfishingwidow is laden with a load of them on the way to my house right now she was nice enough to pick up at Bass Pro for me on the way here from school. The big fish I 'Mooked' in the last tournament was caught on one, and that single one caught over 50 trout, got attacked by literally hundreds of pinfish, and you had to realllly look hard to see the little knicks and scratches in it. That one finally met its match when it was in one of the flush mount rod holders on mojos boat and apparently got hung on a tree or something...dunno for sure what happened to it, just know it was there when we took the boat out of the water, and the reel was spooled when I took it out the next day

That particular one was the Redfish Magic Zulu - they are nearly identical to the 3x but are slightly tougher. The 3x (some of which are now called 5x) are softer plastic and have a deeper lower channel, also available in more colors, but the one complaint I have about them is that, in the hot weather, they soften up so much that when you run a jighead through them, they are so soft that it's hard to get good barbs to penetrate and set them in there right. I throw a few each of different colors in the cooler in the morning, and a pack or two of jigheads. That way they're tough enough to run in a good jig head, and when they heat up and expand, so does the jig head.

The "Redfish Magic" designated zulus are really quite a bit better; they feel pretty much identical, have pretty much identical action, and are just much tougher in the frontal portion, and thus handle and stick to jig heads much better. Beware, they cost about 15% more than the ones without the 'Redfish Magic' name on the package.

2 pieces of advice I give strongly about these things:

1) They are a finesse bait - it's all about the action - work em too hard or too soft, too fast or too slow and they suck royally. Get it just right (you'll know it when you see it) and in my opinion they're hands down the best soft bait out there.

2) These things were designed for the Strike King Flats Jighead; Personally, there are some other types of jig heads I like, but for the zulus, the funky shape and balance of the strike king head really does make a difference. You're missin the boat if you use one without the other.

Just my 25 cents...

[Mook!]

Litt - thought you might appreciate this - I went to WalMart a few hours ago immediately after posting previous comment, and they had 2 packs of pearl. Now they're out. I was even more pleasantly surprised when they rang up $1.00 a pack at the register

[MudDucker]

Has anyone else thought of using tiny rubber bands - like orthodontia bands - to put around the grub neck to keep them on longer? Seems like a good idea but I haven't located the little rubber bands... ?

When these plastic tailed jigs first came out, they were just a slender worm like tail on a jighead and they had a black rubber band like collar to hold them on the jig. That would only have been about 45 years ago or so. So maybe retro is the way to go.