Zip Lure

[FrozenFireman]

Anybody have luck using Zip lures this year thru the ice??????????

[Ed Carlson]

Yup I do well with them on rivers and on lakes.

On rivers, blade baits are often a Go-2 lure for me when dealing with faster currents. They are flasher friendly and tend to trigger aggressive strikes for river walleye day or night.

The Zip, the Heddon Rattling Sonar, the Sonic, and a few other blade baits are well worth adding to your winter and open water walleye box.

[CrappieJohn]

As Ed has stated, these are good lures where current is an issue. They perform very well under the ice opr out of the boat. I do think that they have a cold water application for walleye/sauger though. I don't do well with them fishing for those species during warmer weather. I do use the smallest Cicada for jigging suspended deep crappies during the summer months occasionally and have very good luck with them. I have to admit that this is probably not a real fair assessment of the blade baits on my part though, because I don't fish the pikes during warm weather much.

In cold water the blade really are a great tool.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Biggest fish I ever pulled threw the ice was on the Zip Lure... it was at a Metro FM ICe get togeather on Lake Calhoun.. Think it was 37" muskie.. Very fun fish.. got to watch it hit on my aqua-vu!

[Ed Carlson]

Tom a tip I found is sauger/walleye go just nuts for them on dams right in the fast water in late summer and into the late fall. I pitched them right up so they hit the face of the dam at times and fallow them back quartering them against the flow and the face of the dam. They slammed them. I also found that big cats liked them too, in the same areas.

I had a client hook up on and land 3 sumo cats over #20 on a 5 1/2 foot St. Croix UL rod last fall. He had 4/10 Power Pro on and he said that was the toughest battles with a fish he ever had. That UL rod living to fight again amazed me!

I also like to remove the bottom treble and use only the rear hook in fast water and while casting, they tangle less and you hook-up just as well. Replacing the rear hook with a #6 or #8 Triple Grip appears to up your hook-up rates too.....Especially when fishing barbless hooks.

[CrappieJohn]

Late fall/early winter is when we see them shine down here, also at the dams. The water temps are dropping, but not enough to incite a good plastics bite. Hang a blade on the line and go for it.

There is nothing like the solid weight of a fish which has sucked that blade up on the drop and you don't know it until you go to jig it again.

I've taken 18 pound toothies on those avid rods. They are a durable piece of equipment.

Thanks for the hints on the hooks, Ed!

[frabillfisher]

well...today i went out thought i would try something new and bam...got about 10 tullibies through the ice on the smallest sized zip tipped with a waxy they sure love that thing

[MRWALLEYE2005]

Where can you find them now? I havent seen the gold or nickel ones anymore in stores, did they quit making them?

[Ed Carlson]

Not sure if you mean Zips or the Cicada's?

But Gander Mt has Cicadas in Gold in most sizes. I spoted some in a clearance bin at Fleet too.

Zips can be found in many retail stores, even seen them at Wall Mart. They are mostly in a chrome base with reflective tape coloring now. The Heddon Sonar has a good brass/gold model.

[MRWALLEYE2005]

I got the Zip Lures a couple years ago just the plain gold and nickel without the coloring tape on them. What are the new ones like with the coloring? Which colors and sizes work best for walleyes?

[Ed Carlson]

I have had good luck with the metallic shiner colors that includes a Golden Shiner.

Some have yellow, orange, and silver sparkles and others have blue, silver sparkles, with a glow white bottom. A black and silver metallic sparkle is a good one too.

One of the hotter patterns is called the Willowcat but for the life of me, I can not see any resemblance to the coloration of a real Stonecat.

All of there most recent models of Zips that I have bought have the tape sides with the patterns on them. The tape sides stay on well as long as you keep them away from plastics and or solvents that will loosen the tape.

[FrozenFireman]

I just came back from LOW and had no luck on the zip. Caught a ton of fish, just none on the zip.