Baitjunkie or Z-Man?

[charlie.hans.fishing]

Hi All

Wanted to have some suggestions regarding whether you find the Daiwa baitjunkie soft plastics better than the Z-Man soft plastics, or vice versa, based off of your personal experiences fishing with them. 

Thanks - Charlie 

 

 

[Brodie_S]

1 hour ago, TheCharliefisho said:

Hi All

Wanted to have some suggestions regarding whether you find the Daiwa baitjunkie soft plastics better than the Z-Man soft plastics, or vice versa, based off of your personal experiences fishing with them. 

Thanks - Charlie 

 

 

I use to use Zman plastics they work great but now I use baitjunkie plastics the reason being the baitjunkies are 10 times easier to rig straight they seem to be a little bit tougher then zmans but still have a great action .The packaging is also a lot better . And overall they just seem to be a upgraded version of the zman plastics I used to use. 

some people feel the same way as I do about the baitjunkie plastics some people hate them but overall they are by far the best mass produced soft plastics I've used in my opinion 

I rig mine up with TT lures jigheads and I've had zero issues with them.

hope that helps.

 

[charlie.hans.fishing]

5 minutes ago, Breaming with bro said:

I use to use Zman plastics they work great but now I use baitjunkie plastics the reason being the baitjunkies are 10 times easier to rig straight they seem to be a little bit tougher then zmans but still have a great action .The packaging is also a lot better . And overall they just seem to be a upgraded version of the zman plastics I used to use. 

some people feel the same way as I do about the baitjunkie plastics some people hate them but overall they are by far the best mass produced soft plastics I've used in my opinion 

I rig mine up with TT lures jigheads and I've had zero issues with them.

hope that helps.

 

 Hey mate.

Thanks for the advice. 

I see what you mean - although the baitjunkies are not advertised to have the Z-man's famous "ten 10x tough" technology, they are still a really strong plastic with great action and a good stretch. The packaging has that sort of double shell clam style which for sure ensures the lure's scent is kept fresh and that they do not dry out. 

When it comes to jig heads, I use the same as you (ttlures headhunters). I use a 1/16th ounce weight with a size 2 hook. 

They definitely seem to be a great plastic. As both brands of lures are of similar prices (depending on the size and style) I'll probably stick with the baitjunkies then. 

What colours would you recommend in the baitjunkies? Particularly in both the grub and minnow styles. I've heard motor oil and mud blood are great natural colours for estuaries and freshwater?

Cheers, Charlie. 

 

[Brodie_S]

33 minutes ago, TheCharliefisho said:

 Hey mate.

Thanks for the advice. 

I see what you mean - although the baitjunkies are not advertised to have the Z-man's famous "ten 10x tough" technology, they are still a really strong plastic with great action and a good stretch. The packaging has that sort of double shell clam style which for sure ensures the lure's scent is kept fresh and that they do not dry out. 

When it comes to jig heads, I use the same as you (ttlures headhunters). I use a 1/16th ounce weight with a size 2 hook. 

They definitely seem to be a great plastic. As both brands of lures are of similar prices (depending on the size and style) I'll probably stick with the baitjunkies then. 

What colours would you recommend in the baitjunkies? Particularly in both the grub and minnow styles. I've heard motor oil and mud blood are great natural colours for estuaries and freshwater?

Cheers, Charlie. 

 

yeah as for colours i mainly try to get at least 3 different colours . 

1 motor oil / a natural brown olive colour 

2 a whitebait/mullet colour

3 a bright/unnatural colour like bright green or pink

this covers most of my plastic fishing ill have 3 small curly tails with 3 different colours 3 small minnows with different colours and 3 bigger minnows with 3 different colours this pretty much covers everything . i have 3 styles of plastics with 3 different colours for each one . hope that helps

 

[charlie.hans.fishing]

4 minutes ago, Breaming with bro said:

yeah as for colours i mainly try to get at least 3 different colours . 

1 motor oil / a natural brown olive colour 

2 a whitebait/mullet colour

3 a bright/unnatural colour like bright green or pink

this covers most of my plastic fishing ill have 3 small curly tails with 3 different colours 3 small minnows with different colours and 3 bigger minnows with 3 different colours this pretty much covers everything . i have 3 styles of plastics with 3 different colours for each one . hope that helps

 

Thanks for that appreciated. I'll try pick up some different colours and sizes in the nearing future. 

[Brodie_S]

6 minutes ago, TheCharliefisho said:

Thanks for that appreciated. I'll try pick up some different colours and sizes in the nearing future. 

all good. if you have any questions me or any of the members on this website are happy to answer them . you could also ask the staff at tackle shops or a tackle world/bcf they usually fish themselves and know a thing or 2 about fishing in the area . 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

11 hours ago, TheCharliefisho said:

Hi All

Wanted to have some suggestions regarding whether you find the Daiwa baitjunkie soft plastics better than the Z-Man soft plastics, or vice versa, based off of your personal experiences fishing with them. 

Thanks - Charlie 

 

 

Hi Charlie

In my opinion, Daiwa bait junkies are slightly easier to rig, but the body is not as natural as that on Z-man lures. 

I reckon both have a pretty similar action, but the size hook needed to rig them can vary greatly.

I think Z-man soft plastics last longer and do not melt as much, opposed to Daiwa bait junkies, which often become mushy if left pre rigged in a tackle box. If I am honest I don’t think the Z-man 10x Tough means much, just a marketing gimmick. Z-man and Baitjunkies are made of similar materials (both plastisol, or sometime similiar) so they will last relatively the same.

Cheers Hamish

[charlie.hans.fishing]

37 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hi Charlie

In my opinion, Daiwa bait junkies are slightly easier to rig, but the body is not as natural as that on Z-man lures. 

I reckon both have a pretty similar action, but the size hook needed to rig them can vary greatly.

I think Z-man soft plastics last longer and do not melt as much, opposed to Daiwa bait junkies, which often become mushy if left pre rigged in a tackle box. If I am honest I don’t think the Z-man 10x Tough means much, just a marketing gimmick. Z-man and Baitjunkies are made of similar materials (both plastisol, or sometime similiar) so they will last relatively the same.

Cheers Hamish

Hi Hamish

I think at this point I'll use both the bait junkies and Z-man plastics as they both have their pros and cons. 

It's probably a gimmick but the plastics do have an impressive stretch even with lures down to 2.5 inch.

I have actually had one of my baitjunkies melt into a sort of pulp because it was left in a tackle box! Not doing that again.

Cheers Charlie.

[charlie.hans.fishing]

9 hours ago, Breaming with bro said:

all good. if you have any questions me or any of the members on this website are happy to answer them . you could also ask the staff at tackle shops or a tackle world/bcf they usually fish themselves and know a thing or 2 about fishing in the area . 

Thanks mate. 

Sure will. 

[Phil712z]

On 06/01/2022 at 10:15 AM, charlie.hans.fishing said:

 

I have actually had one of my baitjunkies melt into a sort of pulp because it was left in a tackle box!

Are you sure it actually melted from heat? Sometimes soft plastics will break down into goo if when they're stored they come into contact with a different type of plastic and the chemicals in the two plastics react with each other. Soft plastics are best stored separate from other brands of soft plastics and in their original packaging to prevent this.

[mangajack]

To be perfectly honest, plastisol lures work better for me....they are not as bouyant as thesuper stretchy rubbers used by the likes of Zman.

BJ's are no better or worse than Zman in my experience.

Plain old Squidgie wrigglers and fish  have accounted for far more fish for me than Zman and I gave Zman a red hot run for more than 5 years.....definitely gone back to squidgy or other plastisol lures these days, they jusat work better.

The plastisol lures do not last as long, but i have a few thousand lures to dispose of before i run out anyway.

[Junky]

I've never had much luck with either brand and I fished them hard. 

Put on a gulp, powerbait, squidgy a or slider grub... Bang, fish on. 

 

Also, plastic manufacturers do not listen to anglers sometimes. 

I had an unbeatable color, from a well known brand that still exists to this day and has a massive selection available, that absolutely brained the big snapper. 

Lo and behold, that color was discontinued. 

Why? 

They were always sold out. 

 

Probably worked to well. 

I've tried all other colours in the exact brand and style that I fancied and basically halved the catch rate, and the overall size of the fish. 

Very frustrating imo. 

 

The color will never return I'm told. 

 

[kmcrosby78]

3 hours ago, Junky said:

I've never had much luck with either brand and I fished them hard. 

Put on a gulp, powerbait, squidgy a or slider grub... Bang, fish on. 

 

Also, plastic manufacturers do not listen to anglers sometimes. 

I had an unbeatable color, from a well known brand that still exists to this day and has a massive selection available, that absolutely brained the big snapper. 

Lo and behold, that color was discontinued. 

Why? 

They were always sold out. 

 

Probably worked to well. 

I've tried all other colours in the exact brand and style that I fancied and basically halved the catch rate, and the overall size of the fish. 

Very frustrating imo. 

 

The color will never return I'm told. 

 

Clearly a very clever company ...... Hmmm, we have a colour that always sells out, ummmm, let's discontinue it ........ Clowns!!

[Phil712z]

They discontinued the Squidgy Stealth Prawns as well. I have no idea why - the Tiger Prawn colour was usually sold out every time I looked for them.

[mangajack]

13 hours ago, Phil712z said:

They discontinued the Squidgy Stealth Prawns as well. I have no idea why - the Tiger Prawn colour was usually sold out every time I looked for them.

Shimano has stuffed the squidgy range since Starlo and Bushy sold out....I hope those two did well out of the venture.

Shimano most likely will not listen to anything about Squidgies and will continue to drop or modify items to what they think they might be able to sell.....so many good lures now lost forever....bugs, wild prawns, lobbies etc. Thier "green" alternative Biobaits are not working at all for me.