LADSON, SC (June 2, 2015) — Z-Man Fishing Products is pleased to announce the addition of TroutTrick® soft plastics and Trout Eye™ jigheads to its growing line of high-tech inshore bait offerings for the 2015 season. The company’s recent acquisition of TroutTrick from founder Bob Sanders and partnership with Ralph Phillips Inshore Productions to distribute Trout Eye jigheads further Z-Man’s efforts to offer the industry’s most effective and comprehensive inshore saltwater product line. While designed specifically for targeting spotted seatrout, both products have proven to be successful on a wide variety of species including redfish, flounder, striped bass, snook and largemouth bass.

“Pairing the deadliest soft plastic trout lure I’ve seen—now constructed from 10X Tough ElaZtech®—with a perfectly matched jighead creates a complete system that is simply unmatched its ability to catch fish when other baits and presentations are ineffective,” comments Daniel Nussbaum, Z-Man General Manager and Executive Vice President. “Both products have unique features that set them apart from other inshore artificials and, paired together, will absolutely help anglers from Texas to Virginia catch more trophy seatrout.”

The TroutTrick is the brainchild of former FLW touring pro turned inshore guide, Bob Sanders. “After throwing everything in the tackle box at a school of surface-feeding trout, I tied on my TroutTrick and had a field day. I knew I was on to something,” remarks Sanders. “The lure worked from the Florida Panhandle to South Carolina’s estuaries and quickly caught on in the guide world, becoming a go-to lure for coastal fisherman in only a few short years. I knew we needed to take this lure to the fishing world in a big way, and Z-Man was the perfect company to partner with. With the addition of their proprietary ElaZtech technology and greater array of colors to choose from, the TroutTrick should have them jumping in the boat for this irresistible—and indestructible—offering!”

In the last four years since its inception, the TroutTrick has proven time and again to be a profile that outfishes other baits in a variety of situations, from cold-weather conditions when trout are typically dormant, to the heat of summer when waters are heavily stained and most anglers resort to live bait. Many veteran anglers feel that the TroutTrick’s slender profile and unique vibrations emitted by its ribbed body trigger reaction bites when other artificials fail to produce. The technique taught by Sanders is extremely easy to master and is even printed on the product packaging itself; simply give the rod two sharp jerks to bring the lure up several feet, allow the lure to fall straight back down to the bottom, and repeat.

“The TroutTrick is an amazing bait, and our ElaZtech material makes it even more durable and gives it improved action,” adds Nussbaum. “I fished the ElaZtech versions paired with the Trout Eye jigheads religiously last fall and winter, and the combination consistently caught more and bigger trout than anything else I used. Bob did a great job introducing South Carolina to a lure and a technique that flat-out works, and we’re excited to continue what he started and help spread the TroutTrick to other saltwater markets.”

Rounding out the TroutTrick system, the Trout Eye jighead produces the ideal sink rate that optimizes the bait’s ability to produce reaction strikes. Created by South Carolina inshore fishing guru, Ralph Phillips, the Trout Eye jighead features an oversized eye, superb balance, high-quality 2/0 Mustad hook, and needle- sharp keeper barbs that make rigging with ElaZtech easy and grip all types of soft plastics securely. The real differentiator with the jighead lays in its oversized 3D eyeballs that create a prominent strike target that game- fish can home in on.

“In 40 years of fishing for blue marlin and seatrout to everything in between, I have learned that predators strike the eye,” remarks Phillips. “Our Trout Eye jigheads are designed to have the biggest eye possible for a jig this size, and they just simply produce.”

“The Trout Eye jig is, hands-down, the best inshore jighead I’ve used,” Nussbaum comments. “The keepers really grip our ElaZtech super-plastic, and the fact that it improves the effectiveness of TroutTrick made partnering with Ralph on distributing it a no-brainer!”

TroutTrick soft plastics are offered in 14 saltwater-proven color patterns—including the original ‘Mood Ring’ color pioneered by Sanders and several colors with hand-dipped, colored tails—and retail for $5.99 for a package of six 10X Tough baits. Trout Eye jigheads sell for $4.99 for a pack of three and are available in four different eye colors— red, pearl, glow and gold—to match various water clarity and sunlight conditions. Both products are made in South Carolina just a few miles from the estuarine waters where they have been vigorously tested and refined.