With the cold water season already in full swing in parts of the country, we took a look back and discovered that we have not to date reviewed what has become for us, a staple in our cold water arsenal.
That being the Z-Man David Walker’s Crosseyez Power Finesse Jig.
We have come to depend on several Z-Man products for various times of the year and this jig is one of those that we have tied on in most cold water situations. The reason is simple, the Crosseyez Jig is an extremely effective tool when slowing down and/or downsizing your presentation is the key to getting fish to bite.
The Crosseyez Jig Construction
The Power Finesse Jig is a smaller, more compact design but is still feature rich. Yes, it resembles some kid being goofy by intentionally crossing their eyes but that isn’t a negative for this bait.
The head design is both functional as well as versatile. It allows the angler to use this jig for casting, pitching, skipping, swimming or just dragging it around likely targets. In our experience with the Crosseyez jig, it performs admirably in all these situations while maintaining the ability to switch styles without having to modify the bait.
Pick a Trailer, Any Trailer
Simply pick the trailer that you like best for a given situation, thread it on and you’re ready to go. The trailer keeper is a simple wire version that is mounted on the top of the hook shank coming out of the head which hasn’t interfered in the slightest way when it comes to setting the hook. It holds both Z-Man plastics and traditional plastics without issue.
That being said, in our experience with this jig, we prefer the Z-Man trailers as their ElaZtech material is naturally buoyant which gives the jig a different position on the bottom of the lake and the colors complement the jigs skirt colors better than others seem to.
The skirt material is a finer cut silicon with strands of varying length. This gives this lure a more natural motion than some of its competitors. It is also hand-tied using wire as opposed to a rubber or plastic band. You really appreciate the longevity this gives the bait when you use it as frequently as we do.
The line tie is approximately at 45 degrees sitting horizontally. This results in positive hook penetration when it’s time to but the wood to ‘em. The weed guard is both robust and long out of the package. In every case, we have chosen to trim its length as well as remove some strands so that setting the hook becomes easier.
You can leave it as delivered given that you’re fishing around the worst structure in the lake but we’ve yet to have a problem with getting hung up due to modifying it.
Quality Hooks
The other feature that we’ve come to appreciate on this diminutive jig is the 2/0 Mustad Flipping Hook which comes stock. It is sharp, tough and pins the fish very well. The Crosseyez Jig is available in 1/4 and 3/8.
We find that we use the 1/4 more often than not as it gives us more options considering the sink rate. Yes, it takes more time to sink in deeper water but for lethargic cold-water fish, slowing things down while downsizing our presentation has put a great deal of bass in the boat. Both weights are easy to use with standard casting gear.
They don’t require heavy line or a rod with an unusually stiff action to be effective. We’ve caught many fish on this jig using lines as light as #10. This speaks to how sharp the hook is and how well designed the entire package is.
More Patterns Would Be Nice
If we had to pick something to gripe about with this bait it would be that the selection of colors is limited. Yes, we would like to see more patterns added but that may be just looking for something to complain about. Take a look for yourself to see what you think.
The Z-Man is not cheap. It retails for about $4.99 each. However, we don’t think that this price is unwarranted given what you’re getting for you money. We’ve used this jig year-round as there doesn’t seem to be any timeof the year when it simply won’t work. Add all that up, you’ve got a lure that is easy to use, effective year round, versatile, and durable.
On the MVF rating scale, the Z-Man David Walker’s Crosseyez Power Finesse Jig earns 4 stars.
See ya’ on the water …