Product Review - Waterwolf Shadzilla

[Paul Schlagel]

An exceptional new lure that's been thrown a lot from my boat this year is the Shadzilla from Waterwolf. I mentioned this lure in a previous post about new stuff I found at the Milwaukee and Twin Cities shows. I mentioned at the time that I found it in the Big Wood Musky Lures booth, and that the lure looked promising. I have literally hundreds of hours on this thing (I am not exaggerating) and can now pass along a full review.

Action
The action of this lure is amazing, expecially compared to other boot-tail swim baits I've used. This thing is different from any other boot-tail (shad tail) because it's a hollow-belly swim bait, the same style of swim bait that took the bass world by storm a few years ago. Anyone who's used hollow bellies for bass knows the difference in action between it and a solid plastic bait. The action is amazing. Not only does the tail kick like crazy, the belly section of the bait bends back and forth, and the head shakes back and forth as well. I've run this thing for awhile and then clipped on other solid plastic swimbaits I used to use for comparison. The solid plastic baits look dead.

Working the Shadzilla
I usually use a fairly steady retrieve, letting the Shadzilla do most of the work. I'll work in a couple sweep/pause moves during the retrieve, but it's mostly just a steady retrieve. When the lure is getting close the boat, I crank faster to make it accellerate into the first turn of the figure-8. The figure-8 has been almost unnecassary with this lure, it almost always gets hit away from the boat during the retrieve. We've had some hits during the quick rise at boatside and on the first 'L' part of the turn. Only a couple fish have followed without hitting it. I think either the fish are in zombie mode and don't respond at all, or they nail it. As a guide it's really nice to have a lure that consistently gets hit away from the boat, as it gives me extra time to grab the net, pull the bow-mount, etc.

Durability
It's not a hard bait, that's for sure, but it's a lot more repairable than I thought it would be. The cuts and tears repair very nicely with Mend-It. The Mend-It makes a repair that doesn't discolor the lure at all and it's very strong. I also use a Ronson mini torch lighter for quick repairs on the water. A melt-repair is very durable but doesn't look as good. I'm going through a lot of these things because I'm using it so much and it's getting hit so often, but each body has held up for 3-6 fish before being retired. I probably could use them a lot longer, but clients don't have as much confidence throwing a ratty, beat up lure, and it makes me look like a tight wad. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised by the durability.

Casting
Castability isn't usually a consideration with lures, but this one is an exception. This thing casts like a bullet and doesn't have a long, floppy tail to get fouled. Bulldawg tails get fouled on the rear hook, Big Joe tails do too, the Shadzilla has none of those hassles. Even inexperienced clients who just learned to use a baitcaster have been able to cast the Shadzilla like a pro. Experience musky fishermen who haven't used other plastics much because of the casting hassles have been pleased.

Hooking
Once the hook is replaced, hooking is about average. I tried a lot of hooks and finally settled on the Musky Innovations Plasma Point 6/0 - it has a short shank and really wide gap. However, modifications and hook changes are now unnecassary. I got some of the first ones made and Waterwolf has made some modifications that have greatly improved hooking. The hook is now bigger and they've added another hook hanger closer to the head for an optional second hook. With the addition of a 2nd hook, this thing will be a great hooker. The original was about average hooking for a plastic bait. The newer, modified version is way above average. All plastic baits aren't as good at hooking as bucktails or hardbaits, but the new version will probably out hook any other plastic out there.

I've been getting my Shadzillas from Big Wood Musky Lures. The sales of this thing has exploded, so they're sold out of some colors. But, when I placed my last order I was informed that a huge resupply order is on it's way, so everything should stay in stock for the rest of the season. Big Wood has super duper fast shipping and the shipping is cheap, so I'd order from Big Wood if you're getting Shadzillas. If you want Shadzillas and some of the other lures from Waterwolf, then you'll have to order from Waterwolf. I haven't done a apples-to-apples shipping comparison, but I'm pretty sure that Big Wood will be faster and cheaper on Shadzilla orders.

I haven't been this excited about a new lure in a long time. This lure has a shot at becoming the next big thing. It's already the next big thing in my boat and will be for the rest of the season, or at least until big bait season arrives in the fall. I need to start bugging them about making a 14-16 incher for October and November....

Here's some links:
http://www.waterwolflures.com/
http://www.bigwoodmuskylures.com/
http://www.bigwoodmuskylures.com/lures.php?cat=swimbaits&make=WaterWolf Lures

[Paul Schlagel]

I almost forgot one more category:

Quality
The quality of the Shadzillas is way above par. The bodies are molded, then airbrushed, then dipped again to apply a layer of clearcoat. The result is a really good looking bait. Consistency is good - each one swims the same without leaning to one side, always falling off-center on the drop, or any of the other problems I've seen with other swim baits. Another boot-style swim bait I used to use was so poorly molded that about half of them had voids in the plastic or didn't swim straight. Some of the mass-produced Chinese plastics are poorly made, plain and simple. The quality on the Shadzillas is great - I haven't had one yet that wasn't superbly made.

Another thing, make sure you get some Mend-It, if you don't already have some. Big Wood will be carrying it and it should appear on their website any day now, maybe on an accessories page or with the swimbaits. If you get Shadzillas you really have to have Mend-It. Believe me, you'll need it and it makes the best repair.

I know I might sound like the leader of the Shadzilla sales staff, but I'm not. I've paid retail for every one in my boat - a few hundred bucks worth. I'm just passing along a tip to anyone who pays attention to my ramblings.

[Jim]

Are there any colors that you like for Mille Lacs?

Have you used it at night or are you sticking with blades at night and using this during the daytime?

Thanks.

[Paul Schlagel]

I like Hot Perch and Phantom Shad best, followed closely by Sexy Shad and Crown Royal. I also have Natural Perch and Walleye, which look very realistic, but haven't used them much yet. I also have Bullseye but haven't used it too much yet. I think it's the action that really makes the muskies strike this thing, but choosing colors that give you confidence will make you fish more effectively.

[Paul Schlagel]

Oops, here's the response to Jim's second question:

I am absolutely kicking butt with this thing at night. The Shadzilla shakes and kicks hard enough for the fish to easily find this thing at night, and it seems to hit their lateral line in a way that says, "easy meal right here, eat me," or something like that. Too many musky fishermen these days have the individual thinking skills of a lemming; if you're throwing anything other than a double-10 or a Supermodel, you're throwing something the fish haven't seen after dark in years. I'm not kidding. Think about it.

I can add a couple pointers about working this thing in the dark. First, it is hard to "feel" when it's getting close to the boat, especially compared to big blades. To help clients know where the bait is at, I put a glow-in-the-dark walleye lindy rig float (the things that look like a pill) on the line immediately above the leader. To keep in in place I peg it firmly with a toothpick and cut the excess toothpick with a Knipex. The little floaty thing needs to be recharged every 10 min. or so, so I give everyone in the boat a small flashlight. To recharge, place the floaty thing in your palm and cover it tightly with the flashlight. In this way, the thing can be charged without ruining your night vision, or the vision of others in the boat, and you don't have to screw around with holding your line up to your headlamp. A small Mag-Light kept in your pocket works great and it's always handy. I even use this setup with the Shadzilla at night, and I've been able to use "The Force" unassisted for years and years. Secondly, don't worry about going super slow. We've become so accustomed to slow rolling the big blades after dark, at least on Mille Lacs (Vermilion too), that everyone thinks a bait has to be fished ultra-slowly to catch fish after dark. That is sooooo wrong. I know guys who are trolling all the way up to 5 mph after dark and catching muskies. If muskies could only eat slow food after dark, they'd all be pretty skinny.

Good luck

[Paul Schlagel]

After another week of using the Shadzilla, now with the redesigned head, I have a couple more comments to add.

Hooking
The original Shadzilla was average to slightly below average in terms of hooking percentage, as compared to other soft plastic musky lures (Big Joe, Bulldawg, et al). With the new head it's now far, far above average. The Shadzilla now comes with a 5/0 hook on the rear hook hanger and an additional hook hanger up closer to the head. I've added another 5/0 on the front hanger. With those two trebles and the back hook, it's almost impossible for a fish to hit the thing without getting hooked. With the addition of the new front hook hanger I went from mildly irritated by the number of missed fished to thoroughly satisfied with the hooking power of this lure; it's now a great hooker.

Repair
Here's another tip if you're using Mend-It. Be careful with Mend-It around the head of the Shadzilla. Like Bulldawgs and most other soft-plastics, the head area has the thinnest plastic and is the area most vulnerable to a fatal injury. Be careful if you need to repair a head wound with Mend-It. Check carefully to make sure there aren't a lot of other small cuts and scrapes before applying Mend-It. I've made the mistake of adding a drop of Mend-It to a head cut, only to have multiple unseen cuts open up as the Mend-It wicked it's way throughout all the cut surfaces. The Mend-It is a solvent, not a glue, so it can make very clean and strong repairs, or it can do more harm than good. The body area takes less care to repair because there's so much more plastic. You'll do fine if you apply all your experience from repairing Bulldawgs to the Shadzilla.