Has anyone used the Yamamoto Zako as a swimbait instead of the intended chatter bait trailer?

if so, what size hook did you use? How successful was the Zako as a swimbait?

 

Never tried because it would basically have no action.  I'm sure it would probably catch a fish or two, but there are way more effective soft swimbaits for that technique.  

Just now, Frezzy said:

Never tried because it would basically have no action.  I'm sure it would probably catch a fish or two, but there are way more effective soft swimbaits for that technique.  

 

 

 

                                                  

Standard Zako's are basically a do-nothing plastic.  I'm sure you could texas rig it and walk it subsurface, but otherwise the tail has no real action to it.  On a chatterbait it gains action from the jig moving without taking away action from the blade.

 

the paddletail Zako might be different but I haven't tried one yet.

I have used the standard paddle tail and it is a good swimbait option. 4.0 weighted Gamakatsu hook. 

I've tried it but no luck with it. As a chatterbait trailer,  it's great. I have also used them with a Scrounger head and that has worked pretty well. 

Thread onto a Scrounger jig!

Tom

Had a guy in my boat tell me it was his secret bait once. He would throw it all over the place Texas rigged with a bullet weight. He never caught a thing on it... 

46 minutes ago, zeth said:

Had a guy in my boat tell me it was his secret bait once. He would throw it all over the place Texas rigged with a bullet weight. He never caught a thing on it... 

 

So secret, even the bass don't know about it!

I've tried this on a swimjig and didn't like it but I did throw it on a belly weighted underspin type hook and caught one bass on it but haven't tried it stand alone since. If used more like a fluke it's pretty cool but if used like a swimbait get the paddletail version.