Didn’t really get too hung up in the Labor Day sales. Will jump on the Christmas versions. 
Just took delivery on some of the Z-Man Pro Crawz. Have been wanting to try this step up in size for a while. Wanted to give a larger profile for this years fall fishing. Considerably larger than the TRD Craw but only 3.5”.  Have been using the TRD’s successfully the last few seasons. Had to give these a try. Hope they are a good choice for the fall. 
Have been fishing soft craws for a long as I can remember. Many good craws out there. The TRD’s hold up real well to the bites and hits. I find to store them in original factory packaging is best. 

One of my better cooler water producers. Rigged like this on a Gamakatsu 296415-3/16 or 29641-1/8 with the stock spring keeper changed out to an Owner (L) CPS. I use a Rattle snaker to inject a rattle.

I've tried these and they are just ok. I find they have a hard time staying on a hook, which is weird for elastomer. Also, the ones I had melted in their original packages and I had one get totally stuck to a rod after I put that setup back in a rod holder. 

3 hours ago, FishTank said:

I've tried these and they are just ok. I find they have a hard time staying on a hook, which is weird for elastomer. Also, the ones I had melted in their original packages and I had one get totally stuck to a rod after I put that setup back in a rod holder. 

I’ve had zero problems with them melting or blobbing stuff up. 
They’ll slide like any other plastic but I’m using hooks and jigs that have the retainers on them. Worth having them to eliminate the slip. 
I'm liking the Z-Man stuff but I’m not 100% only with it. There are a few craws out there I like. 
I started to use the hooks with the keeper on them because the Flat Worm would slide on me. They make night and day difference 

7 hours ago, Spankey said:

I’ve had zero problems with them melting or blobbing stuff up. 

Me either.

 

7 hours ago, Spankey said:

They’ll slide like any other plastic but I’m using hooks and jigs that have the retainers on them.

I use a disc keeper on the hook as shown. Nothing fancy. Got some PVC shower pan liner from H-despot and used a hole punch for loose leaf paper to make a lifetime supply for little$. They work great. Lots of memory, so the hole made by the hook stays tight. I also use them with hooks on poop baits, etc.

 

P.S. I tried the Owner Slim CPS keepers for elaztech. Thumbs down.

Those new EWG hooks for Elaztech work as advertised.

 

 

On 9/8/2025 at 1:05 PM, PhishLI said:

One of my better cooler water producers. Rigged like this on a Gamakatsu 296415-3/16 or 29641-1/8 with the stock spring keeper changed out to an Owner (L) CPS. I use a Rattle snaker to inject a rattle.

 

On 9/8/2025 at 9:38 PM, RRocket said:

Those new EWG hooks for Elaztech work as advertised.

 

 

Thanks for the tip on those EWG Hooks with those type of keepers on them. 
This past week I fished the Pro Crawz some but done it Texas with a bullet weight both pegged and unpegged. I was drawing bass hits but couldn’t get the big bite. 
I switched to the TRD Craw and Zoom Craw rigged weedless on a jig head and caught a few fish. 
I’ll be fishing them again this week but with weighted hooks and jig head set up. Will keep me more compact. 

On 9/8/2025 at 5:02 PM, Spankey said:

I’ve had zero problems with them melting or blobbing stuff up. 
They’ll slide like any other plastic but I’m using hooks and jigs that have the retainers on them. Worth having them to eliminate the slip. 
I'm liking the Z-Man stuff but I’m not 100% only with it. There are a few craws out there I like. 
I started to use the hooks with the keeper on them because the Flat Worm would slide on me. They make night and day difference 

 

This was sitting in my garage. It was put on new last weekend. It melted to the rod. My garage has AC and it was out of the way of any direct sunlight. 

 

 

 

 

^^^not good^^^
Tom

4 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

This was sitting in my garage. It was put on new last weekend. It melted to the rod. My garage has AC and it was out of the way any direct sunlight. 

 

 

 

 

Nice looking bait, Fish.  Do you think the silicone skirt trapped between the rod and the bait might have caused a reaction?

FM

2 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

Nice looking bait, Fish.  Do you think the silicone skirt trapped between the rod and the bait might have caused a reaction?

FM

 

I don’t think so. I have fished it on a regular Ned head and it did the same thing. I have three different baits that have done this. All craw patterns.  Everything else i have fished from them has been fine.

I'm not looking to deny or diminish anyone's experience with this material.

 

For health reasons, I was unable to touch my gear from early November of last year until August of this year. Whatever was tied on during my last trip of November was left on for the duration. That included a finesse TRD on one rig and a Pro CrawZ on another. A rod sleeve covered or partially covered both, and all of my rods were kept in a heated and eventually A/C'd interior spare room leaning against a table while quite close to each other with conventional plastics in the mix. No melting whatsoever occurred. The reasons why I've had zero problems with this stuff but @FishTank has while following the rules of not cross contaminating elazech with plastisol is a mystery.

14 hours ago, PhishLI said:

I'm not looking to deny or diminish anyone's experience with this material.

 

For health reasons, I was unable to touch my gear from early November of last year until August of this year. Whatever was tied on during my last trip of November was left on for the duration. That included a finesse TRD on one rig and a Pro CrawZ on another. A rod sleeve covered or partially covered both, and all of my rods were kept in a heated and eventually A/C'd interior spare room leaning against a table while quite close to each other with conventional plastics in the mix. No melting whatsoever occurred. The reasons why I've had zero problems with this stuff but @FishTank has while following the rules of not cross contaminating elazech with plastisol is a mystery.

If they aren't in direct contact with regular plastisol baits, there shouldn't be any melting issues. I do see them melt from much less heat than traditional plastisol baits.