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Pools found downriver of islands can have the “right stuff,” as can the insides of sharp river bends. On navigable waters, buoys marking these hazards are often present. It’s common for such obstructions to be located at the mouths of feeder streams, formed when storm-driven rain washes material out of the tributary into the main river. Holes located below current-deflecting structures like gravel/rock bars often hold fish. DEEP SPOTSĭeeper river pools, ones out of the flow of the river’s main force, become the wintertime sanctuary for ’eyes. This all changes as water temperatures drop, driving the fish to move to places that do not require them to burn more calories than they consume. Prior to this, during the summer and early fall, fish are more scattered, utilizing a variety of food-rich habitats, including ones with significant flow. And the advantages of the durability and buoyancy of ElaZtech make being able to use these baits with a Neko rig a big deal.Starting in late fall, as water temperatures drop into the low 50s and upper 40s, walleyes begin a migration toward areas of reduced current. But where it was almost impossible to use a nail weight with Z-Man’s ElaZtech in the past, it is as easy as advertised with these weights. These are true statements no matter the brand of soft plastic. The Neko ShroomZ definitely make rigging a Neko rig much easier and these weights also create a more sensitive and effective presentation with the weight being outside of the bait. With this being said, it’s again only an issue with the largest weights and the added benefits of the Neko ShroomZ far outweigh this one concern. When the fish jumps, it has leverage working in its favor with the mass of the weight outside of the worm.
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They do become a little more likely to detach from the bait when fighting a particularly aggressive fish that’s jumping a lot. The weights hold well in the baits but you may want to use caution as you move up into the heaviest weights.
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