Gear

Feider’s Florida go-to picks

Posted on
Photography by
Craig Lamb
Soft plastics for trailers, finesse fishing and conventional Texas rigs. And don’t forget swim and flipping jigs and the bladed jerkbait.
All are in play anytime of the year in Florida. Bassmaster Elite Series pro Seth Feider simplifies the baits you can use anywhere in the Sunshine State.
This simple storage container is filled with three bait choices from Z-Man. What makes them ideal for Florida–and anywhere else–is Z-Man’s proprietary ElaZtech material.
ElazTech is remarkably soft, yet 10 times tougher than traditional soft plastics. In Florida’s gnarly wood cover and thick vegetation that means baits last longer, oftentimes the same bait can be used all day, saving money and downtime of rigging up with a fresh bait.
Feider’s three must-haves for Florida are the Z-Man RaZor ShadZ, Z-Man Hella CrawZ and the Z-Man Bang StickZ.
The RaZor ShadZ is the quintessential ChatterBait trailer, its jointed body and forked tail of the 4.5″ profile ideal for the bladed jig.
Pair the RaZor ShadZ with a Z-Man ChatterBait Elite EVO.
The slender profile of the RaZor ShadZ creates a seductive wiggle on the back of the jig. The EVO model is next-level in the ChatterBait family, with a custom-built hook, specially sculpted head and other features that create a radical, unpredictable hunting action unmatched in vibrating jigs.
Feider’s pick for a jig trailer is the Hella CrawZ featuring a compact body and broad flapping claws, making it ideal for a swim jig or a flipping jig, both being deadly in Florida. He prefers shad (pictured) or black/blue or green pumpkin colors.
“On short strikes the claws stay together with the toughness of the ElaZtech,” Feider said. He rigs it on a 1/4- or 3/8-ounce Outkast Tackle Feider Jig.
Rounding out the lineup is the versatile Z-Man Bang StickZ.
Designed for Neko-rigging but ideally suited for shaky head, Texas rig or Carolina rig applications, this stick worm is Feider’s go-to for its variety of uses. In Florida, Feider rigs it Texas style with a 1/8- to 3/16-ounce weight for blind bed fishing. Or he’ll Neko-rig it on a 1/8-ounce jighead and fish it around lily pads.

Related