The Power of Superplastics

Top Texas inshore guides reveal the rewards of next generation softbait-jig combos

Imagine an almost infinite inshore angling playground; a sight fishing dream destination; a place where covering water is best accomplished in a pair of waders. You’re right in there with your quarry, knee deep among the shrimp and the stingrays, jittery packs of roving redfish, snook and trophy-sized seatrout operating on the periphery. Tension buzzes the back of your neck as you detect multiple piscine targets, jetting around and marauding bait amid a labyrinth of mangroves and turtle grass and the little sand clearings—or potholes— that function as predatory dinner tables.

Stretching its legs for 130 miles between Corpus Christi and the mouth of the Rio Grande, Texas’ Laguna Madre offers littoral zones in abundance, enough shallow water habitat to explore and constantly discover new hotspots. Shielded from the Gulf of Mexico by Padre Island—the longest barrier island in the world—the Mother Lagoon serves as a vast sanctuary, with endless fertile feeding grounds for gamefish. Here, the “water column”— what amounts to the Laguna’s 4-1/2-foot average depth— encompasses just enough aquatic real estate for saltwater predators to operate and silently sneak bites of shrimp, finger mullet and mudminnows—often by rooting right down in the substrate.

It’s why tailing redfish here remain such a frequent, blood-pumping visual. And why hooking up consistently leans on stealth, polarized eyewear and artful casts with artificial lures. To maximize success in skinny water, however, elite local anglers are increasingly selecting softbaits of a different stripe.

Led by legendary Texas inshore guides, Captains Ernest and Aaron Cisneros, a movement toward tossing select superplastics is on the rise. “The shallow water nature of the Laguna Madre means it’s absolutely critical to keep your bait in the strike zone where fish can see it for as long as possible,” suggests Captain Ernest, a retired schoolteacher and 30-year pioneering angler on the Lower Laguna.

Reduced Rate of Fall

“For the past season, I’ve been experimenting with ElaZtech superplastics, and during that time, I’ve been constantly amazed by the seemingly magical properties of these softbaits,” says Cisneros. “While regular plastics sink fast to the bottom and often disappear in soft substrates, ElaZtech baits like the Kicker CrabZ, Mulletron and Scented PaddlerZ actually float. That means when I put one of these baits on a jighead, my presentation profits from a slower rate of fall, gliding and hovering longer in the strike zone, and greatly increasing the chances a redfish or trout will see the bait from a distance and eat it.

“What’s even cooler,” notes Cisneros, “is what happens when you let the jig and bait sit and soak on the bottom. The buoyant ElaZtech material rises out of the substrate and stands tail-up. Looks exactly like a feeding minnow or a shrimp. In effect, even when you let the bait sit still, it’s still working for you, attracting fish with its buoyant, stand-up posture and subtle tail sway, activated by waves of current.” When fish approach baits like the Scented PaddlerZ and Jerk ShadZ, which are infused with Pro-Cure gel, the fish-attracting oils and flavor help close the deal. Hard to imagine a more powerful set of advantages for shallow, spooky, clear water predators.”

Interestingly, the very nature of saltwater—and of the Laguna Madre in particular—provide a perfect environment for casting ElaZtech baits. Due to low rainfall, a lack of incoming freshwater and high rates of evaporation, salinity in the Laguna Madre regularly exceeds even that of the adjacent Gulf of Mexico. As salinity rates and subsequent water density increase, solid objects with lesser densities begin to float.

“ElaZtech baits, which float in any water conditions, glide even slower and more naturally in the Laguna Madre,” notes Cisneros. “These factors let you get away with a heavier jighead, while maintaining the bait’s overall reduced rate of fall. So, I can benefit from the casting distance of a heavier ¼-ounce Texas Eye Jighead, but maintain that seductive, slow sink rate due to the buoyant ElaZtech and elevated water salinity—as if I’m actually working an eighth ounce. I’m leaning on the bait’s buoyancy to maximize every cast and every inch of available water.”

Superplastics Superiority

Yet, as Cisneros notes, buoyancy and bait action are merely a fraction of the superplastics story. “Not only do these extra buoyant softbaits provide a slower-sinking action and an attractive glide, they’re also incredibly durable,” he observes. “One bait alone can last for weeks and catch dozens of fish. Earlier this year, I fished a single pearl-colored StreakZ 3.75 for three weeks, catching countless trout and redfish before a tiny 3-millimeter tail section finally tore off. The bait still worked, too.”

Five hundred miles to the north, Captain Chuck Uzzle (wakesndrankes.com), also leverages the advantages of superplastics. “Fishing an ElaZtech shrimp pattern like the EZ ShrimpZ on a rattling cork gives your presentation great, lifelike action,” notes Uzzle, who has guided inshore anglers near the Texas-Louisiana border for over two decades. “The softness and buoyancy of the bait’s material make it spring to life, hovering in a naturally horizontal posture at all times.”

“Many outings on Sabine and Calcasieu lakes, we’ll be catching fish after fish and eventually realize we never once had to stop fishing to re-rig a new bait all day long.”

Adds Cisneros: “What’s crazy is the softness and resulting vibration and action of these baits, which completely contradicts to their tough, long-lasting nature,” Cisneros explains. “You’d assume such a durable bait would be stiff, rigid and lifeless. And yet, these ElaZtech baits are even softer than traditional plastics. I’ve now got so much confidence in their free-flowing movements, buoyancy and softness that I can’t imagine reverting back to old school stuff.”

Action Boosted

Moving even further from convention, Cisneros has become a fan of articulated, action-inducting Texas Eye jigheads. “If you want to add a freer range of motions to your favorite softbait, such as a 4” or 5” Scented PaddlerZ, Jerk ShadZ or DieZel MinnowZ, rig it on a 3/0 Texas Eye jig. For smaller baits like the Kicker CrabZ or StreakZ 3.75, go with a Texas Eye Finesse head, armed with a lighter wire 1/0 wide gap hook.

“Beyond adding another pivot point and a heightened swim action, the Texas Eye also maximizes the buoyancy factor, letting the bait rise just a bit higher off bottom on the pause,” he suggests. “The free-wheeling hook also keeps fish hooked up, removing their ability to leverage jig weight and shake free.

“You can rig completely weedless or Tex-pose style. Almost always, but especially around mangroves and thicker grass, I go weedless, allowing me to maximize every cast and rarely snag up. Yet the sharpness of the hooks keep my hookset ratios as high as ever.”

Conservation and C.A.R.E.

Inexorably tied to the waters on which father and son make their living, Ernest and Aaron Cisneros have long advocated for wise resource use, conservation and careful release of larger fish. “The very nature of ElaZtech aligns directly with our conservation-based philosophy,” notes Cisneros.

The opposite of traditional PVC based soft plastics that contain potentially toxic phthalates, ElaZtech is one-hundred percent non-toxic and safe for living things. Moreover, its durability begets fewer potentially used baits left in the water. “And because they float rather than sink to the bottom, used or discarded ElaZtech baits are easy to retrieve from the surface and dispose of properly.”

Specific to protecting the majestic Laguna Madre, Captain Ernest recently instigated the C.A.R.E. (Catch-and-Release Effort) program, offering incentives for guide clients who voluntarily release all fish. This year, C.A.R.E. participants qualify to win an impressive prize package, including Simms apparel and Z-Man Fishing tackle. The program has been adopted by many local and visiting anglers, helping preserve Texas’ premier inshore playground.