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What the Finesse : A "Weightless" Jig?
(continued)
  The real weight of this jig is one quarter of an ounce, but as anyone who has tried to actually cast a quarter ounce jig can attest, because of the skirt, quarter ounce and less jigs can be a challenge to cast. This is because the skirts act as a parachute and really kill any momentum you build up during your casting motion. Best solution, pull out the spinning gear or if you're an enthusiast, pull out your Cardiff 51 DC or PX68L casting reels.
The Zero Gravity jig features a banded skirt, not hand tied.
A look at the Okeechobee Craw color and its trailer.
CLU's Zero Gravity jig casts easily and without a trailer on these reels matched up with appropriate rods (The Cardiff 51DC was paired with a Megabass Tomahawk F4-72GTZ ICBM BGS while the PX68L was paired with an Evergreen International Kaleido TKLC-66MFX Black Raven), but if you're fishing this bait as a straight up jig, presentation can really try your patience because it sinks so painstakingly slow!
Hot Craw
This is actually a good thing but boat control paramount in with this jig because you need to remain stable and still to present this jig properly. On the other hand, if you're fishing from shore and casting sideways to the outer edge of structure, this bait can be deadly. But of course, the fish have to be tight to cover in either of these situations.
Green Pumpkin
The rate of fall for this jig is roughly one foot for every three seconds.
Because of this lure's near neutral buoyancy another good way to fish it is at the end of a Carolina rig or during warmer months, you can even cast it out and swim it back over weeds as a wake bait, kill it and let it slowly sink, then pick up your retrieve again. It is obviously much more versatile than a conventional jig.
There's no doubt of this jig's versatility and effectiveness.
The Zero Gravity Jig is molded around a 4/0, black nickel, VMC jig hook. The silicone skirt is banded, not tied, but we understand there is a version two in the works that will feature a hand tied skirt. And
that's a good thing because we are not very fond of banded skirts on a bait, but especially on a jig.
I was experimenting with waking the Zero Gravity Jig amongst some scattered weed patches when this fish decided to come out and play!
Ratings:
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CLU Zero Gravity Jig
Ratings
(?/10) |
|
Construction/Quality |
A nicely crafted bait though we prefer hand tied skirts |
7.5 |
|
Performance |
Uniquely versatile |
8.5 |
|
Price |
Pricey for a jig, but it's more than that |
8 |
|
Features |
One foot per three seconds rate of decent |
9 |
|
Design
(Ergonomics) |
The trailer within the skirt is a nice touch though maybe too subtle |
7.5 |
|
Application |
Very very versatile |
9 |
|
Total
Score |
8.25 |
Ratings
Key:
1 =
terrible
: 2 =
poor : 3
=
lacking
: 4 =
sub par
: 5 =
mediocre
: 6 =
fair : 7
= good :
8 =
great :
9 =
excellent
: 10 =
unbelievable!
For More
Details
of the
updated
rating
system
visit
our
explanation
here |
Pluses and Minuses:
Plus |
Minus |
| + There is truly nothing like this on the market - that we've seen |
- Skirt needs to be tied |
| + A nice, simple array of standard colors |
|
| + Uniquely versatile, really it's more than just a jig |
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Enjoy throwing jigs but want to change things up a bit? CLU's Zero Gravity Jig weighs heavy on the options.
Conclusion: It's pretty rare that a manufacturer makes the claims of having something unique and interesting enough to really pique our interest, and actually following through with that proposition. Just as I was getting ready to disown Kelly Barefoot for making those exact claims, he followed through with his Zero Gravity Jig, and while the bait does leave room for improvement (and it sounds as if he's addressing those issues in version two), it's unique and versatile enough to warrant our attention enroute to our Innovation Award!
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