There are two schools of thought with paddletail swimbaits when it comes to their inherent action. Some anglers prefer the baits to have a good top to bottom roll along with the good tail kick action feeling this best resembles a panicked and fleeing baitfish, and others prefer the body to remain still with the tail kicking at a good rate resembling a cruising, unaware baitfish. The Roboworm EZ Shad resembles the latter action more than the former as opposed to the Basstrix hollow bellied minnow that has a small degree of top to bottom wobble.

Yet another look at the double dorsal atop the EZ Shad.

The EZ Shad offers a nice, slender width, giving the bait more natural hydrodynamics in the water.

Our suggestion? Fish both styles on any particular day and see which one the fish prefer because we’ve caught fish with both and as you can see from the photographs, fish do not shy away from the Roboworm EZ Shad.

Oh and by the way.. it catches fish!

If you look closely at the bait, you can see it actually has two dorsal fins aligned side by side with a narrow gap in between. This gap is provided to help conceal the hook point. Where most manufacturers provide a cavity at the top of the bait for this type of concealment, Roboworm’s design eliminates that little extra bit of compression required to expose the hook point. This does make it just a tad easier for weeds to interfere with your retrieve, but overall, we really like this implementation.

Roboworm is also now making a series of saltwater tails.

One durability the Roboworm EZ Shad had early on was the non-steadfast nature of the eyes... this issue has supposedly been addressed though we've not personally tested it since our initial baits ...

From a durability perspective, rigged with the Owner Beast Hook, and considering the plastic used by Roboworm for this bait is not as soft as some other products, the Roboworm EZ Shad has really good durability. The only flaw? The eyes on the initial batch of baits fell off if you breathed too heavily on the bait. This issue has supposedly been addressed subsequent runs but we’ve not acquired any new baits to test this aspect because quite frankly, these baits catch fish with or without the eyes attached and the bodies are so durable, we haven’t had to restock! In fact, we’ve lost more baits loaning them to friends while fishing than we have due to wear and tear!

... because we've found the bait is just as effective with or without eyes.

Ratings: (We've re-calibrated our ratings standard for 2008 and have included a key at the bottom of the following matrix as a guide):

Pluses and Minuses:

Did we mention this bait catches fish?

Conclusion: The Roboworm EZ Shad is nothing revolutionary in terms of it being a paddletail swimbait product. It casts and pitches as one would expect, has a more refined swimming action than some baits but with very good tail action at all speeds of retrieve, and comes through weeds just fine. What it does have are some nice enhancements. Thanks to the slit-belly approach, hookups are easier than with the true hollow belly baits, and the soft plastic used to make the bait is pliable enough for good swimming action, yet durable enough to last through several fish – a really good balance. Details like the double dorsal fin to help conceal the hook point and of course, the intricate Roboworm colors are also nice enhancements to this style of bait.

The Roboworm EZ Shad offers a nice, subtle action that has proven to us to be quite effective!

Overall, the Roboworm EZ Shad package is, dare I say it, an easy bait to fish and an easy choice to make, and really, an excellent bait to have side by side, not instead of, the Basstrix minnow because the two baits offer different swimming actions. We all know how effective the Basstrix product is, but if you want to change things up just a little, the Roboworm EZ Shad is this Editor’s Choice for a different look.

Looking for the Roboworm EZ Shad? Try Monster Fishing Tackle