An exceptional new lure that's been thrown a lot from my boat this year is the Shadzilla from Waterwolf. I mentioned this lure in a previous post about new stuff I found at the Milwaukee and Twin Cities shows. I mentioned at the time that I found it in the Big Wood Musky Lures booth, and that the lure looked promising. I have literally hundreds of hours on this thing (I am not exaggerating) and can now pass along a full review.

Action
The action of this lure is amazing, expecially compared to other boot-tail swim baits I've used. This thing is different from any other boot-tail (shad tail) because it's a hollow-belly swim bait, the same style of swim bait that took the bass world by storm a few years ago. Anyone who's used hollow bellies for bass knows the difference in action between it and a solid plastic bait. The action is amazing. Not only does the tail kick like crazy, the belly section of the bait bends back and forth, and the head shakes back and forth as well. I've run this thing for awhile and then clipped on other solid plastic swimbaits I used to use for comparison. The solid plastic baits look dead.

Working the Shadzilla
I usually use a fairly steady retrieve, letting the Shadzilla do most of the work. I'll work in a couple sweep/pause moves during the retrieve, but it's mostly just a steady retrieve. When the lure is getting close the boat, I crank faster to make it accellerate into the first turn of the figure-8. The figure-8 has been almost unnecassary with this lure, it almost always gets hit away from the boat during the retrieve. We've had some hits during the quick rise at boatside and on the first 'L' part of the turn. Only a couple fish have followed without hitting it. I think either the fish are in zombie mode and don't respond at all, or they nail it. As a guide it's really nice to have a lure that consistently gets hit away from the boat, as it gives me extra time to grab the net, pull the bow-mount, etc.

Durability
It's not a hard bait, that's for sure, but it's a lot more repairable than I thought it would be. The cuts and tears repair very nicely with Mend-It. The Mend-It makes a repair that doesn't discolor the lure at all and it's very strong. I also use a Ronson mini torch lighter for quick repairs on the water. A melt-repair is very durable but doesn't look as good. I'm going through a lot of these things because I'm using it so much and it's getting hit so often, but each body has held up for 3-6 fish before being retired. I probably could use them a lot longer, but clients don't have as much confidence throwing a ratty, beat up lure, and it makes me look like a tight wad. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised by the durability.

Casting
Castability isn't usually a consideration with lures, but this one is an exception. This thing casts like a bullet and doesn't have a long, floppy tail to get fouled. Bulldawg tails get fouled on the rear hook, Big Joe tails do too, the Shadzilla has none of those hassles. Even inexperienced clients who just learned to use a baitcaster have been able to cast the Shadzilla like a pro. Experience musky fishermen who haven't used other plastics much because of the casting hassles have been pleased.

Hooking
Once the hook is replaced, hooking is about average. I tried a lot of hooks and finally settled on the Musky Innovations Plasma Point 6/0 - it has a short shank and really wide gap. However, modifications and hook changes are now unnecassary. I got some of the first ones made and Waterwolf has made some modifications that have greatly improved hooking. The hook is now bigger and they've added another hook hanger closer to the head for an optional second hook. With the addition of a 2nd hook, this thing will be a great hooker. The original was about average hooking for a plastic bait. The newer, modified version is way above average. All plastic baits aren't as good at hooking as bucktails or hardbaits, but the new version will probably out hook any other plastic out there.

I've been getting my Shadzillas from Big Wood Musky Lures. The sales of this thing has exploded, so they're sold out of some colors. But, when I placed my last order I was informed that a huge resupply order is on it's way, so everything should stay in stock for the rest of the season. Big Wood has super duper fast shipping and the shipping is cheap, so I'd order from Big Wood if you're getting Shadzillas. If you want Shadzillas and some of the other lures from Waterwolf, then you'll have to order from Waterwolf. I haven't done a apples-to-apples shipping comparison, but I'm pretty sure that Big Wood will be faster and cheaper on Shadzilla orders.

I haven't been this excited about a new lure in a long time. This lure has a shot at becoming the next big thing. It's already the next big thing in my boat and will be for the rest of the season, or at least until big bait season arrives in the fall. I need to start bugging them about making a 14-16 incher for October and November....

Here's some links:
http://www.waterwolflures.com/
http://www.bigwoodmuskylures.com/
http://www.bigwoodmuskylures.com/lur...make=WaterWolf Lures