Z-Man® Develops Groundbreaking Shad Style Swimbait

New Shadtron LT merges realism & durability with cutting-edge line-through hook system

A golden age of angling now under the bridge, the era of true-to-life swimbaits and bass of freakish, blimp-like proportions still reminds us of the lures’ potentially outlandish attracting power. Everyone who once slung these big slabs of PVC has a crazy fish story to tell. But what swimbait practitioners today still mourn are the number of fish most of these lures fail to hook— and how frequently the gill-rattling headshake of a big bass can eject the baits and crush our spirits in one breath.

Exactly one year ago, Z-Man® innovations in swimbait design nullified previous hookset and hardiness standards immediately, as the Mulletron LT (line-through) shined the spotlight on a new swimbait archetype, winning the 2024 ICAST Best Saltwater Soft Lure award, and showing Florida and the world what was possible when smart lure-making melded with 10X Tough ElaZtech®.

New for 2025, the Z-Man Shadtron LT has shifted the swimbait paradigm once again. Visually stunning and seemingly primed to flop out of your hand, the Shadtron LT exhibits all the realism of a live shad, while a groundbreaking dual line-through system empowers incredible upticks in hookset success and holding power to the nth degree. 

“Empowered by its soft, buoyant, durable ElaZtech body and precision line-through harness, the Shadtron LT is perfectly balanced to maintain a natural, upright posture at all times— including on the freefall and at rest on the bottom,” notes Z-Man Director of Product Development Jose Chavez. 

A true-to-nature shad-mimicking swimbait in 4.5- and 6-inch sizes, Shadtron LT is equipped with an industry-first over/under line-through harness that allows for both dorsal rigging with an included single hook or belly rigging with a treble hook (not included). “The result is a high-performance swimbait that affords optimal fish-hooking and holding performance in all conditions,” adds Chavez.

“Some pretty impressive engineering went into the Shadtron’s internal Y-harness, giving anglers the best of both worlds,” suggests Z-Man pro Luke Clausen. “If I’m swimming the bait around laydowns, docks or vegetation, I’ll rig up with the single hook, which allows the Shadtron to swim cleanly through heavier cover, bouncing off rocks and logs with ease. Or, for fishing open water or for smallmouth or spotted bass, I’ll deploy the belly treble and skyrocket my hookset stats.

“And because both hook systems allow the bait to slide up the line and out of the way after a hookset, even the gnarliest headshakes are negated, so you land almost every bass that eats,” adds Clausen.

Chavez elaborates: “We wanted to arm anglers with the ultimate two-way swimbait hook system, which meant constructing our line-through harness a little differently.”

Topside, Chavez notes, the Shadtron LT is equipped with a specialized hook pocket and harness that stations a custom, heavy-duty 3/0 (4.5”) or 5/0 (6”) sickle-shaped, black nickel needlepoint hook parallel to the dorsal fin.

“The harness is designed so the hook slides in and sits recessed within the bait’s spine,” explains Chavez. “Thread your line through the bait’s nose and out the slot, tying to the single hook. Pull the line tight and the hook clicks back into place, giving the whole bait a clean, seamless appearance, like a molded-in jighead. Hook eye and knot are recessed and completely protected inside the bait. But when a fish eats the Shadtron and attempts to dislodge the hook, the bait body slides up the line, where fish can’t leverage its weight to come unbuttoned.”

Alternatively, to utilize the secondary belly line channel and a treble hook, Chavez suggests folding a crease in the fishing line, inserting it into the nose in a downward orientation and back out the lower exit point. Tie to a treble hook of your choice and click the shank into the specialized friction clip, which positions the treble parallel to the bait for a stealthy, seamless presentation. When the hook sets, force from a fish releases the hook from the Shadtron’s body, allowing for a pure, unencumbered fight to the net.

To assure predators engulf the bait without hesitation, Z-Man sculpted the Shadtron’s physique with anatomical precision and true-to-life photo-printed and hand-painted eye, scale, gill and fin patterning. Beneath the surface, the Shadtron springs to action like a live shad, subtly tail-thrusting itself through strike zones, activating at the slowest retrieve speeds.

Generating the most realistic shad-swimming action attainable, the Shadtron’s rounded wedge-shaped tail empowers a versatile range of motions—from slow-roll to escape velocity. Further imitating the locomotion of a live shad, the Shadtron swims with minimal body roll and just a hint of head wag—all in the name of persuading eagle-eyed predators.

“The ability to reel a swimbait like the Shadtron extra slow—especially effective in cooler water—and then to accentuate its side flashes with twitches of the rodtip . . . these are killer moves to trick big, educated bass that follow but otherwise hesitate to bite,” explains Clausen. “I’m also digging the bait’s flat sides, which let me skip it under cover like the perfect pancake rock.” 

“Anglers will absolutely appreciate the Shadtron’s two sizes and two rates-of-fall,” he continues. “In shallower water and in environments with slightly larger shad, the meaty 6-inch size in Slow Sink draws a ton of attention from bass of all sizes. For deeper water or off-structure, try the Fast Sink, 4.5-incher, which is like a cheat code for smallmouths, spots or for painting a nice solid mark on forward-facing sonar.”

From Florida’s big bass lakes to TVA reservoirs and beyond, the new Z-Man Shadtron LT mimics the bass’ most prolific meal on every level. Available in November, the Shadtron LT features two sizes and rates of fall (ROF)—4.5- and 6-inch sizes in both Slow Sink (ROF 5) and Fast Sink (ROF 12). Offered in eight lifelike photo-printed and hand-painted color schemes, each Shadtron pattern was ascribed by input from top Z-Man pros. MSRP $12.99 (4.5”) and $15.99 (6”).

For a first look at the new Z-Man Shadtron LT, visit Z-Man at the 2024 ICAST show (booth #4808 or On the Water media expo, 10am to 2pm on Tuesday, June 16), or at the New Product Showcase (Freshwater Soft Lure.)

About Z-Man Fishing Products: A dynamic Charleston, South Carolina based company, Z-Man Fishing Products has melded leading edge fishing tackle with technology for nearly three decades. Z-Man has long been among the industry’s largest suppliers of silicone skirt material used in jigs, spinnerbaits and other lures. Creator of the Original ChatterBait®, Z-Man is also the renowned innovators of 10X Tough ElaZtech® softbaits, among the most coveted baits in fresh- and saltwater. Z-Man is one of the fastest-growing lure brands worldwide.