The EZ Shad comes in a few select colors for now, but each one is traditional Roboworm quality.

By now we’d have thought the paddletail swimbait market to be pretty much saturated. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where the paddletail swimbait is the new plastic worm – everybody makes one! So what could Roboworm's new lure bring to the table to differentiate themselves from the rest? Or is simply being a “robo” product good enough?

Rigging of the EZ Shad is pretty straight forward...

Impressions: When the EZ Shad first swam onto store pegboards late March of 2009, it was available in only five colors: Blueback Minnow, Hologram Shad, SXE Shad, Prizm Perch and Stocker Trout. Since that time, Roboworm has debuted at least two new colors: Ghost Minnow and Watermelon Magic. Seven rather basic colors but still a rather small palate when compared to the likes of Basstrix who currently offers somewhere in the neighborhood of around thirty different colors. This keep it simple approach is a good start, but based on the number of different colors Roboworm’s finesse products are available in, we don’t expect this collection of only seven colors to last very long.

... the interesting aspect of which is what Roboworm has devised to help conceal the hook point ...

Field Tests: Rigging for the EZ Shad is the same as any paddletail swimbait really and lately, I’ve grown attached to the Owner Beast hooks. These weighted, extra-wide gap hooks are forged with a triple-x strong shank and Owner’s usual needle sharp point. The Beast Hooks also feature a “Twistlocking Centering-Pin Spring” at the eyelet to facilitate weedless rigging of swimbaits and other plastics. This type of design is growing more and more popular not only because it makes rigging easier, but this style bait keeper really saves on the wear and tear of paddletail swimbaits.

... First, you slide the hook through the bait's slit belly ...

... and when you pop the hook point out the top of the bait, there's a channel to conceal the hook point created by a double dorsal fin ...

There are three basic styles of paddletail swimbaits. The first were essentially headless bodies and tails intended to be rigged behind some type of leadhead. The Big Hammer Swimbait product is the epitome of this style bait that was originally developed for the saltwater market. The second type of paddletail are the hollow bodied tube baits that Basstrix makes featuring a head and full body and tail. These are the baits responsible for the recent boom in paddletails.

... Here's another look from the top.

The last style on the list of paddletail swimbaits feature a head, the full body and tail similar to the hollow bodied tube baits, but instead of the hollow body, the baits feature a slit down the middle to conceal the hook and facilitate hooksets. The Roboworm EZ Shad is of the latter style.

The business end of the EZ Shad, is again, Roboworm's own interpretation with a slightly different shaped tail...

... that features a protruding fin ...

Measuring in at an even five inches (5”), I liked fishing the EZ Shad on about an eighth ounce weighted hook. Rigged in this method the bait is really easy to both pitch and cast to targets. To deliver the bait accurately and effectively we fished it on three different rigs: a Phenix Ultra MBX 707H and Daiwa Ringa SSL, a Dobyns Rods Gen 2 795ML SB and Curado 300, and an e21 21 Carrot Gold 21CRG781H-F-SBC matched with a Shimano Conquest 101DC. We used everything from fluorocarbon to nylon monofilament to hollow braid with a fluorocarbon topshot to fish this bait and found it just as effective on all three choices.

The intricacies of the EZ Shad's colors is status quo for Roboworms.