Zerek’s Sabre Dance Jerkbait Cuts through the Water and Price Barriers (continued)

The Sabre Dance can be retrieved extremely quickly and each of our test baits exhibited a consistent side to side action. On straight retrieves the lure doesn’t display all that much action but in our tests it was enough for fish to give chase when we cranked the bait over vegetation. In the Delta the Sabre Dance cut up schoolie stripers and there were times when the fish would come in packs and compete for the flashy bait.

Each lure is marked underneath with the model number and a "F" denotes the floating class

Usually when something is so aggressively priced something has to be sacrificed and the Sabre Dance is no exception. While the bodies and lips of these baits held up well during testing the hooks did not. A strong largemouth or simply the wrong angle could apply enough torque to bend the treble hooks on these baits. Stripers loved the flash that these lures put out as they were ripped back to the boat but unfortunately the hooks once again proved to be a liability as we lost every striper over 6lbs. to hooks getting straightened out or even breaking off. Its infuriating to hook into quality fish and lose them to hook failures so the first thing I would do before even fishing these baits is to swap out the hooks.

While the bait drew plenty of strikes we lost big fish to the hooks straightening out

Price and Applications: Both sizes of the Zerek Sabre Dance retail for the very low price of only $4.99 per bait which is a great price. The only reason it isn’t an absolute killer deal is that anglers that are targeting big fish will definitely want to change out the stock hooks. Even with the cost of a pair of Owner or Gamakatsu hooks tacked on the Sabre Dance is still more affordable than many competing offerings from more established manufacturers. Once the hooks are changed out the Sabre Dance can be used effectively for targeting both Largemouth and Stripers.

At rest the baits float up to the surface

Though I quite like some of patterns the Sabre Dance is available in the fact is they all look quite similar. Each features a layer of coloration on top of a foil finished body and there are no transparent or matte patterns currently available, so if the fish want something with plenty of flash you are in good shape with this lineup, if not you are pretty much out of luck.

The company's logo is printed on the head

Conclusion: There are not that many places that you can find Zerek baits today but Tackle Warehouse was one of the first major e-tailers to pick up the brand and with good reason, these baits are attractive based on price alone but offerings like the Sabre Dance prove that these lures can catch fish in a variety of conditions.

Once you swap out the hooks the Sabre Dance is a quality bait that is effective for both Largemouth Bass and Stripers

The actual body of the lure gets a big thumbs up but the hooks get a thumbs down as they are not strong enough to stand up to big fish, but hooks are easy enough to swap out and overall the Sabre Dance still represents a great overall value. I hope over time the company will broaden the number of finishes the Sabre Dance is available in and more understated patterns could help broaden the bait’s useful applications. The question no longer is where did Zerek come from, but rather where is the company going to go from here? With the same commitment to value and a little refinement the company is going to be cutting through more than just price barriers, they will be cutting into the competition. 

Looking for the Zerek Sabre Dance? Try Tackle Warehouse