Pizz Shadley FG

[jkarol24]

Swimbait Review: Pizz Shadley FG

Pizz recently re-vamped the Shadley FG, and I was able to get my hands on one and take her for a ride. You will notice that the new version has no soft side fins (those tended to get fouled) as well as an altered weighting that keeps the bait more horizontal in the water. The FG (Full Grown... or Fn Giant) lives up to its name, coming in at 10" in length and 7.7 oz of solid resin. Honestly, once the bait is is the water, it is not noticeable as the bait accepts inputs quite nimbly for its size. The sink rate is a true slow sink.

The straight retrieve produces a very natural and fluid swim, with a firm side to side head hunt, but at a slower cadence. This allows the head to travel further, producing a relatively wide swim. The body stays nice and level, as the tail unfurls behind the head. There is minimal body roll, and the bait will stay at the depth at which you began your retrieve. There is also a good bit of flash associated with the bait as it turns.

The FG burns just fine as well, and you can really feel the head thumping along. This retrieve will definitely wear you out, but the bait accepts it without a hitch. The swim stays very similar to the moderate straight retrieve.  You can also slow it way down to almost a crawl, and this will widen the swim a good bit. The bait will turn well past 45 degrees off center on each side, and maintains its fluid and natural appearance. Again, the sink rate is slow enough that the bait will continue to stay at the same depth.

You will notice that as the Shadley FG splashes down, it often shoots hard to one direction, and might go out 4 ft or more. This can often trigger a bite right as it splashes down... If not, utilizing slow and long reel bumps (1/2 to full turns) will get the bait gliding wide, very wide. The FG turns the corners relatively tightly for its size, bit quickly straightens out and maintains its momentum for a long time. There is a slight amount if roll on the transition, but it is not extremely noticeable. The key is to be slow and easy, if you hit it too hard, the bait has a tendency to nose down a bit, which will shorten the glide length. Your best bet is to try and keep the bait as horizontal as possible. A rod with a softer tip and some line with stretch is definitely your friend here, as both absorb some of the impact of your reel turns. As well, the bait will glide furthest when it is furthest away from the angler.

You can also get quick and choppy with it, utilizing firm 1/2 turns to get the bait to stay in relatively one place as it turns hard back and forth. Maintain a steady cadence to keep it tight, and then pause to allow it to glide a little further at the end. The bait accepts this firm input well, and you can get as fast as you'd like. It seemed to work better with the reel, as rod twitches slightly overworked the bait and caused stability loss.

Last, a quick technique to achieve some depth quickly. After splash down, utilize long reel turns, but in a firmer manner than the wide glides. This forces the nose down, and you can get the bait down 4 of 5 ft in a few back and forth glides. You can also do this with downward rod pulls, but I found that reel input was slightly more consistent.

I pulled out the big gear for the Shadley FG, and I went with a Dobyns 908 paired with a Conquest 400. I have this setup spooled with 25 lb Copoly, but a 25 or 30 lb fluro or mono would be fine as well, and could be utilized to dial in a certain depth. I would probably stay away from braid as the bait is quite hefty, and a backlash will send it sailing halfway to the moon.

Hope you enjoyed your Sunday! Thanks for watching and reading! Next Sunday is the 4th, so I may release on Saturday or Monday, but i hope you all have a safe and fun 4th of July!

 

[Mml420]

Wonder if I should sell my truck so I can afford pne

[SVT THUNDER]

On 7/3/2021 at 5:46 PM, Mml420 said:

Wonder if I should sell my truck so I can afford pne

Nah. That’s only if you want a Beast Mode....