Overview
Featuring a small rounded paddle tail to deliver subtle yet lifelike swimming action, the Z-Man Gobius Swimbait is a super life-like pre-rigged goby imitation designed with a highly refined body, gill plates, fins, and tail details. Molded from Z-Man’s 10X Tough Elaztech super-plastics to outlast the competition by a wide margin, the combination of balanced weighting and highly buoyant plastic enables a tail-up posture when at rest to mimic a small baitfish feeding on the bottom.
Armed with a custom 1/0 medium wire black nickel sickle hook, the Z-Man Gobius Swimbait is built with a split dorsal fin brush guard and structure jig lead harness to provide excellent sang-resistance and allow it to easily deflect off of cover. Finished with hand-painted body details and life-like eyes to create an extremely natural appearance, the Z-Man Gobius Swimbait is available in a variety of vibrant color patterns and multiple sizes to effectively fish all depths of the water column.
| Weight | Length |
| 3/8oz | 3" |
| 1/2oz | 3" |
| 3/4oz | 3" |
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Customer Reviews
Too little wiggleTail kick is far less than a Dark Sleeper. Was hoping thinner gauge hook would help hooksets but fewer bites on weaker wiggle makes that moot.
My second reviewFirst off I fish both the Dark Sleeper and the Gobius lures. I like both of them a lot. One thing that was a surprise was the small size of the Gobius being such a big advantage for Smallies. I was on a recent two week fishing trip, and had caught a bunch of SMB on the DS. Two days later same lake, and the same areas the SMB stopped touching the DS, so I switched to the Gobius. the next three days I smoked them on the Gobius. I am guessing it's because the size is similar to a ned rig, and wasn't spooking the fish. It's something to keep in mind. Great lure! Remember the hook is a medium wire thickness, so 10-12lb line is appropriate.
Swing and a missRare Zman miss for me. Only downside to the Dark Sleeper is the durability. And still a bit hard to call it a downside when you can often catch 20 fish on a bait and end up losing it in structure before you catch that many anyway.
The Gobius first fails by using a medium wire hook to the Dark Sleeper's heavy wire hook. In my region, the Dark Sleeper excels in deep water and around rocky areas for largemouth. You want a bare minimum of a medium heavy setup and prefer a heavy. I use heavy with 20lb leader to put quick pressure on the fish. We're all familiar with the narrow hook gap making it more difficult to keep fish pinned on the Dark Sleeper (same applies to the Gobius) so the sooner you get the fish in, the better). If you are not looking for a power fishing lure and are looking for something to throw on spinning gear, then the Gobius may be preferable for you.
The Gobius' second failure comes in its durability. Normally not an issue for Elaztech, but the Gobius fails in the same way the Dark Sleeper does. The plastic splits at the line tie, allowing the head to slide out. This can happen as a result of catching fish or simply through bumping in to a lot of structure. In my opinion, the Gobius offers no advantage over the Dark Sleeper in this regard and both lures can have this happen in <10 fish.
If your goal is power fishing, the Dark Sleeper is an automatic winner for the hook alone. You can glue the lure back together at the head repeatedly, even using a piece of plastic from another bait to create a new head if necessary. If you are fishing lighter tackle then the Gobius may be an option for you, but I consider it to be a pure downgrade. I will take the Dark Sleeper and heavier gear to land the fish more quickly any day of the week.
Great SMB swimbaitI mostly throw these for Smallies, but end up catching lots of different species. Great durability, hook up ratio, colors. The hook is a medium thickness hook, so I usually don't go above 12lb leader. Very nice bait!
Better option than a Dark SleeperIf you know how elastic plastics work with storage and etc, this one lure can last you 20 Dark Sleepers and save you a ton of money. Fish after fish the bait holds up, and not lose an eye after one skip under a dock or such. Highly recommended, not sure how Zman isn't losing money for this awesome product since it lasts so long.
Great hopping baitI catch tons of SMB on these. Standard 8"-12" hops and some slow pulls now and then produces lot of fish. Great durability. Nice hook. I use 20lb braid to a 12lb leader.
GoodGets bit a lot but you will have to set the hook very hard to catch them.
The review you need before buying!Here's the deal with the gobius. DO NOT fish it on a heavy rod with 17lb+ flouro or 40lb+ braid, you'll bend out the hook. I use a 6' 11" medium-fast jerkbait rod with 12lb flouro and I can whack a fish on a long cast even, and with the stretch of the line and limber rod, the whole setup will load up perfectly. I've had no issue with hook-to-land ratio. Another thing most Zman customers should already know, KEEP THE BAIT IN THE ORIGINAL PACKAGING, THEY WILL MELT IN A BOX OR WHEN STORED WITH OTHER BAITS. Simple as that. This bait is extremely durable because of the elaztech which is awesome for getting your money's worth, but it will not replace the dark sleeper. Where this bait shines is in rivers and current where the fish can't get a really good stare down on it, the sleeper is still the clear water king when fished super slow. I fish the gobius like a standard swimbait 80% of the time, the rest of the time I will yo-yo it if I think a reaction bite is needed. My colors are simple, deeply stained/dirty water, the perch color has been most productive, that orange on the belly is very bright. And for clearer water, the deal is the best. Imitates a small bluegill very well. I live in Minnesota and the pike here can be extremely annoying with stealing baits and also just shredding the lure itself. Walleye and pike don't do much to the gobius obviously, I tend to use it instead of the sleeper when fishing certain waters. Overall, I love the bait, no complains really. Do I wish the hook water slightly stouter? Yes, but that doesn't make it a bad bait, this style of lure is a more finesse based approach anyways. Use proper technique and equipment and you'll catch fish on it without a doubt.
Oh wellI don't mind losing a lure due to broken lines bent hooks even on a snag, but damn unpacked the 3 that I bought fished one for a couple of hrs and as many bites, go to change size and color only to find they're melted and unusable had the same problem with chase baits, maybe your supposed to keep them in a cooler, won't buy again
Hook bent outI was light flipping into some sticks where I saw a 4 or 5 lber guarding some fry, and when it bit I set the hook then it came up for a jump then as it went back into the water I just see the goby flying out. The plastic was all twisted up and a bent hook. I would recommend the dark sleeper, it has more action and better hook