I have heard of a few Z plug catches here in So. Cal., but not recently. I did not think the z plug was very big, maybe 6". I trolled 2 crankbaits a while back one was 7" and the other was 11" and the fish came on the 11" bait. I would prefer to use baits in the 9" or bigger range. I have only caught one fish, so I'm just guessing. I also think some of the appeal of the bigger lures is because their jointed, which i did not think the Z was.