Ali

There is an actual syntax for this: site: Example: huddleston site:swimbaitunderground.com Or even: best line hudd site:swimbaitunderground.com This works well with Google -Ali

Sounds like you need a high school level education to figure this shirt out. So yeah, way too complicated for most people in here. -Ali

That rod ALI!!!! Custom built or JDM? Thanks man. I guess both, LOL. It's a Megabass Baccarat but I had to do a 4" handle extension to make it viable for swimbaits. -Ali

The large capacity Tatula series reels have quickly become a favorite for a lot of fishermen throwing glide baits and wanting a 6:1 or even 7:1 gear ratio reel. I should start by noting that these reels are not compatible with the standard Tatula series, i.e. you can not simply swap spools and have the larger capacity. Pros: The reels are very smooth and that probably has a lot to do with the high bearing count. They have a ton of drag so you can lock the down quite a bit. They are fairly light at around 8 oz. and are a joy to cast all day especially if you are used to reels like the Pluton that weigh 50% more that these. The T-Wing system allows you to cast a mile with these things. I mean complete freespool. If you suck at casting like I do, put this in the "Cons" section because the first few backlashes were brutal. Cons: They are all plastic inside which means that they are fine for bass fishing but I probably wouldn't take them out for anything that is going to put a lot of stress on the reel or the frame. A lot of aluminum inside also. Strength on Aluminum is not great so see above as to what this should be used for. Single drag washer. This equates to a "skippy" drag under a lot of load. That means that the drag will not be smooth for 8lbs and up. I verified this. The T-Wing system has a very narrow line guide which will not let knots through. So if you fish with a braid/leader combo, you have to make sure that your leader is outside the line guide. Made in Thailand (both JDM and USDM). People like their Japanese reels made in Japan so this may be a con for many people. Now, there are two different versions of this reel out there: The USDM Tatula HD and the JDM Tatula Custom. On to the comparison between the two. Originally I was under the impression that the only real difference was cosmetic. Turns out that this is not true. The star drag on the Tatula HD is Zaion which I really don't like. Can't tell you why, I just prefer a metal drag knob. The Zaion makes it feel cheep and plastic. But that's not the only difference. The whole system is different. The Custom uses the traditional JDM standard of the drag knob tightening the drag where as in the USDM version there is a spring loaded system over a nut that is tightened by the knob. Coincidentally, this is the opposite of how the Shimano Conquest vs TE were setup. Go figure. One more thing to note, the nut on the HD is your standard nut that fits over the spindle but the Custom uses the screw type nut that actually threads into the spindle. One thing I couldn't understand is why then have a threaded spindle? Nothing threads into it. The cosmetics on the Custom are pretty nice. I won't lie. I like the red (7.3:1) or gold (6.3:1). Also the knobs are rounded and anodized and thus look better in my opinion. The Custom also has some porting on the hood. Not sure how much weight it saves since both weighed in at around 8.1 oz. Handle is exactly the same with the only difference being that the HD is silver and the Custom is black. The T-Wing system on the HD is silver and the Custom's is gold. I couldn't tell if there was a material difference between the two but the literature leads you to believe that the Custom has a slicker finish than the HD's line guide. I noticed no difference in casting since the T-Wing system gets out of the way when you are casting anyway. Onto the guts: First off, the bearings are different. Typically the JDM reels make use of nicer bearings. I am not sure if this is the case with these reels but they definitely are different. Bearing count is the same. The gears are swappable and so are the spools between the Custom and HD. Only add thing was that with the HD there was a red drag washer underneath where as the JDM version had a ring style drag washer with a plastic insert in between. I didn't notice one being better than the other with my pull tests. In other words, they both are not that great unless you want to lock down your drag and prevent any slippage. Then they are great. The Custom is also easier to reassemble if that matters to you. That spring loaded drag knob business is always a pain to deal with Price: Tatula Custom: $229 Tatula HD: $199 -Ali

I read somewhere about the cheeks bieng flashy triggers bites? Keyboard warrior does not approve!

:lol:

Exactly. A bit heavy handed for the 250 but it will throw anything over 8 oz well. It handles the 13" Hiroshima, Hinkle, and Mother well. Just need to make sure you use common sense with these baits and lob it out. You can generate a lot of energy with a 9' rod which is great for those 500' breakoff casts. -Ali

Thanks to Spectrum for this very informative article: http://www.newenglandkayakfishing.com/i ... -a-skeptic -Ali

Great thread. So is that a yay or nay on the Hudd rod? I also noticed iRod is coming out with a new set of swimbait rods. Wonder if they share a blank for those that may want a non-spiral wrapped rod -Ali

As a matter of fact, I even BB rig my jigs

I tried to reinvent the wheel myself. No matter what I did, the BB rig turned out to be superior. The jig hook is perfect... Perfect for giving the fish leverage to throw your bait. Lose two DDs in a day and then tell me the jig hook works fine. Switched to the BB rig and have not had any issues. That treble in the head allows them to shake and still stay pinned BTW - the placement is correct where Butch puts it. I tried to move it back a bit and ended up catching the tail and fouling more. Up by the head is perfect. You don't want those tail nippers anyway. -Ali

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How much you want for the box? -Ali

Thank God my wife doesn't have access to this site. As far as she knows I go out with the same bag of Senkos every weekend. But my rarest bait has to be an ROF 5 hudd that swims straight. It caught me my PB -Ali

Love the reel. It has a lot of power and casts a mile. Just a note, the HD spool is not interchangeable with the standard Tatula

There shouldn't be a big deal. Last week we tried to have an intelligent conversation here about the differences between a couple of rods, built on different blanks. Don wasn't going to let that happen, and the thread got locked. Someone got banned from here over the whole ridiculous deal as well. What???? That sounds ridiculous... What thread was this in? I'm sure there is more to this story, Don isn't a psychopath. -Ali

I don't think Ben has anything to worry about. He makes beautiful custom rods that can throw the Baitsmith Magnum. #fishbeef But in all seriousness, I use different rods for different hudds fished in different ways. I use a production heavy for slow rolling an ROF 5, a production XH for slow rolling a ROF 12 (STE style), a custom XH for fishing the ROF 12/16 on the bottom in less than 25' and a 8'6" XXH for anything over 25' (I need to pick up line and drive the jig hook home). Not sure how one rod can meet all those demands. I'll support Ben since he not only is a friend but he also supports us I do have a bunch of custom Megabass swimbait rods but the more I fish my LDCs, the more they just become a novelty item. -Ali

I hate glide baits this size but they seem to be a necessary evil. They don't really glide well, they tend to roll, don't stay true (ride up), and end up being one trick ponies where they can only be fished at a very specific speed. The Drift had none of these issues. It fishes like a 10" bait (a good one like the Deps). It has a nice wide glide which means you can fish it at varying speeds, and it stays true at the depth you count it down to. I have put quite a few hours into this bait since summer time usually mean smaller baits and the paint is still in great shape. I got the splattered kokanee pattern and it is very nicely done. I'll see if I can find some screen captures of some fish but most of the fish were your typical summer fish in the 3 - 5 lb range which were a warm welcome from the usual skunkage I was facing fishing the Deps 250. I should also add that I had found some smaller fish that were hot on a wicked-fast jerkbait bite and that is how I fished the Drift for the bigger models. The good thing about this bait is that you can do the burn and stop and it doesn't blow out. Also, it has some weight to it (4.5 oz) so you can fish it with a little heavier rod and really get some distance casting into the wind with it. Hope this helps, -Ali

In -Ali

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Excellent call. Reread the wording and that is exactly what it states. Any chance the rules page could be updated to reflect this and also eliminate the date restriction so that it is clear to everyone what the requirements are? Thanks, -Ali

I was hoping no one was going to notice that. : / again, nothing against him...great fish, but i think there needs to be consistency regarding adherence to the rules, especially with people joining the site just for the tournaments BTW - We don't need people joining the site just for tournaments. Ask some of the old timers about when "Dirty Sanchez" joined to do the tourneys. If you have some time to be thoroughly entertained, read through this: www.swimbaitunderground.com/forum/viewt ... 23&p=34991 -Ali

YOBO Wayne

Just an FYI, rule #4 was changed: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2644 The tourney rules page needs to be updated to reflect this and to remove the date restriction. Is it just me or has all the crying over "I can't get 3:16 baits on the release date" moved over to the tourney page? Man-up people -Ali

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