floridaswimb8er

my bad, didn't mean hook up percentage.....let me elaborate a little....The main place I fish, I pretty much can't get by with an open hook due to cover. It was a deforested area where they just cut the stumps conveniently below the waterline by like 2 inches.....lower unit hell.....and tons of hydrilla, and assorted veg,....an open hook or a BB rig is out of the question in the places I want to put the bait. "Salad" is what we call it lightly........its more likely rain forest.

Absolutely correct, And its great to be here.

I want a package like that.(I never want to hear myself say that again) I'm waiting on a few 3:16 gills, some more Hudd 6" weedless and a Dobyns rod......it's like waiting for Santa

I've been throwing the 6" weedless Hudd alot there. I've caught some nice fish on it but I really want to try the 68 special......those I am afraid will hang up on the stumps, but they are not too deep so I will likely give them a shot. Right now I need to be out on the water but I have a serious case of the laze....I just can't get off my a$$ due to lack of motivation. I'm really thinking about trying some grass minnow Hudds on the Rainbow. I've caught some hogs there but not on swimbaits, I see a ton of big fish everytime I go out there, I know they want a swimbait but it is soooooo clear.

you should have ski masks made instead with little balls on the chin Ballchinian -Lumberjack

um......serious!

This is a double post-lumberjack

As a new guy here, I certainly do not want to overstep my bounds(Don, that was for you). I unfortunately signed up and spent time over on SBN before learning about this site. In that short time, I made the mistake of answering someones question...not realizing because my post count was low, I was not supposed to say anything, which in turn made me a target for the resident know it all. Of which he relentlessly sent me emails calling me a poser and a wanna be because my view differed from his. I'm not new to fishing and I actually have a fishing related business as well as experience writing on the topic. ****note to self, in retrospect, telling that individual he was a blowhard, I had no respect for him and he was a piece of human garbage may not have been the correct response to his messages, but it was fun, and I'm certainly not one to hold my tongue......15yrs NYPD Tactical changes one *** But I digress. I love the energy, the humor and the honesty of this site and the guys here. I appreciate the help, the tolerance, acceptance and the general lack of douche baggery guys display despite being asked the same question for the 50th time. After seeing the juvenille posts being put up on the other forum, I can only laugh at how those people must be so miserable to take something that they love so much and turn it into hate and jealousy. Nobody posts over there because they know one or two tool bags get offended and they feel they are the only ones qualified to answer.......if they feel the question is not to much of a noob question. They seem to be very tight over there. I don't know the history behind the split of the original site, of which I was a member several years back but apparently they aren't over it. Anyway, I think we handled this incorrectly. While I accept the name reject, I am disappointed we took the label they gave us. Maybe I'm looking to much into it but I think we should come up with something else to put the exclamation point on their insignificance while at the same time giving a rowdy "F" them. I thought that a nice black 3:16 Beanie with "Mickey's Minion's" or "Mickey's Misfits" would look kick ass.- Lumberjack

That would not go over too well with the home owner's association. Ya think? lol. Seriously though, I live in central west Florida, The Rainbow, Rousseau, Apopka and the Cooch are where I spend much of my time. I've seen some big lizards there but its not like on the Swamp Wars show where you shine a flashlight and there are like 1000 pairs of eyes watching you. I've had more issues with them during the day than at night. I've been lucky so far, although I haven't waded since I moved down here in 2005. Wish I could do that again.

As a new guy here, I certainly do not want to overstep my bounds(Don, that was for you). I unfortunately signed up and spent time over on SBN before learning about this site. In that short time, I made the mistake of answering someones question...not realizing because my post count was low, I was not supposed to say anything, which in turn made me a target for the resident know it all. Of which he relentlessly sent me emails calling me a poser and a wanna be because my view differed from his. I'm not new to fishing and I actually have a fishing related business as well as experience writing on the topic. ****note to self, in retrospect, telling that individual he was a blowhard, I had no respect for him and he was a piece of human garbage may not have been the correct response to his messages, but it was fun, and I'm certainly not one to hold my tongue......15yrs NYPD Tactical changes one *** But I digress. I love the energy, the humor and the honesty of this site and the guys here. I appreciate the help, the tolerance, acceptance and the general lack of douche baggery guys display despite being asked the same question for the 50th time. After seeing the juvenille posts being put up on the other forum, I can only laugh at how those people must be so miserable to take something that they love so much and turn it into hate and jealousy. Nobody posts over there because they know one or two tool bags get offended and they feel they are the only ones qualified to answer.......if they feel the question is not to much of a noob question. They seem to be very tight over there. I don't know the history behind the split of the original site, of which I was a member several years back but apparently they aren't over it. Anyway, I think we handled this incorrectly. While I accept the name reject, I am disappointed we took the label they gave us. Maybe I'm looking to much into it but I think we should come up with something else to put the exclamation point on their insignificance while at the same time giving a rowdy "F" them. I thought that a nice black 3:16 Beanie with "Mickey's Minion's" or "Mickey's Misfits" would look kick ass.- Lumberjack

looks like somebody already did that but I have no idea who that could have been

Rider, I would say that the dirtier your water is, the less important an exact color becomes. I have 2 extremes. I fish the Rainbow which is so clear I can see a nickel dropped in 20ft of water. I would only throw a neutral colored bait there, I like a Hudd 6" or a grass minnow in Ayu because I don't think it is too loud or offensive. I've watched some video of Clear lake fishing and seen a bass follow a swimbait for what seems like an eternity. That fish is no doubt scrutinizing the bait so in that case a trout color would be the key..........as I travel down the Rainbow it meets up with the Withlacoochie and ultimately ends up in Lake Rousseau. The water goes to stained and then downright dingy......I'm more concerned with the action of the bait or the tail is doing than the color here. I swap up to a Hudd 68 or a weedless 6" model. I am not a big fan of the 8" Hudd because I prefer not to festoon it with all the trailer hooks, and using just the top hook is ridiculous. And I appologize, I do like the Hudd, I started out using them and they've worked for me......I promise I'll get some 316 gills. They interest me greatly.....see there is hope for me yet.

Ithica deerslayer

I think I've seen several of those trolls over here this evening.

this is full of WIN!!!!

as much as I hate using anything with treb's in the dark and reaching in a bass' mouth the get the bait out........yes on the punker at night. I have a G2 model, it is red and it is great at night.

Nice review Dave, that little bait looks like it would be a killer in some of the golf course ponds I fish on the Gulf Coast of Fl. I might give it a try.

Fish are more apt to follow a bait longer distances when the water is warmer and their metabolism is higher......or when they are hungry which trumps every scientific variable one could add to the equation.

My pb is 13.9 and was caught at about 10pm in Sept a few yrs back.......however, I catch more fish over 5lbs from 1-3pm and again at 7 -9pm than anyonther time of day.

In my area I don't think color matters specifically as much as light and dark matters. I catch fish here in Fl on trout colored baits and we have no freshwater trout. I prefer something natural like a Hitch or Ayu color most times....and then something dark in lowlight like a nightstalker Hudd.

the H model, the 801-5, it a more versatile stick than the XH. It handles 6" to 10" baits and 25lb line. I think the heavier model is too heavy for most baits.

I got lucky in november nd hit the Hudd site at the right time. I picked up a few and they are great soft swimbaits. Can't get over what they are selling for.

New to this site, but not swimbait fishing in general. I prefer to fish 6" weedless Hudds due to my weedy waters and large topwaters mostly but I am trying to get into the larger baits. Hope to be able to get some good info and share some back.