haunted

And to balance it out- the new Bullshooter Tiny model https://youtu.be/AkK8BDuBuDU

For those who haven't seen it yet... https://youtu.be/Ue_Mr1wo464

Sufix is your friend. Siege mono. Amazing casting distance, tough as nails, minimum stretch, minimum memory. (Same diameters as big game). Use a solid color, had an issue once with the camo. (Could've just been a bad batch, but better safe than sorry with big baits). Big fan of their fluorocarbon too. (Great handling & strength, at the cost of being little more opaque (visible) than other flouros). I'll never use another line as long as Sufix exists. One of the few things I have ultimate confidence in & can recommend. *Use a line conditioner too(with all lines, not just sufix). Especially with big baits.

Had too many Huddleston duds in the past few years to be confident in them anymore. (Been a year+ since I've even looked at them, so maybe QC has gotten better?)

I've been wanting to try these since I first saw the prototypes. I've fished the tiki lobster and imo it has some design flaws, in both form & function. These look far superior, on every level.

*copy/pasted from my TT post: These look money- -36 ton Japanese toray blanks -all double footed stainless steel guides -carbon reel seat with soft touch coating, Fuji pts styled. -slick foxhole hook keeper- placed under the foam foregrip, so that your swimbait is resting on foam(rather than the blank) -full grip, slim contoured eva handles -6 models, for baits ranging from 2-22oz. -all black 'murdered out' styling (akin to megabass x4 rods) -$215-$235 Available July 21st. -The TW video: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/icast16cat.html?ccode=13FISH16E&catvid=CRODS -TW page(some typos on rod specs- see 13 fishing page for correct specs): http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/13_Fishing_Muse_Black_Swimbait_Casting_Rods/descpage-M1SB.html 13 fishing product page: http://www.13fishing.com/muse-black-swimbait/

Without a doubt- 20lb Sufix fluorocarbon, or 20lb Sufix Siege for mono. Sufix line is one of the few fishing products I have 100% confidence with.

I quit buying hudds years ago. After the 5th or 6th one I bought that didn't run right (6" models, various rof), combined with a few that had bunk hooks, I finally gave up on Huddleston all together. Hope he gets out in front of this and works the qc issues worked out.

That's actually an awesome bait co name. Very witty! For those that didn't catch the reference-

'Tubuku baits' is my favorite part! Hahahahhaha

I had em before(very small size, caught with casting net). Shad & bluegill as well. I actually learned a good bit about them & baitfish that way. If possible, feed it food that's native to its lake. Hook him up with some crawfish, minnows, lizards, worms, bugs, bluegill, etc.

New swim video of the 16" savage gear line thru trout- http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/ICAST15.html?ccode=SAVAGE15E

I use #20 Sufix fluorocarbon on my swim baits. That stuff is tuff as nails, casts great, almost no memory and has the best knot strength of any flouro I've tried. I think it's the best flouro on the market. The one negative- is that it doesn't seem to be as invisible as others. Pros far outweigh the cons for me. Also- I use line conditioner(I think I have the KVD one atm) before each outing. Makes the line more supple & a little less jumpy.

Great post Randall! I kept & studied multiple species of fish for a few years as well, and the things I learned were invaluable. Like the color changing for example- the dominate/alpha fish would always be darker in color. When they'd decided to bully/chase/harass/challenge/show dominance- the alpha fish would get dark and go 'full color' and flare all their fins out- while all the other lesser fish would go pale and tuck their fins- out of shear fear/nervousness. If another fish 'showed its colors', the alpha fish would key in on it. Likewise, the predator fish in a tank of bait fish would go dark before it fed. All species, from bass to chilids to red belly piranhas. And then the environmental factors- day/night, temperatures, water changes, etc. There's a lot to learn from keeping fish. The types of deflections off structure that triggers strikes. Specific movements of a worm or other bait thrown in that reveal what the fish like, colors/patterns, the preferred angles of attack, the way they move during different situations, etc.

Debating which one to get as well. I'll most likely get both of them down the road, but only one for now. @igl00jx you're the only person I can find online that has both- What are your thoughts comparing the 2 reels? Which one would you prefer/recommend if you could only have one?

The paint scheme on Randal's gliding Gizzard is still the best shad/herring I've ever seen. Pics don't do it justice.

Great photo! Also bugs me how mfgrs are making baits so blue. Just take a shad pattern and put some pink & purple sparkle in the clear coat.

The new gary loomis rods (edge rods) have carbon fiber handles. Apparently lighter & much more sensitive than cork/eva. I'd like to check one out in person & will keep an open mind, but... seems like it'd be about as comfortable as a pvc pipe.

I ordered some waterdogs directly from him. The first order, when they came out, took 4 months, the 2nd order, 2yrs ago, took almost 7 months. The first bait all the legs came off after a few outings. The second bait was very different from the first, corners cut everywhere & the tail came completely apart on the 5th cast. I had such high hopes for those waterdogs...

Didn't see it posted here yet, check out this new megabass black jungle swimbait rod- http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/pros ... 473389320/ Black jungle FZ-80XBJ Nephilm LENGTH:8.0 Lure Capa: 10-30 oz Line Capa: 30-50 lb Action:medium FAST First thing that came to mind was alabama rigging 6" hudds

Hph gliding gizzard is my new favorite.

Another comforting point of consideration for me- is that swimbaits/sb fishing is a lot more discouraging than other applications. Especially for younger guys who don't have patience, or take the time to learn the bait or the body of water they're fishing. Swimbaits may be growing in popularity but only a select few will stick with em & put the time in. Once the 'cool factor' factor wears off and they realize it takes more than a buff, flat brim hat & a GoPro to land a 14lb'r... They'll move on to the next appealing thing, just like any trend. How often do we see spooks, sammys, dd22's, senkos, frogs, etc pop up in fishing forum classified sections with a heading that reads "only thrown a few times" or "not my style"? Not often. When I see "only thrown a few times" or "not my style"- I read 'impatient', 'easily discouraged', or 'didn't get instant gratification'. All that being said.... Whenever someone approaches me on the lake or at the dock asking about my SB I give em the same response: "Naw, I didn't catch sh#t on that, not even a bite. But I caught a couple good ones on my chartruce spinnerbait. Real good ones."

I don't sweat it. Didn't sweat it living in Norcal, don't sweat it in the south. In CA I found quite a few 'off the beaten path' good(trout stocked) lakes. I spent a lot of time on em, never saw another guy throwing big baits. Sections of rivers too. A road map, topo map & some gas money can put you on some good fish that don't know jack sh#t about Huddlestons. There's also modifications you can do to your baits that show the fish something different. Same with retrives...

Instead of the necro-bump, you could have just posted in the Black Market. X2. Although... It's pretty funny to look back through the thread and see people talking sh*t on the deps glide baits.