KeepinItReelFishing

From what I have heard those that have cancelled had no issue getting their money back. The manufacturer has stated themselves that anyone wanting a refund need only request it. Personally I had been giving the Huddleston company leeway as Ken has suffered on and off for years from severe bacterial infections. I honestly did not care about the massive delays, what is more important is first Ken's health, but secondly is some kind of communication/update. The last update provided from Huddbaits was November 2, 2018. I followed up in 2019, and was told the project was still live, although they could not provide any hard timelines. I again contacted them in 2020, to which I never received a reply. Hence, here we are today. Sh*t.....or get off the pot.

I'm patient, and a persons health comes infinitly before another lure to just catch a fish. But, communication is also key, particularly when you are holding individuals money for an EXTENDED period of time. For those who are still waiting, my hope is to let this e-mail serve as a single point of communication. Sent 8/5/2021 Hello, This e-mail is on behalf of all those who have been patient and still have money held by Huddleston Deluxe / Huddbaits. This is my fourth follow up e-mail regarding this item (one / year). I know Ken had/has been very ill with regard to the bacteria infection. I wish him all the best then and now. At this point though (FOUR years later!) I will assume all orders should be cancelled/refunded. If this is not the case and you have specific information regarding the manufacturer and or shipping of the Hudd Walker please let us know. Myself and those on various swimbait forums would appreciate a timely response and forthright communication. A copy of this e-mail will be posted on both SwimbaitUnderground.com as well as Swimbait Universe on Facebook. Thank you for your prompt assistance, Carl Kozub INVOICE # 1015552 ORDER DATE: July 28, 2017

Now your talkin'! Early morning cup of Joe and a quick bass on the little G2. Next to a donut and coffee thats the perfect combo.

What's up JP. I think its a lot less about the specific state and more the climate/latitude. Fish don't know what state their in, and states themselves are just imaginary lines. I say that because I think you could benefit from researching the success of big bait anglers anywhere from Oregon to Nebraska, Conneticut to Ohio. The main thing is you live in a state where you get a true winter (lakes typically freeze) and as such your fish are effectively on a three season growing cycle (in addition to being northern strain bass vs southern). The fish being hot for a certain bait or style of bait I think is more due to seasonal/environmental factors and not the fish getting accustomed to seeing it. If that was the case senko's, spinnerbaits, plastic worms, etc would only work for a little while, and we know they are perpetually effective. The effectiveness of swimbaits I think is not so dissimilar to traditional baits. Certain categories of baits tend to excel at certain times of year (read: water temp), and within those times of year the specific conditions of the day also play a major part. The biggest thing is learning your specific lakes, and that just takes time on the water. Lakes vary so much. Someone may be giving you advice from their main lake which is super clear and is structure driven and your lake is a shallow, weedy, stained lake. The particulars of what YOU are fishing is everything. The learning process can be daunting. With traditional size lures, if you aren't getting any bites after 6 hours of fishing you should be examining what to change....whether lure, depth, location, etc. With the truly big baits your feedback can be so infrequent (no bites) that its so hard to know if you are doing something wrong, or if you are doing everything right and its just the fact that your using big baits which inherently don't get bit nearly as frequently. The only way to chip away at that is....lots of time on the water, observe everything you can, and take notes. Mental if your a machine with memory, I prefer written so as to compare year over year. For your sanity I would recommend evaluating your success not on any given trip, but over the course of the seasons (how was my spring? how was my summer?) and then the year as a whole. If I can crack 3 or 4 fish over 6lbs my year is a success. Likewise, if I can crack a single 7 or 8lb fish the year is a success. Best of luck in your pursuit of giant bass!

Those numbers are NUTS!!! Both quantity and size. I mean....thats straight up mythical status. GIANT CONGRATS.

From one NJ angler to another, big congrats! Even chucking big baits the 5's can be hard to come by. Best of luck on continued success this spring.

Congrats Curran! Very nice fish and great pics.

Nice one Justin! Must be nice having water a block from one's house.....damn! I would be putting in night work EVERY night if I had such access.

This IS Swimbait Underground. So, whenever this topic comes up its a little sketchy because without question this is a forum dedicated to its namesake...and I think we all respect and love that. The problem is, the usage of swimbaits is by those who have a desire for decisively above average, or trophy size fish. And, that goal or mindset is also shared by quite a few people who are down to use other lures to pursue giant bass. End result? Trophy bass minded anglers end up funneling into here, even those who fish other lures, because it is the most focused forum pursuant to giant bass. I'm glad you found my video compelling "willlliw". Best of luck this season on those giants whether by swimbait, big bait, or otherwise.

Your a machine dude. This was all in Maine?

Great stuff man. I'm always amazed me that I too have most of my lakes to myself usually until May. THIS is the time for the giants. Keep putting in that work! -Carl

Congrats on the awesome fish / PB! Excellent execution on the follow up. Once they hit 23" they can be within such a range, from a low of 6lbs if they are gaunt and unhealthy, to 11lbs if they are like an overstuffed football. At least you joined the 7lb club man....its not easy! Congrats again.

Way to go man! People sleep on the Meathead for whatever reason, but it is truly a great wake bait.

And just an FYI....Matt did get back to me regarding where his baits are made. As per the man himself, all have been and continue to be made here except for three, and those three were from a decade ago. The Jitterfish, Matt's Minnow, and some "little shad bait".

The No-Bull frog has a great, large profile. But, the internal air cavity barely....I mean BARELY floats the appropriate super wide gap hook. I have a bunch I have fished for years and I think they are awesome now that I have a different approach/expectation. Basically, I don't look for them to float high on the surface, I now use them in the capacity that they run....which is they surface on the twitch up, and very slowly sink on the pause. In truth it makes sense and is a fantastic technique as you create some splash/commotion on the surface with the twitch, and then let it fall ever...so...slowly next to that large lily pad, or grass line. I have had no shortage of strike as the frog is on that slow decent. Making it, IMO, incredibly unique as not only a very large frog bait, but one that also curtails to surface as well as subsurface feeders.

Hey. Yeah, I posted in Mickey's IG story on that gill release. I was basically saying how I love his work, but I have seen his hard bait prices increase at a % rate faster than his peers...or "older" swimbait companies such as Black Dog, Mattlures, Triple Trout, Huddleston, MS Slammer, and JSJ. He mentioned that Black Dog is Chinese made as well as Mattlures. And, like you guys are saying I had never heard anyone mention Matt's stuff being imported. We have all seen pictures of his blanks, we all know he paints them, and he talks about dialing in sink rates. Most significantly he speaks directly about reformulating his resin in the creation of the Strong gill. And in this new "Closer" shad that is about to come out, its resin/clean coat is purposefully "soft" as Matt speaks of designing the lure to move quietly in the water with no distinct click or clack of a traditional resin. The fact that all that is done overseas (China) seems highly suspect to me. I was skeptical about the assertion Mickey made, but I respectfully acknowledged the fact that I certainly don't know those bait makers like he might, especially from his years in California, trade shows, etc. I really don't know Matt at all. I had made a video a while back on the Ultimate Gill, and it was seen well and I suspect he sold more of them as a result. He has since sent me a few lures for free in advance of their public release for field testing/feedback and fish catch pictures. We exchange the occasional IM, but thats about it. Because of serious curiosity though I did IM him just the other day regarding the manufacture/origin of his hard baits. I really was just trying to plant the seed in Mickey's head that I think there are a number of us working class people who used to be able to justify paying for his lures, like Wake Jr's when they were around $150, but this new move to $250 and up (many in the $300-$400 range) for seemingly all his hard baits is hard for many of us to accept. By all means its his business and maybe he wants his business model to be to curtail strictly to the collector/higher end customer. I get it. A Rolex doesn't keep better time than a good Seiko, but any serious Rolex buyer DOESN'T want Rolex's to have mainstream pricing....a large part of the appeal is the exclusivity. Whatever Mickey is doing is obviously working for him. In Mickey's defense, he rightly stated that his soft baits are very competitively priced, especially now as some soft bait makers of un-rigged baits are exploring premium pricing within that category. But, in my defense the comment I made in his IG story was only directed toward his hard baits as that is the place where I have seen the massive pricing increase. -Carl

I was thinking the same exact thing!

Congrats TJ! Man, those are some amazing first catches, what a way to build confidence in big baits QUICK. Welcome to S.U. and continued success.

-Steve's 2-Face waking gill -Joey Lanciotti Psycho gill -Black Dog Baits shellcracker (original - larger wood version) -Bullshad 4x4 (throw a bluegill paint job or wrap on it)

Topwater in December is the definition of dedication. Big congrats on a solid winter bass.

Your a machine Jesse! Those are just amazing numbers for anyone, but here in the Northeast its on another level. You definitely got this whole swimbait thing figured out

For the most part, yes. However I'd like to mention a few good examples. A few years ago I had contacted them two times within the year regarding an issue, and each time they were on it like white on rice. Ken threw in a hand written note and a free weedless 6" with the one "issue" (a t-shirt order had been delayed). But, I'm well aware that for MANY people their communication is horrible. I have sent an e-mail once every 6 months inquiring about the Hudd Walker. Obviously, I'm not in a rush (order was placed in 2017), and I also know that Ken had been really REALLY bad off at times with his infection. I used to get responses saying they really didn't know when, or if, they would be completed. But, for the last year they are just not replying. Like you said though Wayne, the baits are great.

BIG congrats man!! You not kidding, an almost 6lb smallie is NO JOKE. Be very proud of that catch.....an amazing specimen for sure. There goes that 68 Special again (like 2 minutes ago I commented on a post on Swimbait Universe on some dude who just caught a 9lb+ largemouth on the 68.) Having fished it since 2013 myself I can attest to the fact that among a sea of mid size swimbaits it TRULY is a special product.

Thanks Grady. The NJ record is 9lbs 3oz. Its always crazy when we catch a giant, regardless of species, and then reference in our head how much bigger the record is. I can't imagine a pickerel roughly 33% bigger! I know you put giants in the boat....can you imagine a 20lb bass??! ha ha.....these record fish are amazing.

New PB pickerel @ 6lbs 2oz and 26.5" taken on the Dream Smasher 6" weedless shad in 'holographic shad' color. Where: Northwest, NJ When: December 11, 2020 Water Temp: 45 degrees (as per Lowrance HDI-5) Every year I love winter fishing more. I never thought I would have the confidence I do in the cold, but my outcomes each year cement the fact that winter fishing is a KEY time for particularly large fish. I always get at least one giant bass, I've caught a freekishly large yellow perch, and now it's given me a new PB pickerel. Some people don't like pickerel, but I think they are awesome. Just scaled down versions of their larger cousins (pike, musky). Those razor sharp teeth, torpedo body, and that camouflage....they are thoroughbred freshwater killers! I do lose a good number of soft swimbaits to them, but thankfully this giant didn't swallow it too deep and those razors it calls it's teeth were not in reach of my line.