Lakeshark

I own the phenix as well. I throw baits from 3-5 oz on it most of the time and its been great. I was using it to throw the deps 250 for a bit, which is handled, but I had to be cautious. Over all I really am a big fan of the rod. Looks clean, has a nice parabolic action, slings some baits really well, and has a nice long handle. The guides aren't reinforced as much as the inshore series, or like some other swimbait rods out there, but Im sure it makes for an overall lighter design.

Its a pretty different bait than the gantarel. The gantarel has multiple line ties depending on what you want to do with the bait. The Bull shooter, and bull shooter 160 are both larger than the gantarel by a good margin. Feathered hooks are just a preference. Fish it and see if you like it. Im a big fan of the bull shooter 160. I took the lip weight out of both of the ones I own, and love the way they suspend in colder water. Right now in the low 50's its a super slow sink, but in the summer it will be a heaver floater, meaning you can crank the bull shooter down slighty. Over all a great bait. Seems like a lot of people prefer the 160 size over the original. The gantarel is great too, just smaller, more affordable, has worse stock hooks, and a jointed tail, which changes the swim a little. Id say they are all worth owning. The bull dozer is just a floating wakebait version of the bullshooter. Hope that helps

I wouldn't be too confident in it, but throw it and let the fish be the judge.

I have a couple lexa 300's. Ive been really happy with them, and there are some good deals to be had.

I own one OG, and have had 3 new injected models so far. Id have to agree with "Bigslant" about the swim charictaristics. The OG stays down much better when working the bait agressively. The new versions like to nose up, and are less predictable. Out of the 3 new versions Ive owned, only one has been pretty decent at staying down under an erratic retreive, Ive seen other people posting on here about the new versions all swimming slightly different, and it rings true in my experience. I like the old, and the new baits honestly. I'll continue to purchase the OG version from here on out though. Either way, they are both solid choices. The old version is supposed to be tunable in the joint, where the new one is not. So you can tune the OG to have a wider or tighter glider, based on the spacing of the bait. Holding both baits side by side, the OG has a noticable difference in the amount the hinges articulate, which helps it turn around a little easier. Hope that helps.

Most, if not all the lakes in the area could hold a giant. The lakes in the south bay area havent had trout stocks in years. Doesnt mean they wont bite a trout swimbait however. Just get out there and fish, use the baits you like or have confidence in. I wouldnt worry too much about a particular bait working at a certain lake. They will usually all have their time and place. The swimbait you'll get bit on, is the one you are putting time into. As of about 2 weeks ago, the bite has slowed down. Dont get too discouraged if you arent hooking up. Slow rolling soft baits, and glide baits should work.

I agree with the above comments. You could make it work, but it's not the right rod for it.

Yeah it is definitely a favorite on here. I have a couple slammers. The 7" got me started, but I pretty much only throw the 9" now. The 9" gets bit by all sizes of fish. I pretty much only wake it, but that's partly because even after tuning, my slammer likes to roll when cranked down. Seems like each bait has a mind of its own. Wake, with pauses thrown in should work, but you'll always get the answer "it depends on the fishes mood" as for how you should fish them. Seems like a lot of people like to twitch and walk them as well. As for the x2, and x3 jointed baits. I haven't fished them, but they will have a more fluid swimming action and make more noise. I'll probably pick one or two up in the future. Another thing I like about the slammers is you get a pretty late profile in a lightweight package. It's really easy too throw, and won't wear you out.

ive been putting a drop shot weight in the bill slot of my new 250 and it helps a lot. Gotta make sure it's wide enough so the skin on the bait holds it in place. I'll agree that some of the injected baits run different. I traded a wild carp, that swam great to a buddy for a new flash carp. The flash carp swims like crap and noses up a bunch. So after dealing with that, I splurged for an og 250 and all my worries are gone. It's a far superior bait.

I appreciate everyone's advice. I guess I didn't really know that people fished the 250 all year. I was under the impression that it was a spring summer fall thing. Which is great news for me, as I really enjoy the control factor of a glide. You guys just gave me some more confidence to throw it year round. Thanks again

I live in the SF bay area, in central California. Right now our water temps are slowly dropping for the fall. We went from the mid 80's down to mid 70's in water temps, and the bite is picking up. Now, let me say that I have a lot more fun fishing a glide bait vs the hudd. So my question is, at what temps do you guys start stepping away from the glides to fish slower moving baits? Thank you in advance, Luke

I've caught a 7 lber on an s waver, and like fishing it. It got me into glide bait fishing. I only throw the 200 size. I recently had one break. I called river 2 sea and they sent a replacement to my door within 4 days. Pretty awesome customer service. You don't wanna over work the bait as it tends to roll. Your medium heavy will not be able to handle the 200. You usually wanna use longer casts than that rod will allow.

I contacted huddleston about my Huds having an issue via telephone. They know about the issue. They offered to send me rof 12s to replace my wonky rof 5s. They assumed it was an issue with the rof 5 before I even told them the fall rate of the bait that I had. So they abviously know about this problem and are prepared to fix it. The one rof 12 hud gill that I had on my order swam well, although I managed to break it off almost imediatly on a fish. Good article. I did attempt to tune the baits in the same way you did. If anyone else is having issues I suggest calling huddleston.

I recently broke an okuma guide select that was rated 1-6 oz. I replaced it with an 8' m1. I don't like the guides as much on the m1. The stronger double butted guides don't continue all the way up. They are a bit more fragile. I wish I would have bought an inshore series instead. That being said, the rod fishes well. I've fished braid and 25lb big game on it. The okuma was more parabolic. Better for treble baits. The m1 is a bit stiffer, and loads up nicely, although I liked casting the okuma better. The m1 Has a very good amount of back bone even though it's rated a mod fast. I'm fishing 4oz baits mainly. Overall the rod is very nice. I like the handle, cork blend, and detail for the price. At my local tackle store you pay $50 bucks for a phenix replacement on the spot which I like. Okuma I had to send out.