J Francho

I should add, I don't consider the tail on a Hudd a "boot tail." It differs greatly from most of the boot tail type baits I see from others. If you're looking for a GREAT weedless bait, look no further than the American Trash Fish. A little pricey, but so effective, slithering through weeds. As always, get a bottle of Mend-It, and something like Megastrike to get max life out of your baits.

I prefer a deployment arm, using SI with a kayak because you can swing the TD out of harms way when necessary. Like when launching and landing. As Wayne side, make sure it has an unobstructed "view" from side to side. I have several kayaks, and this also allows me to switch units from boat to boat. Good info in here....might be rolling in a Hobie this year. We'll see.

I'm 99% certain you'll get the shoes. I know when I ordered a spool for a Curado E, it came as one whole unit.

I'm not going to debate the semantics. To me, casting a lure out isn't predicated by using reel; you're "casting out" your bait. If your definition varies, then substitute your own verbiage. My point is, you can flip and pitch with ANY rod and reel, and I often do. Punching is a specific technique employed in heavy cover. Cover dictates rod, reel, line, and bait style. Does that explain my point better?

To get into preferences on taper and power - for heavy cover, I prefer a mod-fast extra heavy rating.

A "Flip" is just a cast. Punching typically employs heavy gear, to get the bait to penetrate heavy cover. Any rod you get to punch with, you can use a flip cast. In fact, add a flip punch cast to your repertoire, but don't take out the cat.

Fishing a Hudd is a bit different than fishing a paddle tail, even a large one. Fish them both, and you'll see what I mean. Neither is simply "slow rolling a bait," if you want to truly master the bait. Though you can get bit doing just that. It is true that soft belly swimbaits, and paddletail style grubs offer more rigging options, but the sheer effectiveness of a Hudd, if put in the right place, at the right time cannot be ignored. I keep both around, and probably don't fish the Hudd as much as something like a Keitech Fat Impact on a J-will head (open Hook) or Owner Beast (weedless), but I would not rate it "over" or against large, pre-weighted, soft swimbaits. It's like saying a jig is a better bait than a Texas Rig because there are more options for the latter.

I let line diameter determine which to use. Anything over 8# size mono, I use casting gear. Below that, spinning gear. You're not going to throw 1/4 oz. crankbait on casting gear with 12-15# mono or fluoro, and likewise, it isn't likely you'll be throwing a 2+ oz. punch rig on 6# mono or fluoro.

I don't get a new rod until I'm fishing, and think to myself, "If I only had a [insert rod] for this." Often, what need is just a duplicate of what I already have, though I have most bases covered at this point.

I use a 4/0 standard offset hook for 5-6" senko. If you're using genuine GYCB plastics, the plastic is pretty soft, so you don't need a wide gap hook. FOr the twin tail grubs, it would depend on how fat the grub body section was. I generally use a twin tail as a jig trailer, but I Texas rig Rage Craws which are similar, and a 3/0 or 4/0 wide gap hooh works fine. I like Owner's Wide Gap Plus or Rig'n Hook.

Perfect! Thanks Jack!

Owner provides some very good info for choosing hooks and rigging: http://www.ownerhooks.com/basshooks.htm

They come with the shoes.

I don't have a picture, and don't use the setup anymore. It's a simple as attaching the TD to a 2' section of 1x3 wood, and using a C-clamp to attach the board to the transom. Then I just taped the cords to the board. I kept the battery and head unit in a small Plano bag.

Pretty sure we're talking about anchoring shallow, seeing as the title of the thread is "Push In Shallow Water Anchors." Let's stay on topic, please.

Applicable to what?

I grew up on Port Bay, NY. It's 460 acres. Shouldn't be that hard to figure out. I can cover most of the fishable areas by kayak in a single day. You can do it. Don't overthink it.

It's 318 acres. That's not big.

Seems pretty clear to me....

Pretty much all of the above, when it comes to bass gear.

Perfect rig for that situation.

Relative is definitely a relative description for large. In my neck of the woods, that is a big pond. At any rate, I'd break a lake that size down into sections, and fish each thoroughly. I don't know if you'd be dialed in, in just two trips, but after a couple weeks, you should be able to locate fish by trial and error, and then apply what we know of seasonal patterns to investigate new spots.

A mod fast rod will cast spinnerbaits nicely, but you'll want to be sure your hooks are sharp. I prefer an X-fast taper for spinnerbaits, which helps quickly drive the hook home.

I gotta tell you, those rigs I posted have all but replaced my pegged T-rigs. Perfect match with the Rage Craws you have.

Can't speak for that particular rod, but cranking, particularly heavy/deep cranking sticks are one a the few truly specialized, application specific rods I own. I'm not a fan of one trick ponies either, even with 40+ sticks to choose from, but cranking is a special deal.