Hammer 4

Yeah, trying to chuck big baits with an overhand cast isn't the best way to get em way out there. As mentioned above more of a sidearm cast, and as Tom said, let the rod load up before releasing the thumb bar. Been chucking big swimbaits a long time, never had any issues.

3 or 4 depending on where I fished. They ranged from my drop shot spinning rig to my 8' swimbait rig.

I don't buy huge lots of anything at one time. I do have enough to last at least 1 1/2 maybe 2 years, depending on the baits I use most. Never broke a rod, so hopefully I'm good there, same goes for my reels.

Haven't posted pic's in a long time. 1 reason is cuz I haven't been fishing in almost a year now due to having to keep watch on my wife 24/7. And like Catt, if it isn't 6 + lbs. no pic's..

I've caught a ton of bass on the Hudelbugs.

I'd have to say the Rage Craw and Sweet Beaver are my go to baits.

Could there have been any rocks, ect. that could have cut your line ?

Then I have to believe it was in fact a bass.

Ya know, with light reflections, and certain clarity conditions, and if there's any vegetation, colors and even shape can be very tricky to pin down. So I'm gonna go out on limb here, and suggest that maybe it wasn't a bass but possibly a big cat, or maybe a carp. There is that possibility. No?

Not really. Never lock my drags down.

Then replace the reel..?

I've caught 7 lb+ bass on 6lb mono, so I don't think it was the test of your line, something else failed, i.e. frayed line, ect. If I were you, I'd think about replacing that reel.

Kinda strange compared to most of you folks. I threw Zoom lizards for a couple of years on C rig, and never got so much as a tug on them, hence, I gave up on em. May try them again once I can get back to fishing.

Alot would depend on where, time of year, and water temps. The OP posted this in january, which leads me to think that water temps had been cooling down, in which case it's possible the bass were not a active. Also he didn't mention which Hudd he was using, regardless there is one way that I've found gets more strikes, and I'm going to assume he was throwing a top hook 8" hudd, but the same would apply if it were a 6" version. I would want to cast out as far as possible, letting the bait sink to the bottom, this where a ROF 12 or 16 works best, especially at the depths he was talking about. So the Hudd is on the bottom, now for painstaking part, that is you want to SLOW roll it, and I mean Really slow, as if the Hudd is feeding on bottom, also this is imho where a top hook works best, as sometimes bass will grab it by the tail, but you have to be Patient, wait till you feel weight, not just a tug, the second thump is when you want to swing on it, although bass don't always grab the tail. Telling the difference only comes with time on the water. Another thing I do is smear my Hudds with some attractant which helps the bass hold on a tad longer, I use MegaStrike, but any good one will do. If the conditions were more like spring or summer then I'll fish mine up in the water column cuz generally the fish are more active, and are will to chase a bait. I've used Stinger hooks, but only on the top, and have only hooked a few bass on them. Since the OP hasn't been back here since 2011, I hope this helps anyone looking.

RE: the Irod. I'm no beginner, and I have the Irod Gen II and III. These rods perform well above their price point, and customer service is next to none. Just choose the appropriate rod for your application. I don't why you would label the Irod as a beginner rod..?

Can't comment on the G Loomis rod, but I can tell you that the 806 is a great rod. I had an 806 from 2009, and I could bomb 6 or 8" Hudds with ease, reel was a Shimano 301 E7. Hopefully the newer 806's are the same.

I haven't fished in almost a year now, due my wife's C word situation. When I was fishing on a regular basis, I caught LMB, as has been said here, that are very few lakes with SM bass. I fished DVL pretty often, and tried my best to hook a SM, never happened. The locals there said that most of the SM were around the SS Relief dock, I couldn't find any there..lol

99.99% of the time, I reach for my 7'1" ml spinning rig which has 8# mono spooled up. Been working just fine for the last ...can't recall how many years it's been..lol

^^^ Dude is a Dumba$$ for driving like that..

In the past I used nothing but Dirty Jigs, then I tried some of Mikes jig (Siebert) and now that all I use. He makes really good stuff, give em a try.

These guys have 68's in stock. https://swimbaitcity.com/html/storehuddleston.html#hud

I'll take being good lookin. I can always Fake being smart...?

I fished spinning gear for many years, still have 2 of them that I use for lighter lures. Even with the BFS reels out there, I'll stick to my spinning gear.

I'm gonna say winter, only cuz I get Cold way to easily..lol

Never