mikeeasttn

I agree with NGH on the hooks they put on the Hudds. With the bottom hooks you can not crawl a 16 Hudd over the bottom as sometimes I think you need to.

I fish the 8" Hudd quite a bit and where I fish you might make up to 4 or 5 trips before you get a hookup on a large fish. Just keep fishing and the Hudd will catch fish. Also I use 30# P-Line CXX on a ABU Ambassedeur Reel 6600C4 reel on a Shimano XH Swimbait Rod. If you do hook up with one over 10 you want the equipment to be able to give you the edge. Fish over 10#'s are incredibly strong. Go to Southern Trout Eaters web site and it will tell you what kind of equipment is the best for each size bait. I hope I am not breaking a rule telling you to go to another site but these guys on STE site know what they are talking about as most only fish these swimbaits.

In my home lake alot of the fisherman troll for the walleyes with artificals or some type spinner tipped with a worm on a 3-way rig. Also in the summer alot of us troll for stripers using downriggers. I will admit it i not the same as casting, but sometimes it is the only way to get a hit when the fish are deep.

The Big Hammer swimbait tails are not hollow bodied but rig them on a light BH jig head and they can be fished like hollow bodied swimbaits and they will catch fish.

Have fished the Uptons 13" and 19" worms and really have caught only one fish on the 19" which was a LM and it weighed 6'10". I'm not sayingthey do not work as I was probably not fishing them correctly, but my grandson has caught larger LM on a crankbait. Another thing about the huge worms it is best to rig with with double hooks, that is one in the head and another half-way down the worm.

i LIKE THE WOODEN CRANKS AS THEY SEEM TO CATCH THE BETTER FISH THAN PLASTIC. i USE THE pOES AND MY FATHER-IN-LAW MAKE WOODEN CRANKS WHICH WORK VERY WELL. Sorry, did not mean to type in all caps.

I have used mono for years and only recently started using braid and fluro. The only thing I use braid for is for froggin and like some of the others I just do not like it. When I started using fluro and tried many different brands. So far the best brand I have found is the BPS. When sprayed with KVD Line Treatment it is not as bad as the others for me.

The way I find underwater springs is to go during the winter when they draw lake down to lowest point and then mark it on my GPS. I know this is not as good a method as using a map but on my home lake more fish hold around the springs that are not so deep. Also it is especially good in the winter time for the float n fly and can catch huge SM.

When I fish there are many more days that I do not catch fish than the days I catch fish.

Since the water is warm start with the soft swimbaits with the paddle tails. They are usually best in water above 65 degrees as they make more thump and move more water. As you know everything in spring and summer moves faster. That is not to say that the vertical tail swimbaits like the Huddleston will not work. The Hudds will work all of the time but chances are better with the paddle tails. At this time of year with the paddles tails make a normal retrieve as you would on a crankbait or try different kinds, the fish will let you know what they want. When the water fall below 60 degrees it is time to go to the vertical tail swimbaits such as the Hudds. They should retreived very slowly. In cold water when you think you are retreiving to slow,slow down some more. Swimbait Nation and Swimbait Underground are 2 good sites to go too as you will learn alot just by reading the posts.

I fish a deep clear TVA lake in East Tn.It is Norris Lake and to be honest I can not tell any difference in the recovery rates of the fish. Both fish are really fished for differently, the largemouth around cover and the smallmouth suspend and are deeper.

Be sure and check out the Shimano Crucials..

Rapala Shad Rap in black and silver. Rapala DT 16 & 20 in Shad Bill Norman Deep Little N in shad colors Bomber in Green and silver.

I use the BPS Flurocarbon Line in 17# for jig fishing. I also use quite a bit of the KVD line conditioner. It has worked well for me.

I tried the Nanofil this sring in 10#. After losing two crankbaits that broke off on the hook set i replaced the line and have not used it again. Have a friend that tried to fish light jigs but from what he said he had the same problems I had. His and my experience is all I know about first hand but from what I have read on the forums a person is asking for a headache using this line even through it cast great.

I have used Shimano Reels since I started bass fishing. Over the past 2 years I have purchased 2 Daiwa Zillion reels. They are very smooth and in most cases since more smooth than most of my Shimanos. They will not throw as light as baits as the Shimano Curado's but when retreiving you feel more connected to the bait than with the Shimanos. They are great casters and rarely have a professional overrun(backlash) when using the Zillion. They also have very good drags and mine are smoother than the Shimano's. I would think the Zillion is Daiwa's best reel for the money. Have tried the Steez but for the weight there was not alot of difference to me than the Zillions.

If you are looking to start fishing hard swimbaits I would start with the lower priced ones to make sure you will like fishing them. The larger ones require different rods, usually reels and line. You can get by with heavy bass gear to start with before investing in the specialized equipment to fish them with. Some good ones to start with are are ABT Banshee Swimbaits in the 4 and 6" size. These can be best throwed on heavy bass rods as they tend to helicopter in the air. Also the Spro Hard Swimbaits the Spro BBZ baby and the 4 and 6" size. These will all catch fish. Also a moderately priced swimbait that will catch fish is the Strike King Sexy Swimmer but some people have had trouble with them breaking at the joints. Also try the Reaction strike swimbaits as I have had good luck with them. I use the sinking Revolution Sinking Shad and of course there is the Bull Shad made by Titron Mike. I think your best best is to go with the Huddleston Swimbaits. They are really softbodied baits but fish just like any hard body jointed swimbait. I think they are your best bet as they will catch fish under any conditions and come in different sizes and some are also weedless. There are also more expensive baits such as the 3:16's you might want to check into. There are two good swimbaits sites that will answer any question you might have about the baits. They are Swimbait Nation and Swimbait Underground. Check them out.

Try the Hudd Bug or the Rage Tail Baby Craw. They work very well in the clear water.

Great Video. Thanks.

Received mine today. A pack of 2/0 EWG hooks Thanks Tokar.

I use the Roboworm EZ Shad in 5", Lake Fork Magic Shad 4.5" and the Keitech Swim Impact 4". As A-Jay said do not forget the Rage Tails also.

Bream are used as bait for stripers on my home lake. I think the shad are better bait but the bream are easier to catch especially if you have trouble using a casting net. Most hook the bream thru the back under the dorsal fin especially if they are jug fishing.

I know this will sound stupid but why do they not just release bluegill into the lake. TWRA restocks stripers, walleye and various other species this way in its lakes and it seems to work. In fact the stripers have just about taken over.

I use a Shimano Crucial Crankbait Rod 7'11" in MH that I use and have been well pleased with. Use to use shorter rods but the longer rod seems to work better for me.

I have two of the old Black 5000's from the 60's that I purchased at an estatesale. I still use them occasionaly and they still cast and retreve as good as my new reels. The ones made in Sweden will last forever and you will never be "outgunned" on the water.