NorthernBasser

7" version. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Big_Bite_Baits_Suicide_Shad_Swimbait/descpage-BBBSS.html

A few of my Black Friday order. Also picked up a Dobyns swimbait rod.

Gander has 20% your order. Code GOHOLIDAY.

That's what I've always been worried about. If I try it and it lives up to it's hype, I'll want to spool up more reels with it. And that can get costly. Curious about this too. I'd use it for t-rigs and/or jigs.

Somebody quick sell me on that Tatsu! Or better yet, maybe don't... ?

American Legacy Fishing 12 days of Christmas started today. Lew's Speed Spool LFS on sale for $69.95. Reg. $99.95.

It didn't work for me the last time I tried it.

Mine feels super smooth, but there does seem to be some resistance if that makes sense. I'm gonna run to Cabela's this weekend to compare it to other Presidents.

This is funny. I just got a President in the mail today and noticed the exact same thing. Every spinning reel I've owned before this would spin a lot more when taking hand off the handle. Was wondering if this is a Pflueger (my first Pflueger) thing or what?

I hear ya. Up until a few years ago, I was a diehard Shimano guy. Still am, but I was ONLY Shimano. Then I saw a really good deal on ebay on a Tatula, so I gave it a shot. Needless to say I now have 5 or 6 Tatulas to go along with my Shimanos.

I guess nobody really knows if the color matters. But I'll share a story about a day I had this year where it seemed like color did matter. My friend and I were fishing a huge grass mat. It was a bright, blue bird day, for the most part. I've always read, fish white frogs on sunny days and black on cloudy days. So we both had a white frog tied on. We weren't doing the greatest. In an hour, I had one bass, he had two. Then I noticed the "popping" sound of bluegill feeding on surface (bottom of the mat...embarrassed I hadn't noticed it sooner). Well, bluegill get REALLY dark when they're living under those mats, being out of the sun. So I put on a solid black frog. The difference was night and day. There were openings here and there in this mat. And the majority of the fish I caught in the next hour came when that frog hit the open hole. Now, did the bass think the frog was now a bluegill feeding on the surface? Is that why they were feeding all of a sudden? I'm not sure. But I did catch 9 bass in the next hour, all on that black Scum Frog. My friend stuck with white and caught 1 more in that hour.

I have. I do like the chugger better than the popper though. Both have very good hookup ratios. The chugger casts better as well and easier to walk the dog with.

Thanks Mike, appreciate the reply. I'm able to wiggle the screw eyes back and forth quite a bit. Is this also normal? And I wasn't sure if I could just tighten the line tie myself without wrecking it. Didn't know if it was just screwed in or screwed it with glue as well.

Thanks guys. I'll send Mike an email and see what he says. These things obviously have a great reputation, so I'm sure I just got a bad one that slipped through the cracks. I guess I could just return it to Tackle Warehouse for another one, but I'll let Mike know about it first and see what he says.

Hey guys, so I just received my first Bull Shad in the mail (6", slow sink). Right off the bat I notice that the line tie eye/towpoint is crooked. Also, it's more horizontal than up and down, which pictures show. Not sure if this will affect the movement of the lure or not. I'll provide pics at the end of the post. A bigger issue- The screw hooks for both treble hooks are extremely loose. I can spin them with my hands, and the front one is so loose I could pull it out by hand if I tried. For a lure this expensive, I would expect better quality. Did I just get a bad one? I'm wondering if I should send it back for a refund or an exchange. I've heard nothing but good things about this lure, so this is quite a surprise for me. Here's the pics regarding the towpoint. First pic is how it looks online (vertically).

Thanks. I'm leaning towards the Tat. And I don't plan on using braid to flouro, so that won't be an issue.

Oh, for sure. I don't skimp too much on my other setups. It's just that this is my first dedicated swimbait setup, and I don't know how much I'll be throwing it TBH, so I don't wanna jump in too deep just yet.

Thanks. Surprisingly, the new Tatula 200H seems to have better line capacity than the Cardiff. Definitely have always heard good things about the Calcuttas. Little more than I wanna spend on a swimbait reel now though, unless I get a used one, which is a possibility.

Thanks. What's your thoughts on gear ratio? The Cardiff is 5.8:1. That Tatula is 6.3:1. I'm guessing the 6.3 would be ok since I won't be throwing anything over 3oz. Or do you thing the 5.8 would do better. I'll be throwing baits like the BBZ-1 Rat in the 50 size. 6" Bull Shad. 6" Spro BBZ-1 Swimbait. Ima Glide Fluke.

I'm in the process of buying my first dedicated swimbait setup. Not looking to spend too much. Right now I ordered the Dobyns Fury 795. Now I need a reel to pair it up with. Plan on throwing baits up to 3oz. I've read some good stuff on the Shimano Cardiff 300. But it's a round reel, so I'm not sure how I'll like it. Anybody have any experience with these? Do they sit lower than the old Abu round reels? As far as low profile reels go, any recommendations? Would this Daiwa Tatula 200H work? It's reg. $169 but I can get it for $129. Thanks guys.

Good question. I usually have 12 rods on deck, so I know what you're saying. Trying to remember what pound line is on each rod, or if it's mono or flouro, can be tough. After a few years you'll begin to remember what reel is spooled with what, IF you never change. What I've done in the past is either have the info on my phone, or keep a piece of paper in your boat, bag etc with all the info on it.

OK, so this worked afterall. In the past if I added something to my cart and went to checkout, the sale price would pop up before I hit submit. And I wasn't seeing it this time. I just called TW and they said once I actually place the order, the sale price will show when I get my 2nd confirmation email. He said it works this way for everything on their "excludes" list, minus Megabass, Humminbird and Lowrance. So, how legit are these things? And do people consider them "cheating"? I've been intrigued with it for a while, but not sure how I feel about it. I suppose it's just another way of gaining advantage just like using graphs, etc.

That's what I thought as well. But it isn't working like I thought it has in the past.

I thought I read on here once that if you call TW and ask, they may honor the 20% off on a product that is on their excluded list. Or was I dreaming that?