UPS was good to me, and delivered my new Okuma 7'11" H (I broke the last one a few months back lol) and the stash of 8" hudds a few days earlier than expected. I spooled some 25# big game on my Cardiff 401A, mounted it onto the rod, and took along an unrigged hudd to my local lake; to test drive the rod and try out a few winter swimbait retrieves. One rod, one reel, and one lure without any hooks on it. ROF 0 and ROF 5 hudds don't come rigged with hooks.

Fourth cast, and dredging the bottom of the lake, I hook up with this fellow.

A little Matzuo popper that I lost three months back, at the other end of the lake! I have no idea why it was on the bottom of the lake, and not floating somewhere. It even looks almost new- and the split rings are still shiny.

I'm stoked to get back the popper. Although I picked it off the dollar bin at Dic k's, it caught me a few good fish.

I try out some more stuff I wanted to try. Mike Long supposedly does 15 minute retrieves in the middle of winter, and catches some pigs doing so. I timed my retrieves today, reeling at my usual painfully slow "hudd special" pace. Each took about 5 minutes. Pretty cool. I'm almost a third as good as Mr. Long.

35 yard casts, 22 IPT reel, 6 to 7 seconds per handle turn. Maybe someone will be good enough to compute and tell me how fast that hudd was crawling along.

On one of the last casts, I hooked into another feisty little fellow. Even though I had 25# line, he managed to break free. But I guess the fight wore him out completely, and he just lay floating on the surface a few feet from the shore. And an almost 8 foot rod has a looong reach. I picked him up. A little Rapala F7 floater in rainbow trout. Once again, spanking new. What all these floating baits were doing at the bottom of the lake, I have no idea.

Maybe I should have stayed out a bit longer. With the sort of luck I had, I could have snagged a Lucky Craft or a Megabass or something lol.

One last look at the lake.

nice catches! LOL

Jeff

Very nice catches there! I'd be afraid to through one of those with no hooks, that would be the only time I'd ever get a bite on the dang thing!

Ditto that! Good job they'll love that over on the nation!

Whats that thing got, a magnet in it???