Jrob78

I've got 6 and 8 pound fluoro on my Sol and Alphas Ito. I have 10lb copoly on my 50E but I don't use it to cast light baits. I've never tried to cast a 2" Rapala, I don't know whether or not the reels could do it but it would take a very light rod, which I don't have. A bait like that has pretty high wind resistance, it would be pretty tough to cast very far.

It's not just where you live. Most places in the country don't carry exotic live bait. It isn't cost effective to keep a bunch of live crawfish for the 3 people a week that might come buy them. Bass fishermen don't use live bait as much as fishermen of other species.

I use a palomar most of the time. I like the San Diego Jam knot with fluoro but I waste too much line tying it.

Cool, they're nice looking rods, they felt great too. The Tatula rods are even nicer for another $50. Both rods seemed great for the money.

What model Lexa rod do you have?

Yep, Ryan is right. Oval split rings are only used on the line tie, not on hooks. I put them on all my hardbaits that come with round rings. I hate tying to round rings because it's easy for your line to end up in the split. If you want to buy aftermarket split rings to put on your hooks, Owner Hyper Wire rings are probably the best.

It's really more about materials used and much tighter tolerances in how the parts fit together. The majority of combo reels are built on graphite frames while more expensive reels are built on aluminum frames. You can definitely tell a difference in a $40 reel vs. a $200 reel. There is no comparison.

The reels that are sold separately are normally much higher quality. Someone willing to spend $100+ on a reel is going to want to pick out their own rod to go with it. The pre-made combos are aimed at people who might not know or care about the intricacies of powers and actions of rods. They want one general purpose combo, the pre-made one's are fine for that.

Get a video of it in the water if you can.

Awesome bait, there is no waiting list though. You have to join the Huddleston mailing list and they will send you an email when they open sales for the 68. They've been doing it once every 2 or 3 months here lately. They just had a 68 sale a couple of days ago, so it might be awhile before they do it again.

It depends on the bait. I try to buy at least 2 of everything. If it's a proven bait that I know I will use a lot, I might have 4 or 5 of them. To help offset the quantity of baits I carry, I try to limit myself to just a few colors that will cover all water conditions.

What hooks did you put on them? Jerkbaits are very sensitive to weight change, especially balsa baits. Going to a lighter wire hook might be an option. I'm not sure that changing the split rings will make enough difference.

I'm waiting for the Type R to be released before I buy one. It has a lighter spool, which should help it cast lighter baits better.

Awesome HPH! I should have gotten on the waiting list.

I finally got a chance to check out the Tatula at BPS tonight. I came away very impressed. The reel felt solid and the crank was very smooth. I also like the new knobs on the Tatula. There's only so much you can judge in the store but the reel seemed like a great bargain at $150.

What kind of hook are you using? An EWG hook is generally going to be the easiest to rig straight and weedless.

I'm a big fan of CX too. I've tried many different lines but like you, always come back to CX for my non fluoro needs.

I like the Bio-Silk a lot. I mix it with regular silicone, I think it adds a little more life to jigs.

The Bio-Silk looks like regular silicone and is the same basic size as regular silicone. It isn't really anything like the flatline rubber as the strands are much thinner. The Bio-Silk does behave like rubber in the water though.

These are fun, count me in. Pm sent

If you're really serious about about cleaning your bearings, get an ultra sonic cleaner. If your bearings are really gunked up with grease, soaking alone probably isn't going to get them completely clean. I bought my cleaner on the auction site, it was right around $125 and works great. I know they make some cheaper ones ($20-$30) but I've never used them and don't know how well they work.

That's a good idea.

I would never use a swivel on a crankbait. You can use a snap if you want or tie direct to the split ring. Either should allow the crankbait to swim freely. My favorite shallow flat sided crankbaits are mostly wooden, aside from those, the Lucky Craft KJ Flat is a really good one.

I like just about any color with "green pumpkin" in the name.

They actually apologized in today's email for the long wait on that last batch. I've ordered from 4 or 5 different 68 releases and have never had a long wait. I think they are usually pretty good about getting the baits out quickly.