Calling ALL Huddleston users

[MattC]

I'm wondering gear ratio I should be using for the Huddleston Weedless Grass Minnows and also what ratio for the Huddleston Weedless Shad? I know everyone seems to preach a slow 5:8:1 for the big Hudds but what about the smaller Hudds like the grass minnow and Shad? I've heard if you use a ratio that's to fast all they'll do is roll over and not swim straight or true, so looking to find out or hear what's the best ratio for these 2 baits? Looking forward to everyones replies!

 Thanks, Matt

[faygo1979]

Fish it like jig.  I fish them the same place I would with a finesses jig or a swim jig.  Light cover, under docks or over rocks. because of the size and weight I don’t use them the same way I do the larger swimbaits.  Slow drags on the bottom or slowly swimming them through the shallow weeds,

[MassYak85]

It depends how slow you can reel and stay sane. 

[fishwizzard]

1 hour ago, MassYak85 said:

It depends how slow you can reel and stay sane. 

 

I have been dipping my toe into swimbaiting by throwing a huddgill on my frog combo, which has a 9.1 reel.  

 

I can fish it for about two hours before my eye starts twitching.  

[MassYak85]

1 minute ago, Bunnielab said:

 

I have been dipping my toe into swimbaiting by throwing a huddgill on my frog combo, which has a 9.1 reel.  

 

I can fish it for about two hours before my eye starts twitching.  

Yea that's the thing. I personally like high speeds but they can test my patience for certain techniques. It's also a fine line because you also don't want a reel that's so slow that you can't keep up with a fish that swims right at you. I fish smaller swimbaits on a 300 size cardiff which is 5.8:1 with a decent size spool. It's nice for slow crawling hudds but I had something big knock about 5 feet of slack into my line fishing a mattlures gill and by the time I reeled in the slack and set the hook I had just enough time to feel it spit it out and take off leaving a torpedo of a wake. 

[Raul]

I fish my weedless 68 with my old 5:1 XLT Plus Ambassadeur.

[Big Bait Fishing]

5 gear ratio ....

[MattC]

I've heard and read about guys throwing the big 8"-10" Hudds with a 5:8:1 gear ratio, even the smaller 68 specials just slow rolling it along the bottom across points or creeping it on the bottom but I didn't know if the smaller Grass Minnows OR weedless Shads were meant to be fished the same way as there bigger brothers with a 5:8 or slower reel or meant to be used with a 6:3 or 6:6 ratio? I thought maybe these were designed for the pond hoping guys or the guys who fish an area where there isn't a double digit that we ALL would like to catch 1 day if we already haven't. I've tossed my Hudd Gill with a 6:6 ratio a few times with no takers now idk if I was in right spot or not but plan on throwing my 68 specials once the weather cools down and the bass start feeding up for winter in hopes of hooking up with a decent size North Eastern Bass, thanks for the input so far everyone!

[MassYak85]

1 hour ago, MattC said:

I've heard and read about guys throwing the big 8"-10" Hudds with a 5:8:1 gear ratio, even the smaller 68 specials just slow rolling it along the bottom across points or creeping it on the bottom but I didn't know if the smaller Grass Minnows OR weedless Shads were meant to be fished the same way as there bigger brothers with a 5:8 or slower reel or meant to be used with a 6:3 or 6:6 ratio? I thought maybe these were designed for the pond hoping guys or the guys who fish an area where there isn't a double digit that we ALL would like to catch 1 day if we already haven't. I've tossed my Hudd Gill with a 6:6 ratio a few times with no takers now idk if I was in right spot or not but plan on throwing my 68 specials once the weather cools down and the bass start feeding up for winter in hopes of hooking up with a decent size North Eastern Bass, thanks for the input so far everyone!

I don't fish them myself but I've heard it said you should fish the grass minnows almost like a swimjig a lot of the times. I think for those you can really use any gear ratio and a medium retrieve will get you bit just bringing it tight against cover. I don't think those were meant to be crawled. And even for the 8" when you're crawling it, you can still use a 9 speed reel if you were so inclined, it just may be a lot tougher for you to slow down enough to do it. 

[WRB]

You can use nearly any standard bass reels for small swimbaits under 1 oz.

Tom

[1234567]

23 hours ago, faygo1979 said:

Fish it like jig.  I fish them the same place I would with a finesses jig or a swim jig.  Light cover, under docks or over rocks. because of the size and weight I don’t use them the same way I do the larger swimbaits.  Slow drags on the bottom or slowly swimming them through the shallow weeds,

Agree. I've caught way more fish jigging it compared to slow rolling it. If you see a follower, kill it and let it sink to the bottom.