Swim Bait R.O.F How dose it matter.

[Guy Kelley]

Hi;

I hope you with experience in swim baits can clear this up for me.

In the Huddleston Baits (trout) most have a predetermined R.O.F of 0,5,12 &16, ft as what would there depth would be at a count of 10. But what I don't get is why dose it matter if I would let a 12 go deeper than a 16 or visa, versa ? Do the baits hover at the depth they are designed to go and that's it? What about fish that are suspended even deeper say at 20 or even 30 ft how do I reach them with a swim bait.

As you can see I know next to nothing about swim baits, but Iam willing to learn. but at $39.00 ea. thats pretty expensive to buy the wrong ones for the application intended. Such as in
Clear Lake were its pretty shallow, but in Shasta or Orville its much deeper. Do most of you have various ROF's and colors with you and you let conditions of the lake at the time determine what you use? That can get pretty expensive in a hurry.


Then there's the color selection problem as well. from his web site its not just one or two to choose from,but many. What makes a better color than some of the others ? I would really like to invest in the right gear and baits to start with but being of limited funds I just want to make the right choice to start with.
Thanks in advance for your help

[Steve]

Wow, somebody could write a book answering your questions.

Why does ROF matter? Speed of retrieve and depth one wants the bait to run are the answers.

What if you know fish will eat a bait just under the surface but they want the bait burned fast as possible. You cant do that with a 0 or 5 (the baits that typically target that zone), both will break the surface and roll. You can only do that with a 12 or 16. Heres a reverse example. I once had fish in 1 foot of water and they wanted it super slow. I only had the 12 (well, I had the 0 too but they wanted it subsurface), and to keep it at the right speed I had to keep my rod tip and arms very high. Problem was with my arms and rod in this position I couldnt set the hook on the bites, and I was seeing the bites. Next day I bought a 5.

What if you have fish in 60 foot of water on the bottom? I dont know about you but I dont have the patience to wait for a 5, or even a 12 for that matter, to sink down to 60 foot (even though once there both would work). A 16 is the tool needed. Mr. Huddleston has even said that he will eventually produce an ROF 20.

You can come up with a million scenarios of why one may want all ROF's in their box, and why ROF matters.

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[Guy Kelley]

Steve;

Your saying that the rate of fall is faster for a 16 than a 12 ? And I thought most swim baits were "slow rolled" that's why the slower speed reel were used 5-1 vs 6-1 or 7-1!
So in that case its waiting time for the bait to sink to the depth i want ? Then i start my retrieve and let the fish tell me what they want fast or slow. Then we get into the bottom bouncers like river to sea. I guess that's a whole different deal? I suppose it really doesnt matter what rate of fall they have cause they are supposed to be bounced off the bottom right ?

So to answer my question what would you start with if you had it to do over again ? type of Hudds, Rod & reel Brade vs floro any other type of swim baits you would recommend.

[Steve]

Hmmm, if I had to start over what would I start with? Well, I can tell you I fished a 9" slammer to start with, not the best bait for learning how to fish swimbaits with (since you are limited to the surface or near surface). Its easier to state what I would suggest starting with.

Hudd ROF 12 Trout, either Okuma 7'11" Heavey or Crucial 7'11" Heavy, and a Calcutta 400 with 25-30 lb test.

With that setup, anybody can go to any lake and have a reasonable shot at catching fish.

Also, I absolutely suggest buying the right gear (even if it means spending lots of money) right off the bat. You will be much happier, you will cut your learnine curve, and when that first toad hooks up you will maximize your chances of putting the fish in the boat!

[mark poulson]

I'm no expert, but here's my take on ROF.
I don't use Huddlestones for bottom bouncing. Too expensive to lose that way. For that, I use LA Sliders, or some other less expensive bait.
I learned what I know about swim baits from Bill Siemental, who designed the BBZ 1 swimbaits. I use his floating bait for active top water retrieves. It's dynamite.
The BBZ system of top/middle/bottom presentations, meaning shallow, mid-range (8-12') and deep, is where I start.
To present a Huddlestone shallow and slow, I need a ROF 5. Anything with a faster fall rate will drop below the first 4' of water I'm targeting.
If I want to fish the 4-12' range slowly, I'll use the ROF 12. It is heavy enough that it will drop into that range on a slow retrieve, not dead stick, but a slow, steady retrieve, and stay in that range throughout the cast.
If I want to fish deeper than that, I'll use the ROF 16. It will drop to the depth faster, and stay down there with a slow retrieve.
Now, if the fish are more agressive, meaning they follow a slow retrieve, but hit when I speed up, I may throw the ROF12 shallow and reel faster, or the ROF 16 in the mid range, and reel faster.
If the bass are chasing trout out of the water, I want a bait I can burn fast shallow. Like the previous poster said, if you try to burn a ROF 0 or 5 on the surface, they will roll, but you can burn the heavier baits shallow.
If I had to have only one Hud, it would be the ROF 12, because I can start my retrieve as soon as it hits the water and bring it back slowly through the shallow and mid ranges. If I'm patient, I can count it down deeper, and slow my retrieve to keep it in the deeper zone. And I can burn it at or near the surface.
That's how I decide which ROF to use.

[bassindon69]

A ROF 12 has a slower fall and also more of a glide to it as it bumps off bottom or cover. The 16 will eat the bottom up more. It is also easy to fish for a suspended fish out deep with a 12. You would have to reel faster to use the 16 to keep it at a certain depth. You may get more hits on the fall with a 12 because of the slower fall. You can burn a 12 on the surface, the 16 is more work to keep it up top. Some times they will eat any of them and other times they just may want the 12. With a 16 you can work an area a little faster, deeper, and it helps to use the 16 in heavy winds.
This is some of the deference to me.

Don.