difference of plugs

[hookset]

What differentiates one plug brand from another? When purchasing is their something specific we should be looking for?

[Rip-Plugger]

there are many makers of plugs that are well known,uch desired and everyone wants one.I shall not speak names here but if you want a surface swimmer,you should ask a lot of questions about it's action and whatnot.

many of them are marked waay up and really are not much diff from others plugs.
some catch fish more than others,some are not worth the space they take up.
then you have the china made wood like capt.bills,which do catch well but are considered junk[I like them] 'cause they are made in china.tsunami now has timber lures,they look good but I have not tried them yet.next season I shall.

so,if you see a plug that you like,try one,I would say try a capt bills or tsunami timber plug,they are cheap and all of mine are scarred up from battle.
no splitting at all in fact out of the 4 designer plugs I bout,3 have split from stem to stern,the other is just decoration and has not touched water.

needless to say,the high priced plugs are beautiful but similar to what everyone else is making.
thats why I made the great decision to make my own designs and I have done VERY well with my own wood this year,VERY well indeed!
so go ahead,try what you like,you will be surprised.
don't be afraid to try a plug thats different from the other stuff you see out there.

R-P

[rockhopper]

I found that the cheaper plugs work just as well as the more costly ones. R-P is right don't be afraid to try something new. You never know - it might be a winner.:wheeeee:

I have always wanted to try making my own plugs, just never got around to it.

[DarkSkies]

there are many makers of plugs that are well known,uch desired and everyone wants one.I shall not speak names here but if you want a surface swimmer,you should ask a lot of questions about it's action and whatnot.

many of them are marked waay up and really are not much diff from others plugs.
some catch fish more than others,some are not worth the space they take up.
then you have the china made wood like capt.bills,which do catch well but are considered junk[I like them] 'cause they are made in china.tsunami now has timber lures,they look good but I have not tried them yet.next season I shall.

so,if you see a plug that you like,try one,I would say try a capt bills or tsunami timber plug,they are cheap and all of mine are scarred up from battle.
no splitting at all in fact out of the 4 designer plugs I bout,3 have split from stem to stern,the other is just decoration and has not touched water.

needless to say,the high priced plugs are beautiful but similar to what everyone else is making.
thats why I made the great decision to make my own designs and I have done VERY well with my own wood this year,VERY well indeed!
so go ahead,try what you like,you will be surprised.
don't be afraid to try a plug thats different from the other stuff you see out there.

R-P

Dude, that was well-said. :thumbsup: All theb hype about the hottest plugs, bla bla bla, half the people who buy them never swim them and put them in a display case. I think the best plugs are where you have confidence in the builder, you are willing to fish the hell out of the plug, and it can stand up to repeated harsh use. I'm not talkin about bashing them against the rocks every time, but will they withstand cast after cast, dunking, and being beat on by big fish? That's what yhou should look for.

[Rip-Plugger]

Dude, that was well-said. :thumbsup: All theb hype about the hottest plugs, bla bla bla, half the people who buy them never swim them and put them in a display case. I think the best plugs are where you have confidence in the builder, you are willing to fish the hell out of the plug, and it can stand up to repeated harsh use. I'm not talkin about bashing them against the rocks every time, but will they withstand cast after cast, dunking, and being beat on by big fish? That's what yhou should look for.

DS,

my thoughts exactly.
I believe the reasons that some plugs cost $40.00 and some cost $10.00 is because of the hype caused by the guys[mostly new] that grab whatever color it is and hogs plugs even though he may not like the colors,,just to say I have a nice bunch of someone's wood.

I saw this trend years ago and decided to avod the hype,I already knew what plugs produced so it was easy.
right now,I have some custom wood thats beautiful,round noses large and medium size,they couldn't catch flies if the were covered in syrup!
so,where are they now?
in another guys bag.I fished them hard for a season and they just don't catch.beauty is just that.
just one more reson to make your own and come up with a diff design,a diff direction,one that the big names are not going.believe me,it works,,,


R-P

[surfstix1963]

I fish mainly Superstrike lures.And also hopkins and kastmaster and a couple of bucktails and rubber shads was into the hype buying all kinds of lures now I just went back to basics and caught more fish.The pretty lures catch the fisherman not always the fish.

[stormchaser]

DS,

my thoughts exactly.
I believe the reasons that some plugs cost $40.00 and some cost $10.00 is because of the hype caused by the guys[mostly new] that grab whatever color it is and hogs plugs even though he may not like the colors,,just to say I have a nice bunch of someone's wood.

I saw this trend years ago and decided to avod the hype,I already knew what plugs produced so it was easy.
right now,I have some custom wood thats beautiful,round noses large and medium size,they couldn't catch flies if the were covered in syrup!
so,where are they now?
in another guys bag.I fished them hard for a season and they just don't catch.beauty is just that.
just one more reson to make your own and come up with a diff design,a diff direction,one that the big names are not going.believe me,it works,,,


R-P

Ripplugger, I was wondering how long did it take you before you got good at making plugs to the point where you knew what was a good design and what wasn't?

[Rip-Plugger]

I fish mainly Superstrike lures.And also hopkins and kastmaster and a couple of bucktails and rubber shads was into the hype buying all kinds of lures now I just went back to basics and caught more fish.The pretty lures catch the fisherman not always the fish.

SS,

you said a big mouthful,,,,

R-P

[Rip-Plugger]

Ripplugger, I was wondering how long did it take you before you got good at making plugs to the point where you knew what was a good design and what wasn't?


Hi SC,

well,I only started making my own plugs back in february.
I built about 20 or so and when the bite started,I was into fish right away.

my way of making them is unorthodox but I have become very profecient at this method of shaping wood.
it just came to me one day at work,to try the only route availible to me,I tried it and BAM,I was doing it,ya need a very sharp eye,which I possess anyway,after the first 5 pieces,I was blasting off!
friends liked them so I kept moving with it,learning what steps to take at te right times.
since february I must have ,made over a hundred or so and out of all of them only 2 didn't swim to my liking,I pulled the hardware and tossed them to the fish gods with a note I wrote in a plastic container.
17 days later my friend Tony came in the baitshop and asked me if I lost some thing,I said no,he pulls the contner from his bag and said,this is yours?,,I looked in awe because,I tossed that plugs/container into the CT. river at the last RR bridge!.
Tony found it in New Haven Harbor 17 days later!

I'd tell ya to try making one,even if you have to do it by hand,it will be such a great feeling catchig on your own creations.
a dremel tool,rasp files and heavy/light sandpaper and you can do it.I jst rough shape mine then the rest is totally by hand.
I came up with my very own designs,which turned ou to be killers,I also took kown designs and blended them to make something different.
for instance,I took a wade carr shaved head and narrowed the nose,it was just 1 inch wide,then gave the tail a very gradual,long taper which made the plug[5.5 inches long] wiggle and also dart from side to side.
I also took the lefty's design and made it much wider,made the tail thicker and gave it a shorter lip,ten I rounded the dorsal arae till it was neraly flat with a slight curve across the top,did te same on the ventral side and came up with a plug that cast very nice,swims on top very nice and will go sub-surface in an instant.

once you get going and learn how to,when to,try to,there is nothing you can't make.
I even made a giant tadpole plug,8 inches long and almost 3 oz.first cast to test it one morning it got smashed by a 14 pound bass.


R-P

[storminsteve]

Hi SC,

well,I only started making my own plugs back in february.
I built about 20 or so and when the bite started,I was into fish right away.

my way of making them is unorthodox but I have become very profecient at this method of shaping wood.
it just came to me one day at work,to try the only route availible to me,I tried it and BAM,I was doing it,ya need a very sharp eye,which I possess anyway,after the first 5 pieces,I was blasting off!
friends liked them so I kept moving with it,learning what steps to take at te right times.
since february I must have ,made over a hundred or so and out of all of them only 2 didn't swim to my liking,I pulled the hardware and tossed them to the fish gods with a note I wrote in a plastic container.
17 days later my friend Tony came in the baitshop and asked me if I lost some thing,I said no,he pulls the contner from his bag and said,this is yours?,,I looked in awe because,I tossed that plugs/container into the CT. river at the last RR bridge!.
Tony found it in New Haven Harbor 17 days later!

I'd tell ya to try making one,even if you have to do it by hand,it will be such a great feeling catchig on your own creations.
a dremel tool,rasp files and heavy/light sandpaper and you can do it.I jst rough shape mine then the rest is totally by hand.
I came up with my very own designs,which turned ou to be killers,I also took kown designs and blended them to make something different.
for instance,I took a wade carr shaved head and narrowed the nose,it was just 1 inch wide,then gave the tail a very gradual,long taper which made the plug[5.5 inches long] wiggle and also dart from side to side.
I also took the lefty's design and made it much wider,made the tail thicker and gave it a shorter lip,ten I rounded the dorsal arae till it was neraly flat with a slight curve across the top,did te same on the ventral side and came up with a plug that cast very nice,swims on top very nice and will go sub-surface in an instant.

once you get going and learn how to,when to,try to,there is nothing you can't make.
I even made a giant tadpole plug,8 inches long and almost 3 oz.first cast to test it one morning it got smashed by a 14 pound bass.


R-P


I've seen those pics, it's amazing you're doing them all by hand carving? How many hours does each one take? If you lose one, is it like someone sliced a knife into your belly? Oh the agony. :( Incredible work. :clapping:

[Rip-Plugger]

I've seen those pics, it's amazing you're doing them all by hand carving? How many hours does each one take? If you lose one, is it like someone sliced a knife into your belly? Oh the agony. :( Incredible work. :clapping:

Hi Steve,


hand carve?,,Hell no,that would take days!
wanna know how I do it?are you sure,well then I'll tell ya,I do them with a beltsander,yep,thats right!
a steady hand,some fresh sandbelt and BAM!
I can turn out 3 blanks in 15 minutes from a roughly rounded piece of wood,there are no cut offs at the ends as a 6 inch piece of wood will stay 6 inches when it's done.
I can do up 12 blanks in an hour and they only need sanding to smooth them.
if I have to round the wood first I do it roughly with an air sander like you'd use to sand off rust from sheetmetal.
I thought about trying it for about a year and then one day did it and thats all it took,been doing it ever since[february 08].
I don't have the extra space for a lathe so,I do it at my shop on the beltsander,works great.
I;m having a riot doing it too.my boss asks me what I'm doing and I decided to show him,he freaked out and could not believe it.
he is a collector of odd pieces and he asked me to make him a very large one to put on his mantle,I made him the biggest peanut bunker plug ya ever saw,it is 16 inches long and about 5 inches thick at the head.I gave it quarter sized goggly eyes and painted it ford blue with emerald green on top.added gold/silver sparkles and 4 treble hooks that I cut the points off of.
then I had to build a stand for it.
I signed it with my logo and gave it sevearal coats of epoxy[devcon-30].
what a peanut that was.


R-P

[lostatsea]

ripplugger, a belt sander? Amazing, dude. :thumbsup: How do you put the weights in, or no weights needed?

[Rip-Plugger]

ripplugger, a belt sander? Amazing, dude. :thumbsup: How do you put the weights in, or no weights needed?

Hello Lostatsea,

naw,no weights,I have been making plugs since february,I have had to put lead in only 1 plug because it tended to roll out.
I have it down now,to where I don't need any weights.
makes it easier too.
I like keeping it simple and they catch too!

it may sound kinda nuts but I have a thing for wood,when I get the shape roughly the shape I want I feel the wood for high spots then take 80 grit and work it till it feels like the rest of the wood does,then I use 120 grit and work out the small lumps then go to a finer sandpaper till it feels right.after that it's a go.
hot epoxy sealing,more smoothng then paint then epoxy again.
it has worked out well.

Beltsander power baby!!!


R-P

[DarkSkies]

Hello Lostatsea,

I like keeping it simple and they catch too!

it may sound kinda nuts but I have a thing for wood,when I get the shape roughly the shape I want I feel the wood for high spots then take 80 grit and work it till it feels like the rest of the wood does,then I use 120 grit and work out the small lumps then go to a finer sandpaper till it feels right.after that it's a go.
hot epoxy sealing,more smoothng then paint then epoxy again.
it has worked out well.

Beltsander power baby!!!


R-P

Keep it simple. Man, you sound like you'rehalf-crazy, and half over the top genius. :HappyWave: I never heard of banging them out with a belt sander. I use mine for sanding floor transitions and door bottoms. It's a porter cable and pretty bulky, about 15lbs. What a way to think outside the box. Watching you making them must look like poetry in motion. wtg. :clapping:

[Rip-Plugger]

Keep it simple. Man, you sound like you'rehalf-crazy, and half over the top genius. :HappyWave: I never heard of banging them out with a belt sander. I use mine for sanding floor transitions and door bottoms. It's a porter cable and pretty bulky, about 15lbs. What a way to think outside the box. Watching you making them must look like poetry in motion. wtg. :clapping:

DS,

you know what they say about folks like me,half genius is half crazy,BUT,not that kind of belt sander.the one in my shop is about 100 pounds,non portable,it stands bolted to the floor!
I forgot about them carry types.wow,you really did think I was crazy.as you know,there are many ways to skin a cat.
even my buddy Commander Wood wants me to make one for him.he makes very nice plugs as well.
you can see his work on SOL in the lure building forum.
his nic is baddog23.

R-P

[DarkSkies]

My bad, I wasn't thinkin about a bolt down model when you said belt sander. More than one way to skin a cat, so how many dead cats you got buried in your basement? ;) :D

[Rip-Plugger]

My bad, I wasn't thinkin about a bolt down model when you said belt sander. More than one way to skin a cat, so how many dead cats you got buried in your basement? ;) :D

none,I feed them to my pet sharks.

R-P