Confidence in a plug/losing a plug

[Monty]

How about a thread on plugs that you have the most confidence in.

Do you think having confidence in a plug helps a lot?

For me its huge.
Last year I was catching a lot of fish on a Blue/White Howdy (wooden spook).
Bass and blues would hit that one plug more than anything I threw.

Then came this year and I can't catch a thing on it.
But the same plug in Yellow/White gets action from both Bass and Blues.

So here comes the Goog move.
I catch a 30" Blue on it near the end of my trip Sunday.
Put on a green/white SS popper and throw it a few times and nothing.
Put the Yellow/White Howdy on and it gets slammed again. And its now gone as the line was cut.

So I put a white SS popper on and start hooking up at a decent rate.
Now this year I can't catch a fish on that green/white SS popper (I have likely have caught more fish on that plug than any other over the years), but the white SS popper has been catching rather regularly.

This winter I picked up a back-up for the Blue/White Howdy, so I sanded down the one that was beat up last year and painted it yellow/white, should be ready for this Sunday AM trip after an epoxy coat tomorrow night.

Its not like I don't throw other plugs on an outing (over 20 different during a trip is not uncommon :kooky: ), I just find that I really zero in on a select few that catch, like a "hot" plug for me. And it seems to change year to year sometimes.

Another observation, my "hot" plug for some time a few years ago used to be a Pencil, ether Plugcaster or After Hours, over the last 3 years I have caught very few bass or blues on them. The spook type plugs have been a lot more productive for me. Until 3 or 4 years ago I never used one. Now they are my favorite top water plug (ahead of pencils and polaris poppers). Which leads to that confidence thing that every time I throw it I suspect a hit.

[DarkSkies]

Do you think having confidence in a plug helps a lot?



So here comes the Goog move.
I catch a 30" Blue on it near the end of my trip Sunday.

1. Put on a green/white SS popper and throw it a few times and nothing.
Put the Yellow/White Howdy on and it gets slammed again. And its now gone as the line was cut.

So I put a white SS popper on and start hooking up at a decent rate.
Now this year I can't catch a fish on that green/white SS popper (I have likely have caught more fish on that plug than any other over the years), but the white SS popper has been catching rather regularly.

2. Which leads to that confidence thing that every time I throw it I suspect a hit.




A few thoughts.......

1. Those SS green and white poppers are defective.
You'll have to take my word for it - no time to search for the specific SS green and white plug Consumer recall bulletin.:ROFLMAO

The best thing to do, is gather all those lame plugs up, put in a bubble envelope, and send to me. I'll be glad to help ya out and will dispose of them for ya properly....I'll even show what a nice guy I am and I'll give ya half of what ya paid, just so you don't lose too much $$ from those bad plugs. :laugh::HappyWave:



2. I think the nicest way I can phrase this, is confidence in a plug can be a self-fulfilling prophesy...
If you have something you believe you will do better with....you will put more effort into fishing it.....which includes ignoring the times that plug or presentation doesn't work....thereby skewing the results to fit your perceptions....

EX - I think it's fair to call you the "Hogy bit in half guy" :rolleyes:
A Monty fishing trip is not complete until you get a hogy bit in half....it got you that 8# tail walking bluefish on a night when the fishing was pretty poor...

I tried a 12" sluggo the other night when there was bait, but few fish evident....my magic poppers had lost their mojo.....and on the 2nd cast that sluggo got chopped in half, right behind the hook......

What does that prove?
I haven't a clue....other than my observation that if a fisherman favors a particular plug and has more confidence...he may tend to catch more on that plug...
For me....I don't care....if I get set into thinking one plug has mojo over others....I end up not catching.....because when fish are around in less numbers, it's harder to characterize the bite...I keep switching plugs until I find one that works best, for that night and the conditions in front of me...





**Another thing to think about....when you are fishing open water,,,,white water.....in the early morning like you do.....if you could see under the waves you would probably see that these fish are coming in to feed, a few at a time....when there are less of them., there tends to be great lags in the activity....
That's my experience.....
Would love to hear what others are seeing.....:fishing:

[surfstix1963]

A floating needle I built always gets hit by something in the darkness last time out a fluke came up and grabbed it.It's that color of the BM slopehead plug I gave you Monty.If you work a plug the way you always have, the confidence should be there.I think confidence comes into play when you are learning a new plug or just starting out in the plug game.As far as wooden plugs go if they have been slammed many times perhaps they are absorbing some water and not working properly anymore,time for a dry out and resealing,paint and epoxy it happens to wood.Just as darters get banged up on the lip and just do not swim right anymore,color; well we have been through this many times and as far as I'm concerned I don't have the answer I have caught fish on yellow,white and chartreuse in total darkness when dark colors did nada and vice versa.Different fish see different shades depending on the cones in their eyes.I also believe that color is the last thing they react to,motion and vibration are a primary factor to draw them to their prey some of us like rattles some don't.Just my opinion.

[buckethead]

2. I think the nicest way I can phrase this, is confidence in a plug can be a self-fulfilling prophesy...
If you have something you believe you will do better with....you will put more effort into fishing it.....which includes ignoring the times that plug or presentation doesn't work....thereby skewing the results to fit your perceptions....



Well said - if you believe in something you will fish it harder.
I would recommend the bucktail and pork, or bucktail and grub as a confidence builder. Learn to fish different sizes in different conditions. If the fish are there they will hit it.

[J Barbosa]

I just refined my plug crate that I keep in the car, replaced hooks, touched up paint, ect...trying to get ready for the fall.

What I noticed is that my crate has been taken over by certain plugs that I have the most confidence in.

[clamchucker]

A loaded bomber or redfin will catch fish as well. Good for when the sandeels are here and also when there is a lot of small bait in the surf.

[Monty]

A loaded bomber or redfin will catch fish as well. Good for when the sandeels are here and also when there is a lot of small bait in the surf.

The loaded Red fin is one of my favorite confidence plugs.

So here in the repaint.
Old plug
Repainted it yellow/white
And the repainted plug with a bass (also caught blues with it on this trip). Its without a doubt my 2014 hot plug/color, it just gets hit or swiped at when nothing else gets even a look.

http://rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/2014_9_7_Howdy_Repaint_Fish.jpg

[J Barbosa]

Did you build that plug yourself Monty? The repaint looks good.

[Monty]

Did you build that plug yourself Monty? The repaint looks good.
Thanks
No, its a Bernzy Howdy.
Just a repaint.

[baitstealer]

So here in the repaint.
Old plug
Repainted it yellow/white
And the repainted plug with a bass (also caught blues with it on this trip). Its without a doubt my 2014 hot plug/color, it just gets hit or swiped at when nothing else gets even a look.

http://rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/2014_9_7_Howdy_Repaint_Fish.jpg


Nice bass and plugs! If I could ask did you notice a difference in catching more fish once you repainted that plug? thanks

[Monty]

Nice bass and plugs! If I could ask did you notice a difference in catching more fish once you repainted that plug? thanks
Thanks,
No difference, caught one short bass today and it was on this one again.
Not catching much, but most of what I am has been on this one.

[jigfreak]

I also believe that color is the last thing they react to,motion and vibration are a primary factor to draw them to their prey some of us like rattles some don't.Just my opinion.

agreed