Custom Wooden Plugs Review and What's New

[plugaholic]

I want to learn as much as I can about these awesome wooden plugs made by dedicated surf guys. My knowledge is limited. I would appreciate anyone who has experience using these custom plugs to put up their reviews, if you can. thanks.

[mick2360]

I've developed an interest in After Hours plugs. A bit pricey @ around $24 or so a plug but his swimmer's are catchers. No to say they are better than others, they may or may not be but they are well made and they catch. What else is there?

Also, gotta put in a plug for SuperStrike darters. Yellow is a killer. Just two of the maker's I use. I try to stay with a maker I know from past experience. I'm no one's experts, so take it with a grain of salt.

[Rip-Plugger]

I have been slinging wood since 1978,it started with
L.Coopers Goo-Goo eyes swimmers,gibbs dannys,casting swimmers and their trolling plug,atom jr's.

I,we[the fishing crew I was part of then,mostly neighborhood kids] did amazingly well with them and there were some one offs that floated in with the tide.

that was in my youth,now,there are many makers out there.
some make a very purrdy plug,some make a standard plug and still some make an artful plug thats well built that catches fishermen.

I watched,saw,looked and wondered why almost all guys basically said ya had to have a certain plug to catch or this plug is better than this guys.

I knew different and was amazed at these ideas being tossed around AND the new guys are eating it up!

I have some beautiful swimmers[not mine] that make ya want to eat them yourself BUT,the fish don't like them.they only catch once in a while.

I wanted a plug that was diff,not run of the mill but never could find one I realy liked.

I decided to try making my own,I didn't have a lathe or anything but,knowing myself and my sharp eye along with a hand thats as still as a deadmans hand I knew I could do it.

So,I tried it with 4 plugs,it went very well and once they were done,it was pedal to the floor,doing my own thing.
after a short while,a friend asked to buy one,I sold it to him.
the next time I saw him[about 3 weeks later],he gave it back and said "I love ths plug,make me a few",,I did and when he runs out,he'll be back.

for another fishermans stories,just ask Monty,he will share the truth with all of us about is major transformation and also share his stories of the big plug builders success he had with their wood.

I have created my own designs,blended others styles and have had great catching,it's really not hard at all,I would love to see you guys doing it yourself as well,my tech is unorthodox but it works well for me and if it works,don't fix it!

Now for those of you that don't know,I don't use a lathe,I use a standing beltsander.
recently I shaped 5 blanks with a handheld air-powered sander with an 80 grit disc!

I take a 2X2 piece of wood,knock off the 4 corners with a bandsaw then use the air sander to taper the tail and shape the rest of the body,I just get the basic shape I want then hand sand it with 80,120,180 grit DA-paper,even
I was amazed at how nice the blanks came out,the dimensions are 95% perfect!
I will have shots when they are done.

pretty plugs catch people before they catch a fish!
top price ain't the top performer!


R-P

[Monty]

There are a lot of plugs out there that look incredible, the paint jobs are a work of art.
But what catches fish is a plug with good action and a surfcaster that provides a great presentation in an area with fish.
I fished metal lips made by the popular plug builders that cost 20-30 per plug with virtually no fish caught. As a mater of fact the hooks on a few of them would grt wrapped on the leader at time. I had no confidence in them.

I started using Double H Lures (Rip-Pluggers) and first time out with them I found an area that looked fishy, made the cast and landed a Striper.
Confidence, no foul hook-ups. I fished his plugs the rest of the year, had my best year by a long shot, caught fish way more often than not. My level in confidence went way up and improved all areas of my fishing as I spent more time in areas that had fish around, paid more attention to presentation, learned a lot about fishing different conditions with different plugs, metals and teasers.
Success builds confidence, confidence leads to success. It snow balls.
Its not how pretty or expensive a plug looks, its the confidence you have in your approach to catching fish.
Spending $20-$40 for a plug does nothing to enhance the chances of catching fish, there are many plugs that can be purchased for $10-$15, or bucktails/shads/metals/teasers for $5 that will out fish the expensive "custom" plugs.
Just my opinion, based on my experience.

[Rip-Plugger]

Hello all,

first,I want to say,My friend Monty mentioned his success with my work,it is in no way an advertisement for ANYONE to buy my lures!
he is only relaying the point that plugs outside of the ordinary styles we all see out there work very well.
some are afraid to try making something diff or just don't see outside the box what have you.
you all see the pix of my work,it's not what you'd see anywhere else.

I am not trying to sell anything to anyone here or anywhere else.I AM showing all here what something diff looks like,newer fresher designs and such.
Heck,I'd much rather see you guys here make your own and then we can trade from each other.

do I sell any?,,yes I do but mostly to local guys I know and to Monty.
I can count the guys I sell to on 1 hand.

my being a plug maker,I have never made money on a single one,it does pay for the items needed to create the plug but,I don't make 10 bucks on a plug,I really do it because I like making things diff from all those others out there.
I sell one for 15 bucks and hand it over to my friend that owns a B&T for a box of VMC's or a gross of split rings a spool of line or some ball bearing barrels.

SO,you and I know the game,we want to be players in it so,why complain,just go do it!

Have FUN!


NOW,about capt bills wood.
many of you may have heard all this chinese bashing because of chinese companies building plugs for cheap and trying to sell them here in the USA,some say it's stealin',some say they are junk and still some say it ain't right.
the fact is that anyone can and should be able to make a plug,money is the actual root of all this bashing and it really needs to stop.
I don't beleve any plug builder makes any money at all,in fact they probably lose money,not on the actual parts of the lure but their time,which is more valuable than money.

I tried the capt bills pro series last fall[atom's the year before] and did ok with it,lots of choppers and some bass,it didn't split,crack or suck up water,it worked well and performed as any plug should.nice waggle with no complaints from me at all.

I would recommend them to anyone that wants a plug thats low cost and if lost,just go buy 2 more,@ 9 bucks each who cares if it glances off bridge abutments or rocks,just shut up and fish!

Cheers
R-P

[Monty]

R-P,
Just off the top of my head I have Tusamis, Hahns, Domssons, Super Strike, Capt. Bills, Bombers, Tony Spinas amongst others whos plugs catch fish.
All of these cost no more that $15 (most of those for around 10).
I was caught up in that phase paying 20-30 bucks per plug.....at one time.
Some day will make my own.
And for those who want the plugs that cost 2x these, I think thats fine(not that it matters what I think), but the point I was trying to make is the confidence in the plug improves the aproach in locating fish and the presentation. When you believe you will catch fish, the odds are much better you will.
Example, Out of 100 casts with an RM Smith I catch nothing, out of 100 casts with your rip splitter I catch 2 fish. What do I have cofidence in, what do I fish better with. I just do not have a feel for an RM Smith, others probably clobber fish with them.
Others fish Bucktails ALL the time and catch 10x the fish I do.

[DarkSkies]

Met Greg Myhre, owner of Loki Lures.



Some nice bunker and mullet profile swimmers

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He won't be at the Asbury show this year, so you should look for him at the one or 2 more shows he may be at if you want one of his plugs. Guy has an amazing talent with the airbrush.

[DarkSkies]

Loki



some poppers
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show recession specials, only $12!
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He was written up in the Asbury Park Press, Hook Line and Sinker column, I think Sept 28, 2008?
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[DarkSkies]

The man, the legend, Big Rock! He'll be at the Asbury show. Dude is a madman with an airbrush, and he donated a plug or 2 to a special plug showcase that was raffled at this show. Proceeds go to charity, good mojo man.



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Heres a pic of the plug he donated, the one with the red flames

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[DarkSkies]

Met Alan from Lemire's plugworks. One of the newer builders on the market. First time I had heard of him. These newer builders and people on the fringes are usually the things that catch my eye because they seem to have interesting stories.



Some background:

This is one of the newer plug builders out there, Alan Lemire from Lemire's plugworks in RI.

He's been doing this for about 4 years now, and fishes heavily out of Block Island.

One of the things that impressed me about him is he claims he test swims all of his plugs before he packages them for sale.

I realize the big builders can't do that, but for a novice builder just starting out, it was refreshing to hear he has such a committment to quality control. Without getting into names, I have at times met builders who brag to me how they sell the plugs "that don't swim right" on E-bay. I don't understand that. If I was making plugs I wouldn't want a bad plug to be put in the hands of a fisherman. That would matter to me because I would want the guy to catch a fish, and toss the bad plugs away. Maybe that's just me.

I can't tell you anything else about the quality of Alan's plugs as I just met him for the first time today. However, I like his business philosophy, and wish him success in the years ahead.

Nice meetin ya Alan.

[DarkSkies]

This is a small company, run by Rob Koch and Larry Wellcome, that has enjoyed some great success this year and last. I believe last year was their first year selling plugs to tackle shops.

Before that, as I understand it. Larry Wellcome was making plugs for a few years in a shop in his basement. All made from wood. Years of trial and error to build the "extreme" plug that would stand up to brutal Montauk conditions, swim straight, dive just right, and catch fish in the blackness of night where good construction was important, and critical to a good outing.

Along comes Rob with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was friends with Larry. Out of that friendship developed a thought of a partnership.

Rob took their best producing wooden plug, and set out to copy it in plastic so it would consistently produce the same results for all fishermen.

A lot of fishermen are stuck on the "legacy of wood". I never imagined a plastic plug could gather so much interest, but it has.
I think it's safe to say that Rob and Larry's company is one of the better success stories in this terrible recession we're living through.

I really wanted to know the reason behind the success.

Was it all hype, or was there some good science behind it?

I think the interview today provides those answers. Take a look and make your own judgement.



Best of luck to you guys.

[DarkSkies]

Northbar pics:

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This is the 63 Rob caught while testing. Beautiful fish, man.

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[baitstealer]

Wow this is the coolest thread. Like the best of plug porn. Keep em coming!

[jigfreak]

you can see the difference in Billy between the first year you filmed and the year after. Good read but a little sad. Thanks, still miss Gary Hull, Lefty and Billy

[hookset]

Can't wait till Berkely and Asbury

[DarkSkies]

you can see the difference in Billy between the first year you filmed and the year after. Good read but a little sad. Thanks, still miss Gary Hull, Lefty and Billy

You noticed that...good observation. I didn't either until I looked at them together. From one year to the next Billy's health got progressively worse. It was a blessing that Big Gene Amato and family helped to take care of and looked out for him during that time.

That is a story that some may not know about, but Big Gene of Fish On Plugs, and his family, are some very charitable and caring folks. for all they did to make Billy's life a little more comfortable while he was still here.

[DarkSkies]

Met a new plug builder today. His name is Russ, he's out of Piscataway. Somehow I always screw up the plugbuilder shots because I'm in too much of a hurry.

A little background on Russ: He's only been doing this awhile, but he learned from one of the best in the business! He told me Tony Spina took him under his wing, and taught him a lot of what he knows.

Every show I go to, I meet more and more people who know or have a debt of gratitude to Tony Spina. One of these days I'm gonna run into Tony himself!

In the meantime, I don't know anything about Lures4you, how they swim, or if they catch fish.

But I did see a bunch of nice pics Russ had and was proudly displaying, of all the fish that were caught on his plugs. He says they go over great down South, where they are used offshore for more aggressive fish, and they are just starting to catch on here in the Northeast.

They look like decent plugs, some come dressed with bucktail, and he's selling them for a decent price, around $16, which seems very reasonable for a custom plug.

He won't be at the Asbury show, and doesn't have a website yet. But he will be at some more area shows. If you wanna find out more about his plugs, how they swim, if they can take a beating on the rocks, just ask him.

He seems like a pretty personable guy, and I got the sense that he takes great pride in his work.

Some pics:

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fish caught on his plugs
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[DarkSkies]

Met Bill Pierson and his wife of Pierson Plugs. Check out these plugs!

For the most part, the plugs are clear cedar or maple, with some bright accents. We had a good conversation about how the action of the plug is more important than anything else, and I guess his "plain" cedar plugs that catch fish are proof of this. Prices range from $3 to $20. He lives in Perkiomenville, Pa, right near the reservoir. Stop by his shop to talk about plugs, or watch him hit the reservoir for plug R&D to test his new stuff. Or you can find him at a few more shows he'll be doing.

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He's been doing it since he got laid off as an aircraft mechanic 20 years ago. He puts 5-7 coats of clear on each plug, and says saltwater doesn't affect the plug, for those interested in using these plugs for striped bass. The plugs are designed and used for big muskies. He's got an album with pics of guys who caught big fish on his plugs, including tuna.

He gets the material from trees on his property, and they mill and shape it into the raw stock he needs to create the plug.

One of the coolest things about meeting this guy is that he's a freshwater AND saltwater fanatic, and his wife fishes too.

He knows Island Beach State Park in NJ well, and he knows Tony Spina! The guy lives over 100 miles away from Tony, and remembers him from fishing IBSP. Small world.

[DarkSkies]

Bill and his wife
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Big wood, good for toothy muskies or striped bass
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Clear cedar and maple plugs
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He invented this killer bluefish rig, comes with a wire leader and extra hooks. Made out of rock maple, it's rock,jetty, and teeth proof. Guys in Mass use it to get live bunker under the bluefish and get to the bass.
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Some alligator muskies a guy caught using one of his plugs.
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I never fished these, but guys fish them for muskies all the time. If I were to use one in the salt, I would definitely swap out their freshwater hooks for VMC's.

Beyond all this, Bill seemed like a genuinely nice guy. He's a smart businessman and self-promoter, but he's also generous with his time and advice. Kinda reminds me of Charleston from another site I used to be on.

Bill said he's helped about 7 or 8 guys learn the craft, and they're now making plugs like he taught them. He's also got the local kids involved in fishin and "testing" his plugs, keeps them out of trouble.

At the end of the show, a young girl stopped by with her Dad, and he gave her a plug as a gift. With the scarcity of women entering the sport today, it was a generous gesture, and she and her Dad appreciated it.

Nice meetin ya, Bill. The next time I come out your way, I'm bringin my freshwater gear.

[DarkSkies]

Art Hoch is a protege of Bill Pierson who has been making plugs on his own for a little over a year now. He had plugs of all sizes, mostly cedar, though he will make different plugs & designs upon request and is starting to experiment with different wood.

He style is to make the plugs and then woodburn the details into them, and finish with several coats of poly. He did say he would use different sealing and curing methods if the market demand developed for saltwater versions of his plugs.

For now, guys use them mostly to catch largemouths and big muskies. He has a bounty on any of his plugs that are used and battered in a battle with a big fish. If you bring it to him with your fish story, hell buy it back from you so he can put it on display.

Nice meetin ya, Art, and best of luck with the business.


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