NJ Custom fishing plug makers: A History

[DarkSkies]

I can't even imagine fishing without pencil poppers in my plug bag. They help to telegraph if there are any fish in the area when the temps are warm enough.

It's understandable why these old-time fishermen went nuts with this "new" innovation.

[DarkSkies]

I found this article on the NJBBA site.
http://www.njbba.org/i/newsletters/07May.pdf

We also have a promotional thread telling you about them and what a NJBBA membership offers.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...read.php?t=643

Continuing……Later that
same year my Dad had a
heart attack. During his
lengthy recovery period he
needed something to occupy
his time. What better way
than to sit in front of his
lathe turning out Pencil Poppers?

The next spring Dad, my fishing pals, and I had an arsenal
filled with two different size Pencil Poppers of many
colors. Dads Poppers caught like the Gibbs.

And finally….. Years later while fishing a beach in
Maine, just as the sun was up, on a mill pond calm
ocean, I was working a large white Gibbs Pencil Popper.

I had retrieved the lure about a third of the way when I
saw the dorsal fin first, followed by the entire back of a
giant bass lift out of the water behind my plug. I don’t
have to tell you how my heart began to beat. I kept the
rod tip bouncing, but slowed the retrieve to almost nothing.

I can still see it today, like slow motion. The bass
slowly closed on the plug and there was a giant swirl as
the bass inhaled the popper. That fish hit the scale at 45
pounds, and, although not my biggest bass, it is certainly
one of my favorite memories.

Pencil Poppers have produced good catches for me of
both bass and bluefish from Maine to North Carolina. It
is an exciting lure to fish.

Tight lines.



*******************************
I want to thank Bob Lick for such a great read. I met several NJBBA governing members at the last Spring shows, and they are a great bunch. I met Paul Harris and Ron Valentino.

Like I said, don't hesitate to stop by their booths at the shows, and see what they're about. Great people.

[hookset]

Lefty Carr, McFadden, Hull, etc --- Dark your remarks about Joe yesterday rang true to my ears. Here is some stuff that Joe Pallotto had to say about these guys, thought others might like to read it as well.



With apologies to the poet Lord Tennyson, it’s nearly fall and every fisherman’s thoughts turn to stripers. And with that, the means to catch them. For surf anglers around here, that means plugs.

Every tackle shop you enter has a wall or two covered with brightly colored wooden or plastic lures of various shapes, sizes and weights. There are swimmers, poppers, needlefish and more, all designed to catch bass and the attention of anglers looking for the next sure thing.
And like the actual fish these lures are made to mimic, plugs have spawning grounds as well.

One such place is the Asbury Park Fishing Club.

It is here that local legends Lefty Carr, Bill McFadden, Gene Amato and many more shared ideas, tested their creations and influenced a whole new generation of plug makers.
“There is not a lot of jealousy here,” Joe Pallotto, president of the Asbury Park Fishing Club said. According to Pallotto, the club’s great camaraderie fosters an atmosphere where members help and encourage one another.
Bill McFadden, one of the club’s well-known craftsmen was known as Lips McFadden because he supplied other plug turners, including Lefty Carr, with the metal lips used on their lures.
“I would take orders for everybody,” McFadden said.

McFadden was one of the first in the club to get into lure building and he did so out of necessity. There weren’t a lot of needlefish around so he decided to make his own. In fact, the first lathe he used still sits in his Ocean Grove basement.
Pallotto remembers when the club used to get a booth at the Asbury Park boat show and Carr would sell his plugs for $5 a piece.
And it is among these fisherman that a new group of plug makers emerged. Anglers with skills, talent and passion for fishing and the art of plug making.

http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/f...p-on-plugging/

[jigfreak]

Pallotto remembers when the club used to get a booth at the Asbury Park boat show and Carr would sell his plugs for $5 a piece.

Yeah, back when the price of gas was $1/gallon. Those were the days.

[7deadlyplugs]

Yeah, back when the price of gas was $1/gallon. Those were the days.

Does 1.50 a gallon count? Paid that the other day, felt great.