Surfstix' Plugs and the Fish They Catch.....

[surfstix1963]

Heres a few I have been working on for awhile it's a little bit of a slow go these days.The A-40 is just shy of 3 oz. and the conrads are 4.6 oz.

[surfstix1963]

Thanks Monty heres some info. Danny named the Conrad after Conrad Malicoat of Cape Cod. Conrad originally asked Danny to make it. He wanted something heavier to cast with conventional tackle to get the distance to fish the Second Rip at P-Town. That had to be in the late fifties or early sixties. Over time, Danny made at least three sizes of Conrads. This is the largest and heaviest of the three sizes. It accounted for a lot of large-sized bass in its day. The Conrad was the deepest swimming of all Danny's plugs on a cast and retrieve (as opposed to trolling). A very slow action was required to get them deep and to keep them down. If you retrieved too fast, it would upset the balance of action. Super slow would cause a wide, rolling sweep from side to side that accounted for some very large bass.
The Herring color shown here has a light blue back, pink lateral line and white belly. As far as I know, the Herring was a defining color by Danny. What I mean is that Danny was the first I am aware of to have this color plug. That may not be factual, there may have been this Herring plug pattern prior to Danny making them, but I had never seen any that preceded Danny's. Over time, I did see other plugs and plug makers subsequently produce herring patterns similar to Danny's, but Danny's was the first I saw. Others often added silver spray lines above or below the pink line. An interesting note is later in his plugmaking days, Danny too began to produce a Herring variant with a silver spray line also. Kind of a case of Danny imitating his own imitators - or something like that. Anyway, this is Danny's original Herring pattern, arguably the pattern most unique if not possibly original (?) to him. If Danny did not originate the Herring pattern, he surely was the one to popularize it, and it remains a common pattern today in surf plugs.
A favorite method of super sharpies was to tie an eelskin completely over the Conrad, bigging up the two belly hooks for swimming stability and leaving off the tail hook. A double length of heavy mono was knotted to the empty tail hook wire to help reduce the eelskin tail (which was left draping several inches longer than the plug) from whipping round and fouling the belly hook on a cast. There were actually few plugs that could readily handle eelskins. The best plugs for skins needed a consistently straight body - not curved, tapered, bulged or elliptical - but ideally straight such as the Conrad body. As shown in the photo at right, you had to file a shallow notch to retain the eelskin in place on a Conrad (then seal the open wood with clear nail polish or whatever). Most guys wouldn't ever make the effort to do this. Yet for those who did, the eelskin cloak accounted for some of the very largest bass caught on Danny's Conrad plugs.
It was preferable to use the blue mullet color plug beneath an eelskin. As the eelskin got shredded and torn up by bass in the process of catching them, the underlying blue mullet color became exposed, yet still complemented the eelskin color, whether the eelskin was rigged inside out (blue pearl white) or not.
.

[surfstix1963]

While we are on the metal lip subject all of them need to be tuned after they are built I'm sure the 1st. way you all know bending the line tie up or down to get it to swim deeper or higher but in some cases the lip itself needs to be adjusted ever so slightly if it is still not swimming correctly not alot it will be small increments because if you go too far you will probably never get the lip back the right way again and the lip will need to be changed but the key consideration is every builder designs their plug to do different things for different conditions shape wise weight wise even sneak a different lip in there I actually just threw the last 2 surfsters in a container of water to see what the difference would be with the lefty lip compared to the surfster lip the lefty made it sit just a 1/4 lower in the front so when it swims I should have more bite as long as the butt don't come out of the water too far.Something else to think about is these lips are getting dropped banged pulled in and out of surf bags this all takes a toll on them so the next time that plug isn't swimming right give it a quick check.

[Monty]

Had to much to do this weekend so had to get some sleep last night, so only fished 4:45-7:30 this morning out front. Wish I could have done the normal 8-9 hour outing as water was great and bait was all over the place (missed most of the rain....darn). Got one bass on a teaser in front of a plug Surfstix painted. Missed a few fish as usual for me, had a bass hit the plug in the pic as I brought it through some mullet, had a bass blow up on a white sluggo. Missed a few other hits too (its amazing I got the one fish). Got home by 10:00 and saw step-grandson score his first goal playing soccer, was awesome. Next Sunday can't come soon enough....

[DarkSkies]

Fished 71 hours, ate 3 day old sandwiches, slept an hour or so on the hood of my truck, released a short and kissed a swan oh! wait thats Dark not me

Too funny ya old grouch!


Fished last night, the whole night again, managed some "small" fish 16 and 25#.

When I left the house, Pebbles told me I was crazy, how the heck could I fish in all that rain? As I was driving on the Parkway, getting pelted with sheets of rain, I almost turned back...what person in their right mind would want to go out in that?


Switched to many other presentations that would swim down from the surface in that dirty water, as none of the surface presentations got attention. Was really hoping for some action on some of Surfstix's or Speedy's plugs, but it was not to be.

Finally I chose a darter because of the erratic action and the vibrations, theorizing that the extra vibration in the muddy water would allow the fish to key in on it. Within 5 minutes I got banged, missed the fish.

Slowed down the presentation, and about 1/2 hour after got a nice fish, 40" and about 25#. Fat healthy ocean fish, light colored and clean. About an hour later I landed a 35" bass, about 16#, also fat and light colored.
When I landed the first fish it was hooked in the eye and I blinded it getting the hook out. Felt real bad about that.

The 2nd fish was also hooked in the head and the gill plate. This made me realize that the fish could not see the bait where I was and were using their lateral lines to find it. The darter was the best choice because of the vibration, but they even had trouble finding that in the rough water.

Thanks surfstix!

[DarkSkies]

12-25 was a colder night,
Conditions:
Temps 32 when I started, 26 when I finished. Water 48. The blessing was light winds which made it very bearable. Almost no wind at all!

Report:
10 bass to 12#
The bite was different. The fish were scattered and not close to the rocks, Many of them came at the furthest end of my cast...

Figuring out this different pattern took a while. Fished 5 hours total.. Bite completely shut off as soon as there was a hint of light in the sky.






What worked for me that night:
Daiwa SP minnow (outproduced other plugs 5:1)
In this case I was using a new one, the beefed up one in the following video..
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...iawa-SP-Minnow


Surfstix's Purple Danny with purple Siwash bucktail got the biggest fish of the night.
(Got 3 close to keeper or bigger on that, the biggest being a mid-teens fish that I raised and failed to set the hook on, another googan move. Saw the splash of the tail as she went back under......







What didn't work, and thoughts for the new guys out there:
As mentioned, the bite was different. The water was calmer, the fish were scattered all over, nothing I did the night before felt the same....I started out with the SP, quickly got 2 embarassingly small bass....
I figured that was a good a time as any to work Surfstix's plug, as there were herring around....and I patiently casted it for 2 1/2 hours before the first strike. After losing that, I got 2 more in the next half hour, 1 keeper, 1 close. The activity on that stopped completely so I went back to the SP minnow.

That finally produced some fat nicer fish, but no keeper size.

I can truthfully say that even though I got 10, I had to work hard for every one,. and there were very few "missed hits" like the night before. The level of activity was just off, and I attributed some of that to the lack of white water...


Some pics....

(please excuse the condition of Surfstix's plug - the environments I fish in at times beat the heck out of everything I own, including my body... but this condition, and the rusty hooks that I didn't yet replace, should show you folks that it's not the shinyness, or the colors, scale pattern, prismatic effect,,,,,it's the PROFILE, and BAIT AVAILABLE....and the fisherman fishing the plug...one guy fishing a presentation the RIGHT way, can outfish a guy next to him every time....

[DarkSkies]

12-26 was a milder night,
Conditions:
Temps 42 when I started, 40 when I finished. Water 48. Winds were relatively strong but bearable.....

Report:
7 bass to 15#

Only fished 3 hours, late start.
I might be turning a few site members onto this bite, so I needed to scout and fish some areas ahead of time.



First stop, nothing.

2nd stop, inlet where herring have been, Saved myself some time by chatting with an old timer, just leaving. He said it was dead that night, but they had been getting bass regularly. I reciprocated with what was working for me, nice to meet ya, B!

3rd Stop - one short fish on the Daiwa.

4th Stop - one short fish on the Daiwa

5th Stop - paydirt!
The bite was hot.
As mentioned the first 3 casts, I had 3 keepers, (truth time, one was slightly shy, about 1/4", measured against my rod mark.)

The fish at this area were in tight.
1st cast, fish, 27 3/4"
2nd cast 15#,
3rd cast, about 9#
Deciding to keep the 2nd fish lost me some time as I had to find a place to put it....
And, I realized, I lost time on the pic taking as well. But what the hell, already had a 15 under my belt....

(Chris texted me later and said he picked up one bass on a BM Danny before sunrise, yup he was happy....)





What worked for me that night:
I exclusively used the OLD Daiwa SP. I had met the sitemember before and told them I wanted them to have the shiny new one, and TOOK BACK my old crappy one....
I knew it wouldn't make a difference, but felt that their level of confidence using it would make a difference.....so, hence the switch...

I ended up getting it stuck in the rocks...donated to King Neptune...

Daiwa SP minnow...here's a beefed up one in the following video..
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...iawa-SP-Minnow








A few underlying constants
1. It's a plug bite.
2. Exists only in the dark or twilight at the end of the day.
3. Teasers, are not absolutely necessary, and those who want bigger fish would be wise to avoid them.
4. As proved the last 3 nights, you don't need the fanciest plugs to catch em.

Special thanks to Surfstix for all the plugs and teasers he has sent me over the years, slightly embarassed to only now report that they work, but thanks from the bottom of my heart...

Some pics....

[DarkSkies]

More pics
(Special thanks to Surfstix for all the plugs and teasers he has sent me over the years, slightly embarassed to only now report that they work, but thanks from the bottom of my heart...)

Also, in the 4th pic down, look at the bulge in the bass's belly.....

[DarkSkies]

With one skunk in the last week, the good fishing continues...
Worked a 10 mile area of beach last night till 9am today.
8 stops in all, where I picked up fish at some of them.. and others were dead.

Managed 14 bass to 15#. Worked hard for these fish, as the conditions changed with the tide and the light levels.
Nonetheless it was a blast!
That brings the total for the last 7 nights to 40, not bad for the last week of December.
When else have we had conditions of 50 degrees, feeding fish, and limited night wind on Dec 30? Not in about 8 years or so....


2 biggest fish of the night came on Surfstix's Danny Swimmer, thanks Surfstix!
Full report in the Winter fishing thread.

[DarkSkies]

It's been too long since I've tried to catch some fish on these, and he has been extremely generous in sending me these awesome plugs.

I finally had some serious use for them the last week of December, and thought I would showcase some of them, along with the nice bass they have been nailing...Enjoy! (and a big Thanks! to Surfstix.... )

[DarkSkies]

2 largest bass of the night on this Surfstix purple Danny.... thanks Surfstix!

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(Note that I got rid of the rusty hook as I was anticipating some larger bass, and I don't want to lose a fish once I get a solid hooket)

[Monty]

Surfstix made me a couple of these poppers, had 15 blues one morning demolish this one plug. Was lots of fun.
Really liked the color.

[plugaholic]

Nice blue!

[DarkSkies]

Again, the 2 biggest fish of the night came on a Surfstix Purple Danny you see pictured here..
2 other keepers came on a black bomber. For some reason that simple black bomber outfished the Daiwa Salt Minnow, only managed 1 on the Daiwa....



Bass on black bomber
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Bass caught on Surfstix purple Danny.....

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Look at the belly on this one......

Attachment 14598

[DarkSkies]

I can't claim the first 20, as a few guys I know have done much better than I have. Congrats to them and all the time they put in out there, sacrificing sleep and a normal life to be there when the fish are feeding.


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These last 3 pics show a fish that was 36" and was grotesquely fat. The stomach was so round it looked like she had 2 or 3 adult sized bunker in her....

She was 36". According to the chart, a fish that size should be 16.8 to 22lbs.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-Fishing-Links


From my personal log, a fish usually needs to be 38" to be a 20....
This fish, as fat as she was, was definitely closer to 20, than 18....

But since she went back in the water, and I dont carry a scale...we'll call it 18... I wish some of ya's could have been out there to see the belly on her....





Note the new front treble I put on Surfstix's plug in anticipation of running into some nicer fish. Good thing I did.....

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[DarkSkies]

Mon night was outstanding, 19 bass to 15#,[/COLOR] biggest on Surfstix's Custom A-40 (Sorry Surf, I tend to call ALL metal lipped swimmers "Dannies", less syllables to say, and we all know how I need to cut down on the syllables and paragraphs I spew out there... )

I'll post the pics when I get a chance with an abbreviated report. I'm losing energy to post these long-winded reports when I need to spend my time on work, Pebbles, and going after these fish at night.
Those of you who got my phone reports consider yourselves lucky (or cursed...)
Congrats again Extreme, and all the others who pushed it to get fish.....

Attachment 14648


Look how ugly that mag darter looks, it's been hit by so many fish it has almost no color left...anyone here wanna tell me how one color or scale pattern is gonna slay them over another color?
Put another way...is it the color that catches the fish...or the guy working the plug that catches the fish....

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Here you can see one with a bulging belly.
Attachment 14652

For the log:
Winds start -finish: 0-10, Sw to W
Temps: 38-32

The level of activity was exceptional. The moon being obscured by clouds probably had a lot to do with that.
What worked - mag darter fished old skool style was most effective and landed the most fish. Fish were scattered and you really had to work for them. After realizing how scattered they were, I "teased" them into hitting the plug, and my hookups increased. Caught fish on both sides of the tide.

Also caught a few on black bomber and yellow and orange swimmer.

Surfstix A-40 Plug accounted for the biggest fish, around 15#. Landed one at 15#, then lost that plug when another fish in that class wrapped me around structure and I couldn't turn her.


19 fish total
4 of the fish were keepers, to 15#... all released.

[surfstix1963]

Thanks Rich those are some fatties glad it caught for ya.

[DarkSkies]

100 Fish Marathon 4-24-12 (Monday into Tues)

100 Fish Marathon...31 blues (landed and released with dehooker) to 12#

65 blues (quick release, defined as being on at least 30 secs, or released in the wash or at my feet as I leadered it in and kind of allowed the quick release. Early on, I realized that if I were to last all night and get good numbers, I would have to release these bluefish as quickly as possible, so often giving them a bit of slack was enough to have them fall off right in the wash as you brought them in)



Action, missed hits, activity of at least that many more...

7 bass landed to 17#, all released
103 fish total

**The action was so good that at the end of the trip my reeling hand cramped up on me into a claw.
I had to take the fingers of my other hand and pry them back to normal. Good times.






All on rubber, bucktails and pork, and swimmers like bomber plug profile.
(Interestingly enough, I threw the bottle plug no hits on that), although I got savage hits and landed and lost some nice fish on metal lip swimmer.






[** Lost the biggest bluefish of the night on surfstix' metal lip swimmer. it was down deep and fought like a bass.I brought it up from the bottom. At the last seccond I saw it had inhaled the Surfstix plug....and it bit through the 100# leader...Sorry Surfstix.... .It did not go down in vain, caught 2 bass on that plug before it was sacrificed. ]









Action from over 100 fish total, I had a fish on or lost one on every 2nd or 3rd cast for a total of 5 1/2 hours solid feeding activity.

All because there were bunker, herring (4-6") and small spearing where I was.


These bluefish were so aggressive they were hitting the plug 3 and 4 times in competition...
But you had to stick them HARD to get a hookset, as plugs are not natural to them and they were bumping the plug and then letting go....

I have had better bass action.....but.... the bluefish action was insane, best bluefish night artificial action in years for me.

[baitstealer]

wow very nice plugs and fish!

[cowherder]

Cool fish and plug pics. The head and lips on that 20lb bass are thick!