I am going to turn some plugs for eelskins sometime soon. I haven't thrown them too much, so I was wondering what you guys thought was the ideal dimensions for one. I am thinking aboout 1" diameter and abut 5" long shaped similiar to an Atom Junior. What do you guys think the ideal eelskin plug would be?

Charlie

Bigger - minimum 2 ounce prefferably 3 ounce Danny or GooGoo eyes. That big Beachmaster I've seen but have yet to play with.... Big

You have to see what the available skins or eels to skin are near you. Don't make them too fat for your skins. You can open the skins up a little for a plug (not for a jig though)with a slit along the underside but then you have to stitch it back up when on the plug. Anyway , the point is that you have to take the skin sizes into account. Hard to find good big skins. People even complain about the collar on skin jigs being too small for the available skins these days.

Well, just a quick tip from me. (This is inside information from speaking directly to the fish.)
You can skin any thing as long as it fits right.
I would recomend removing the hooks, skin what you will, sew it at the head, neatly and reinstall all new "sharpened" hooks. Any other way It may not look right, or swim right. folks some peolple think it doesant need to be this critical.
It may not be to some folks.
"It's the differance between taking the right fish." Now the part that I could get killed for. And what I dont think that has been talked about on this board. How would you mount the skin Or does it make any differance. If I tell you you must keep it a secret and not tell any one other than members of this board. And I do not wish to put it in print.

Thanks guys!! I guess I will be making a few different ones and trying them out til I get them right. I'm in NJ and most of the eels around here are pretty thin. I'll have to do some shopping soon and find the biggest and keep them cured :)

Linesides: I would love to hear your thoughts on rigging the plugs, but don't want any secrets that you wouldn't give out in print. Sounds like you worked pretty hard to figure out how to do the exactly right...I certainly respect that.

Charlie

Charlie,
Or any one can email me for this info if you are a board member.

linesideslinesides@hotmail.com

I've never used eel skin plugs, let me tell you straight up. But since you are carving your own plugs, let me tell you some of my ideas. I know I covered them under the Gibbs Plugs Stink thread but I'll repeat them just for my benefit.

Here are my ideas.

My first idea is a hole the runs through the plug. I can't say it's my idea really because I saw it on an eel jig in the Surfcaster catalog. Basically what this does is lets water go through the plug and into the tail for a more life-like shape. You know, get some water flowing through the plug and into the tail.

The next idea I have, is to make slots in the plug going the circumeference of the plug. Little troughs so you can secure the edge of the skin in there. I'm sure if you make multiple slots, if you put the eelskin up higher, it will probably have a tighter wiggle. Put it farther back and I bet it will have a longer looser wiggle.

Again, I've never used an eelskin plug. I just get images in my head. I think about them, try to eliminate the bugs. Sort of like a human auto-cad program. If you want to try the ideas I suggested, you are welcome to them. My ideas need some fine tuning I know but it's a start.

Patrick,

All those "original" ideas I've read before many times over the year in numerous fishing publications. It's pretty SOP stuff.

Patrick (05-03-2001 22:16):

Again, I've never used an eelskin plug. I just get images in my head. I think about them, try to eliminate the bugs. Sort of like a human auto-cad program. If you want to try the ideas I suggested, you are welcome to them. My ideas need some fine tuning I know but it's a start.

Personally, I have had VERY limited use of an eelskin plug and intend to correct that lack of knowledge this summer and fall.

I will try to steer someone in the right direction when I can however, I try not to offer advice on something that I'm not familiar with enough. I would appreciate it if you post your "images" that you get in your head to the board for comment instead of offering it as advice to someone.

You have a history of offering advice and solutions that you have not used nor that you are familiar with and sometimes, the advise in wrong. Some of this "advice" regards safety, something taken very seriously here, and if used, could cause injury or worse to anyone that followed that "advice". Your fishing methods that you've dreamed up or "read" about are sometimes absurd and hopefully they are not taken seriously. I do not want people to get the impression that you know what you are doing with all these differnet methods and suggestions that you talk about, when in many cases, you don't what you are doing. I don't want a person new to the surf scene reading one of your posts, putting "shoo glue" on their soles and hitting slick rocks with no fear, and suffering an injury (or worse) as a result.

I am not trying to bash you but I am getting very tired of seeing the same old stuff so I am offering this as a warning that I do not want to see it here anymore. I am very serious about this. I appreciate that you want to help others out but keep it to what you know because you've used it and done it, not theorized about it...

I do not want to go on and on and on about this but believe me as I am sincere: I want you to really think things through about fishing this season. I recommend that you to pick out a couple methods to fish this year, for example; eeling and swimming plugs. Take just a few methods and work them this year. Learn them. Listen to what others tell you about these methods and apply them. Critique yourself when you use them. Close your eyes and connect with what the plug you are using is doing on the other end. Paint it in your mind's eye. When you are reeling in that eel, slow it down some more and try to figure out what is going on at the other end. Just learn a couple things well and enjoy the success that results from it. Gain some experience and enjoy the success of it!!! You can do it if you allow yourself to. You seem like a smart kid. Obviously, you are a thinker/dreamer. Apply that aptitude to the real world of fishing (and the real world in general) and I think you will do OK.