Going through my plugs today and I had to ask myself that question......and my answer was a difficult one! I must say that after going through them all.......it is a toss up between......Lab1's swimmers of which I have 2 and the beautiful squid plug Striperhound sent me a week or so ago....the purple one! Just awesome work on both! :kewl:

Bet we will see a great deal of diversity on this thread!

Whoops! Got to throw one more up to the top.....just found my Canalman polaris popper......what a great specimen! :drool:

a beautiful yellow danny swimmer i now have ...
has some initials on it 's belly J.P.I. :uhuh:

This is a tough one as I have a bunch of nice customs hanging in the above my desk. But I have to go with this one. It was made by Chumbucket and is named T-1 Terminator.

Naming one particular custom would mean never getting another one from the guys not mentioned........I luv'em all :bgi:

Not looking to cause any problems.....I just get so impressed with the quality of everyones work. I was sorting through all my plugs as I will be moving soon (no they are not for sale) and I really had a tough time finding a favorite plug.....I do love them all....thats why they hang in my collection. Its just that a few seem to stand out personally......mostly it is the paint work that impresses me. This thread was not started to demean any one builders work, but just to discuss different styles of the builders I guess. I must have plugs from just about everyone.....and I think they are all fabulous! :drool:

Now that I have spread some warm butter on you guys.....send me more plugs please! :laugha:

Nicest: BassAssasin's (where are you Ken?) knucklehead popper... schweet...
Close second; Christian gold needle...
Caught the most; PIemma swimmer... the pocket at a western spot.... :D:D

It's a three parter. Gibbs turned the basic bodies for me for Flaptails, 25 of them a couple years back using one I had originally shaped by hand from a piece of cedar with a hand rasp and sand paper. So I took one and I shaped the head, drill it, seal it and then Fishingfreak took it and painted it in the flag pattern. It's the most perfect plug I have.

You can't beat a plug thats been "Freaked" out! :heybaby:

all my BFLarry plugs(Ive got a nice stash goin) :love:
Tagger gave me my first custom anice wonderbread danny(he a good chit)

Slingah....u good chit too..

anyone have a PICTURE ! :shocked:

yeah

:yak5:

That is so hard to choose because they are all so different and I wouldn't want to bum anyone out by not mentioning them. But even after saying that, :) I feel I can safely say it's a toss up between a Mr.Pogie bottle and a chumbucket chumster. Everyone knows those 2 are artists and fanatical about their plug building.
I'll see if I can get a shot of this bottle plug but for now I think I have the chumster
http://www.bmwoodworking.com/brucefishing/chumsurfster.JPG

lousy pic but I ain't no photographer

Good answer Slingah.... :laugha:....how many plugs do I owe you for that? :hidin:

There are so many great builders these days... Got a ton of Bigfishes, Taggers, and MACs that will never see water, true works of art. Look , I gotta tell ya, all the builders of this era are amazing! We are in a true golden age of plug building. There's never been anything like this and it's growing exponentially! Auctioneers in the future will be tearing their hair out!!! I'm sorry that I can't recall more names right now, it's late and I'm old. But you all are to be commended for your work. Today we set a bar very high, Check out plug night at MSBA if you can, it'll be an eyepopper!!

I've got a pearl/pink Mac Danny that I really love but my favorite is this one that Slip traded me at plugfest. I have fished this one a few times but I'm mostly sneaking out to fish at night so topwater hasn't been in the cards much for me.

Everytime I look at it I just can't believe it doesn't have a battery.

I don't have no plugs :hidin:

:faga:

The ones I guard very jealously (in no particular order) are my Mr. Pogie bottle plug, my Chumbucket Chumsters, and my Bassmaster needlefish.

Speaking of Chumbucket - where the heck are ya Matt? :wave:

Nicest would have to be either a Mr. Pogie bottle or a Steve F. plug (any of several, they are all beautys). Brian, thanks for the praise. I may be up your way for a couple days in the fall. I'll be in touch, would love to climb some rocks with you again.

Well I would have to say Mc Fadden swimmer a local plug builder in N.J. and a plug a ol'timer Tony Spina owned Lex Lures a few years back made me this pikie okay I have 3 this cannon swimmer too. Dont have any plugs from this site kinda new to it but some of you guys are making some sweet stuff ......... :kewl: :kewl: :kewl: :kewl: :skulz:

Its coming...a new favorite for you to fish! :btu:

my favorite is a PNG blue white surfster that I won at plugfest. So nice, and catches.

_Z_

I am holding out for my 'freaked' flag plug

Well, lets see...it seems everyone is talking nicest looking and if were talking custom, not sold in shops but one of a kind ( basement built )...that's easy , a big Guzzby popper. The only plug given to me that has not ( yet ) been in the water.This was done during his spray can days :btu: johnny

Okay Larry that plug will get alot of hours on it thats all we throw this way in fall swimmers into the peanut bunker but have 2 trips sept montauk first week in oct cape cod :tooth:

Jeeez - wouldn't know where to start. I will say that there are only a handful of plugs I won't fish; a Dr Mac & Mr Freak Flag Pikie, a Slip Pat's Danny, A Mr Pogiue Bottle Swimmer. Oh, there is a Eben Vase (as in the shape of a Vase or Vahhzzz)Popper that I'm not sure I could swim :hihi:

all my BFLarry plugs(Ive got a nice stash goin)

If I can get my f-n lathe fixed I am going to try and ho 1 of his swimmers from him at Plug Night.

can't do it.. favorites would be

MAC bunker danny

Mr. Pogie bunker bottle

Tobias Bunker Pencil

Guzz - 2 1/2 oz wonderbread glider

AdamR - jointed swimmer and a copy of the one he caught his 51#er on! :D

Don't have a hell of a lot of custom plugs but the one I like the most and will probably never use is a peanut swimmer plug by Bernzy I got as a donation to a good cause. Paint is simply beautiful. Paul

Bernzy is a master air brush artist! :beat:

here is my favorite
000_0153.JPG (18.3 KB)

All the customs I have are All nice but my favorites so far are
DMAC Pikies
Mike Fixter Orange head pearl bodied Round head
Bernzy Dorado Colored Howdy
Hi Islander Egged shaped swimmer

My most favorite plug I ever had though got lost in the Surf and that was a
burgandy Colored Guzz Popper Also Lost my only needle a Jigman :realmad: :realmad: Bad day that was for sure

this is my two favorites :rotf2:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/916steelhead/CarrotPlug02.jpg

Ok guys i know im on a pic thing lately, i found my camera coard that was missing for months. Bear with me..... :tm: :wave:
These are some of my favs in the finish dept.
Some gary2 sidekicks and a H'Islander "skull"

I love all my adopted children the same.

After going to The Cape and watching some locals land a dozen stripers
in The Canal on Needles they have became my new Fascination. love: So
now I have new favorite plugs. And anyone with needles they don't Like
I'll be more then happy to give them a safe and loving home :)

After going to The Cape and watching some locals land a dozen stripers
in The Canal on Needles they have became my new Fascination. love: So
now I have new favorite plugs. And anyone with needles they don't Like
I'll be more then happy to give them a safe and loving home :)

It's a long cast from Cambodia to the Canal :wiggle: :humpty:

I've got a Fixter black/gold giant pikie that I just couldn't dream of throwing and potentially loosing!

-spence

I was given one of his man what a paint job its hanging on the wall wont see water at all.

It's a long cast from Cambodia to the Canal :wiggle: :humpty:

That's why I build all my Rods on Allstar Breakaways. They Cast a Long Way :D

my tobias pencil, im kinda sad i destroyed it on fish.
fixter pikey
chumster
fish part needle(awsome, wicked heavy, lots of fish)
bernzy howdy

theres more

i'm torn between Fixter and Gary2 .. when I recieve "The Plug" probably be Chum ,, damm my CS funiture squid,,i'm a Lefty,Wade,Skippy freak.. maybe tadpole Freaked..,etchasketch frog is ill,,all my Mac plugs.. hypnotic jiggy needle/pikie,,giant bernzy howdy,,Charleston red sox popper,, Jake/Fred black danny,,JPI needle,,steelhead slim danny..Karl stezo needle,,Bastaged massa wood bomber,,,Slip needle ,,pile of Christains the kid,boy,man ,,guzzz,,pa surfer darter,,eel punt,Tobias,,Highlander anything, Ryan Smith power trio swimmers, Killy sea scape danny,,Canal man anything,,Stan Kussia blue fish plug,,striper swiper pencil popper,,Winch mini pikie,,husky foam plug,,Mac Wiglet,,,i know said mac like that one though...nebe darter 1st fish this year ,, LIfshvermont darter, John E darter,,bassholldarter,, How do you choose ? If I had a Nib I probably would have just said that ...

Black and gold MAC pikie it doesn't have any paint left on it. That plug cought me so many fish last year. Best looking plug I have is a bunker eel punt swimmer. :faga:

:kewl: my mac yellow over white howdy with the BIG eyes.... beach, boat, canal, this plug has got me fish when nothing elce could

-Jr Link

I've got a Jiggy jointed striper pikie that I swim I probably shouldnt, I got a jiggy I've taken large on I should probably hang it up.. I wont... I got a Mac pikie, that is marinating waiting for its shot in a school of VERY LARGE bait, Ive got a jointed darter made by a random person who was at an inlet, I got a chumbucket popper that is awesome, I have a tobias that is flawless, I've got a signed bernzy pikie, I've got rainbow Pichney's that I got before the craze... I love them all the same and they are all truly great works of art but their time comes and they can hang over the computer desk no longer.. Then they go swimmin :devil: I got Gary2's that are beauties! ANd they'll swim :btu:

Ryan Smith jointed pogie - :bounce:

Tattoo Diving Swimmer -:bounce:

I have to agree with Tagger. I love all my customs no matter who made them. Especially the ones that have teeth marks or that the paint has been stripped off by fish. My current favorite is a digger plug that was mauled one night by bass and blues. It's always one the first plugs I throw every time out, if not the first. It will be going back for a repaint over the winter.

The one thing I realized is that each plug has it's own set of conditions that it's tailored to. You just have test each plug and figure out how it works then fish it when the time and conditions are right. I also try to learn from ones received from other builders. I think I learned more about darters from a swap I did in the spring then I could of in a year on my own. Pictures are nice but, nothing compares to having the real thing and fishing them.