Pocket Rocket Re-Incarnated

Approximately 20 some odd years ago two dedicated surf casters named Danny Pichney and Tim Coleman put their knowledge and experience together to develop a plug that would stand up to large Block Island bass without the worry of straightened treble hooks.

Their intention was to design a “Wooden Hopkins”, something that would cast well into the wind, simulate a sand eel, and be equipped with a strong single hook so as to increase the amount of bass “landed”.

What they designed was called the “Pocket Rocket” – a very small 3 1/2 inch needlefish equipped with a single feathered hook. The rocket became the first of what many now refer to as “Stubby” Needlefish.

Coleman used the Pocket Rocket one November night and it passed all tests with flying colors by landing multiple bass up to 67 pounds.

The original design of the Pocket Rocket is now available again thanks to Al Gag. I’ll be trying to recreate the magic legacy of this classic plug
in the next few weeks.

Photo - Top Original Danny Pichney Pocket Rocket

Bottom two are the new Gag's Pocket Rocket

DZ

Dennis, the new PR's feel a bit light compared to the original Pichney I have. Pretty much the reason I haven't tried Al's yet is due to this. Did he change the weight on them since last winter?

Toby,
Listed as 1 1/2 oz on package. Haven't done a scale comparison for weight. They "feel" close.

DZ

Now I need to buy some of these for the trip.

Dennis, the new PR's feel a bit light compared to the original Pichney I have. ?

Anyone know what an original weighed?

look like a Hab's night-n-gale to me???

Original Pocket Rockets - Top black ones weigh 1.3 ounces, white one weighs 0.7 ounces.

I always wonder what the difference between hackles and bucktail is? probably action?

Pocket Rocket Re-Incarnated

Photo - Top Original Danny Pichney Pocket Rocket

Bottom two are the new Gag's Pocket Rocket

DZ


Gee a carbon copy... But what's wrong with an SS bullet with a single hook and feather?

I always wonder what the difference between hackles and bucktail is? probably action?

Definately action.

Gee a carbon copy... But what's wrong with an SS bullet with a single hook and feather?
I've done a few with a 5/0 siwash, but of buck and 3 veeerrrrryyyy long saddle hackles. It's nice.

-spence

the dany I have is 3-3/4" long and is .85 in weight
the gag's is 3-3/4 and is .90 in weight

and ineresting note..when gag's was at a meeting at the club I belong to, he claimed that he invented the pr . :doh:

Ya but he always has a hot chick with him, maybe Al Gore and him could share some ideas

I have quite few of the originals that Tim gave me..they will never see water(to precious to risk losing)...I dont thing anything could ever be as good as the original..and that was a time of hoards of sand eels...those days are long gone....

Dennis, I had nine legals tonight, one break off and countless other small fish on those. All on Al Gags PR's. Break off was a white pearl/pink and all the others ate the black. I retied the tails to my liking. Al knows.

Caught too many fish. Arms litteraly are sore. Fell in a bucket of sh!t and came out smelling like a rose. The Halloween Blitz complete with a fireworks show someone was putting on down the shore east of me.

Go get 'em.

do they sink ? wake on top ?

Original Pocket Rockets - Top black ones weigh 1.3 ounces, white one weighs 0.7 ounces.
Thanks Tobias - I knew someone had a scale.



Just a little more info - all stubbys on the market work including Super Strike, Habs, Gibbs - most are larger than the pocket rocket. The Gags comes "closest" to trying to duplicate the original purpose of the plug. They are fine sand eel imitations but to limit yourself to fishing them when only sand eels are present would be a mistake.

DZ

DZ..
are the gags commercially available locally yet?
Bryan

I have a few PR from al, they catch-no doubt

LMFAO!!

I never use plugs and I am going to start next season, learning howto use them!!

Any way why I am laughing is I thought this was a thread on the old pocket fisherman! :spin: Good old Ronco!!

i have used 1 of al's rockets , my problem is the finish it did not hold up well , 1 fish and a couple of rocks there is almost no paint left , i have done a lot worse to other plugs with only a nick or a scratch .

i have used 1 of al's rockets , my problem is the finish it did not hold up well , 1 fish and a couple of rocks there is almost no paint left , i have done a lot worse to other plugs with only a nick or a scratch .
Al very professionally took back evey one from that batch, Im sure he would do the same for you if you contact him. His manufacturer of the paint or primer? as I recall changed their formula because of VOC laws I think, and it was a brief disaster. He gladly replaced ALL of the ones affected, these were back from the RISSA show, that was the batch, and the new ones are practically indestructible. I have fished them hard and they hold up very well.

each have their moments and place. my .02...late in the fall when the wind is howling hard from the northwest, or is in your teeth, there is a gale warning, one lure that i have had in my bag in recent years is a loaded habs 1.5 oz or 2 oz needle. more recently, habs introduced the night 'n gale. althought the pocket rockets of old, and now the gag's version, do work in some areas, they would not work where i fish and how i fish in these conditions. they wouldn't cut into the wind as well as i need and get below the surface. the loaded hab's needles and night 'n gales do just that, get just below the surface sometimes and cut into the wind, even if it is 40 in your face. but, those same loaded hab's needles and night 'n gales wouldn't cut it when there is wind less than less than 10-15 knots. the loaded 1.5 oz hab's i have are around 2-2.5 oz and the loaded 2oz hab's are about 2.5-3 oz. the night 'n gales i use are about 2.5-3oz.

however, if you found a protected cove, as coleman did w/ his 67, the wind is at your back, the light pocket rockets might do fine.

a smart surfcaster is versatile and accomodates for all conditions.

each have their moments and place. my .02...late in the fall when the wind is howling hard from the northwest, or is in your teeth, there is a gale warning, one lure that i have had in my bag in recent years is a loaded habs 1.5 oz or 2 oz needle. more recently, habs introduced the night 'n gale. althought the pocket rockets of old, and now the gag's version, do work in some areas, they would not work where i fish and how i fish in these conditions. they wouldn't cut into the wind as well as i need and get below the surface. the loaded hab's needles and night 'n gales do just that, get just below the surface sometimes and cut into the wind, even if it is 40 in your face. but, those same loaded hab's needles and night 'n gales wouldn't cut it when there is wind less than less than 10-15 knots. the loaded 1.5 oz hab's i have are around 2-2.5 oz and the loaded 2oz hab's are about 2.5-3 oz. the night 'n gales i use are about 2.5-3oz.

however, if you found a protected cove, as coleman did w/ his 67, the wind is at your back, the light pocket rockets might do fine.

a smart surfcaster is versatile and accomodates for all conditions.

In Spetember we fished Al's version in howling easterlys on the beach in Truro. If it weren't for them it would have been impossible. I have not been a fan of single tail hook type plugs. I find that biger fish, on a beach with minimal swell will strike but not be hooked up. The rockets, like John's Nite-n -Gale fill a void. In places where current is heavy like pond openings that feature shallow sand flats, not too deep cuts and some bars where a swimming plug or needle with multiple hooks create more drag and are constantly hooking up on bottom the single hook of the PR or NNG make more sense as they can be snaked along the bottom contours with very little snag effect.

In the face of towering combers and a stiff wind they excel with little wind resistenace and the single hook is not a handicap as bass feding in tight under the foam and turbulence react more readily and strike with less investigation of the item passing before their eyes.

Lastly, after Al took back almost the entire stock that was found to be defective he investedc in the newest technology for coatings and in my experience it wears like an suit of armor. Minimal scratching and no chipping at all. Great plug for certain situations.

surfhog is coming out with a hard plastic one this winter - all the colors i offer in soft plastic, but hard as nails :heybaby:

Damn... put a rush on one for me for this weekend :D

molds arent done Bry- sooon very soon.

I know.. just BSin ya...
Does anyone know if the PR are available locally (SoCo or Newport)?

If they are anything like Gag's needlefish once you wet them they will split in two..................

That is not true, he had a bad batch, granted it was a large batch but he gladly replaces any plugs from that batch no problem. I have several others of Al's and they are rock solid. I admit i had a few from the "sketchy batch" but Al quickly replaced them all...
A blanket statement saying all his plugs are poorly made is just not true.
If they are anything like Gag's needlefish once you wet them they will split in two..................

I must have been on the receiving end of the bad batch. Very frustrating when you fish a plug for less than an hour and the next day it's split in two, it happened to both of my Gags needlefish. I'm willing to give him another shot..............

Seams like a bad first batch is pretty common with Gag's stuff. I've learned to wait and while and see what happens before buying his stuff. I do like his needles though.

A little Block Island side story to this: There was an instance on Block when I saw first hand how effective the original Danny Rocket was - and I didn’t have any. Fish were on a “windy” beach. Sand eels were washing around my wader boots. Bass were two rod lengths away and wanted rockets. I got skunked but others didn’t.

To make a long story short – Next day I took an original Gags 7 inch needle and removed the thru-wire, cut the plug in half, added some lead, re-wired the two halves and had two homemade “Gags” rockets. I stuck on single hooks with some saddle hackles and was into bass the next tide cycle. I still have them - they're now retired.


JeffH - send them back to Gags. PM me and I'll provide an address. I send defective plugs back to various plug makers - they've all provided replacements.

DZ

look like a Hab's night-n-gale to me???



Me too. Hey, do the new Gag's ones come with rusty hooks like that one in the bottom pic?:tooth:

Anybody know how these are weighted....a$$ heavy or distributed. Might try and make a few this off-season....they look like they are pissah

Ive been looking to get my hands on some, cant find them anywhere.
I love the Habs nightngale tho, i keep two with me always, they fit in the tin slots in my bag nicely :)

Hey Kevin, I'll let you know when I get home.

2wks ago I was working out the kinks in my arms and rinsing the blood out of chunks. I have some canal jigs that are a few ounces and almost an identical shape. I was tossing them a good 3x the distance of anything else I had. I was thinking that a similar setup with a plug would be ideal. now I see this and know its a good idea :)
I was trying to figure out if you could make a plug that tosses like a kastmaster, sinks a foot or two a second, and falls away from you as it does so - like a squid, and has a cut face so that it rises back up when you give it a tug.
while commuting I have been trying to think of how you could make a plug that would cast like a bullet but not sink straight down.
thinking about it now, the mag-darters are pretty darn close to what I want.

heres what I picture...

Ive been looking to get my hands on some, cant find them anywhere.
I love the Habs nightngale tho, i keep two with me always, they fit in the tin slots in my bag nicely :)

The shop with the pleasant guys in Montauk had them last wknd.

Habs need to make em...
Flap I have some of al's old needle's in chartruse.
NIP.
Didn't i see u where looking for one in some thread.
Andy i have a white BeachMaster Danny pm me ur addy.
Dennis an Bob Only 2 days Good Luck.Catch a big one for me..

Al told me the only two places that are still open what should still have a few are Freddies out on L.L. and New Jersey Bait and Tackle in N.J. Nelson on C.C. had them but closed. Now that Al has worked out the issues he was having, the new stuff looks good, anyone with bad plugs he will repace no problem.

Al's pocket rocket's do catch fish.

There was a problem with the finish on the earlier versions and Al has spent a lot of time and money to correct the problem.
He will replace any of the plugs that have exploded. Feel free to PM me if you need his address.

I have some of the new ones and the finish is much harder, I have also seen one of the first plugs with this finish that has at least 50 fish taken on it.

At the urging of a Striped-Bass member I called Al Gag about the needlefish that split in two after less than an hours worth of fishing. He explained how he had a problem with the sealer he used and was very sorry for my receiving bad plugs. He took my name and address and the next day I received replacements plus one including one of the new pocket rockets, good service in my book. The newer plugs look better than the old, with larger gauge wire and better finishes. Now it's up to me to get them wet. Just thought I should post about someone who seems to care about the customer.