If this thread is a re-post of something done before,Moderators, please remove it, I dont start many threads and thought this one might liven up the forum.

What got you into it?

When did you start?

what aspect do you most enjoy?

What aspect do you least enjoy?


I made my first plug when I was about 9,being a farm boy with a pocket knife, whittling was part of my daily routine, I whittled it from a dried willow branch trying hard to copy an old popping plug in my dads tackle box... with instructutions from my father, on how to preserve it it was painted with some left over white paint from the trim on the house and barn, hooks and screw eyes were pirated from Dads tackle box and junk drawers in the barn...

I dont remember making any more until after I was married and goo-goo eyes became scarce, and the ones I could find too expensive for a young guy with four mouths to feed, in the beginning I made a drill driven lath, the end product was far better than the original , I used an assortment of devises to remove the excess wood, finaly settling on a roto zip some years and alot of misery latter , I used this set up until 3 years ago when the roto zip siezed up and I bought a "real" lathe for not much more than the roto zip would have cost, At first I used the parts from my destroyed plugs to make new ones, I also cut some from sheet metal... Now of coarse I can buy them, but I still make a few from titanium ( scrounged from work) for "special" plugs.. My early finishes were exterior house paint, rattle cans and varnish... I still like the finish from the varnishg, but I find it not durable enough for vmc hooks, and it does stink like hell, if a computer hadnt been forced upon me a few years back, I'd probaly STILL be using varnish and rattle cans!

My favorite part is R&D, I like trying new things, maybe tweaking an old design, or trying something totaly different... I've got a 30 gallon "kindling" barrel full of different.

I HATE painting.... more than once I've been tempted just to wire the damn plug and fish it until it water logs and/or splits...

I've included a picture of mt old lathe as it sat before "retirement" it built alot of plugs... and gave me alot of GRIEF!

I got into it because of this site. I never thought of making my own until I started seeing what people were doing here. I've always liked to be creative and saw this as a chance to be creative and use it in my favorite past time.

I've only been building for about 3 years, started with the NJTackle kits and then expanded to setting up a shop to do it...after the addiction took complete control.

my favorite part is actually painting them. Other than MOASS I don't think I painted the same Pattern on the 2 of the same plug.

I am NOT a big fan of the Epoxying part of the procedure, this season I need to get a spinner together so I can get past the one plug at a time thing too.

LOL. Built this one when I was about 12-13. It rolls out. Built off and on since then. Found this place 2 years ago, started building again, and now enjoy my fishing even more.

Post of BM on how to make a Pikie,
Silp's 2nd Plugfest, help and learning from eveybody on S-B,
and major help from Tagger and Jigman.

First hand carved 2002, first lathe 2004

I like turning and mailing out a plug to hopefully make someone happy.

Don't like wiring or the pressure of swaps.

Good topic Joe :)

For me ,before 1998 I did not own very many plugs, mostly because I had no way of knowing which plugs worked where and which plugs to not waste money on, so I bait fished and eeled alot.
The came the internet and I discovered this fishing site and learned more about plugging. I met Bassmaster in 2001 and we began making a few plugs together all fall and winter long as he was hiding out in the lure forum on the other site. I had some of the famed Habs needles and after fishing a bit with bassmaster and seeing what a needle can do, my first attempt one night was a needlefish plug based on a Habs, It was ugly, a dowel sanded down on a beltsander.
We learned little by little, made our own lips , spent tons of money on supplies, got advice and before you know it we had a good stash to hit the water with in the spring.

I like turning on the lathe the most, creating something from a piece of wood that I can use to catch a fish with. I gives you a great sense of accomplishment as you all know.

I am not sure if there is a part of the process that I don't like the most. The least most enjoyable might be tying tailhhooks or the wiring part.

I think it's right around three years
http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=18337
My first ones were pretty rough
I thru drilled a dowel and then roughed it out on the belt of my stroke sander(sort of like a large belt sander that you move the work under)
I did have a little head start inasmuch as I already had a woodshop.
Then I cobbed together an assortment of parts that would work to use my drill press for a lathe.
Within the past couple of months I found a $50 Old sears lathe and set that up. It does'nt really do any better than the drill press but I will be able to make a duplicator now.
My favorite part is fishing them and I only make them in the winter now.
I never have graduated from rattlecans and make fewer colors each year. I think this year it might be white, black and yellow.
I just made a gibbs style darter a couple of weeks ago and had another of my first cast wonders but this time it was a brown trout, lost it though.

Sitting in Stan Gibbs basement when I was a youngster and watching him might have had something to do with it, maybe.

The yellow eyed demons got me into plug building by getting eveything I had one year.

I had all the tools already as a woodworker. I cant't believe that I didnt get started sooner!

Least favorite part is all the sanding.

Favorite part is painting. (not counting field testing or R&D)

Rock-For someone who doesnt like to paint, you sure do some masterpieces!!!

My first plug was built in early 1970. A mackeral Striper-swiper style. Didn't build another until 2003 after a breakfast at Leo's where I met Tagger, Newell Guy;), and other. MAC brought some of his new plugs, I kinda said "Oh, yeah.." to myself.

Guess I've always tinkered with lures in some form or another. Started fly tying in the mid 70's. Jigs came soon after that. From there, spinnerbaits, buzz baits, spinners, etc. Made my first couple of plugs around 94-95. Pocket knife and a piece of scrap pine shelving. Made two small (1/4 oz) poppers for sunfish. Pain in the butt to make them, but they worked. Didn't attempt any other plugs until 2001. Basically saw the cool stuff that the guys on the other site were making and decided I needed to give it a shot.

Favorite part: beating the snot out of them :btu: Also enjoy hearing about others doing well on a plug I gave them. As far as the building part, I like tinkering with designs. Basic R&D to get something to work how I want and in the conditions I need to fish it. Nothing like getting back from a day of fishing and trying to figure out how to better imitate the bait I was seeing that day.

Least favorite part: the time between when I finish a plug and when I get to fish it :rotfl: Probably wiring and drilling are my least favorite parts of building.

Jigman

Sitting in Stan Gibbs basement when I was a youngster and watching him might have had something to do with it, maybe.

Lucky bastage!!!

When i was a kid i use to carve crude lures and fish a freshwater pond.Did not really take it up seriously until 2002/2003 when i got tired of losing and paying for pencil poppers.One day i snapped and said wth i'll make my own.Had a woodshop in my garage already and it gave me an excuse to get a wood lathe and an airbrush.my least favorite thing is epoxying.Favorite thing is painting and testing and the smile on someones face when they tell me they did well on one of my plugs.

I made some stuff earlier .. pre internet.. broom stick popper ... dowel teaser.. Cut up alot of silver ware ,, (make shift hopkins)... I don't count that.. I was a plug forum lurker about 2 yrs. over sol ..I think I started (for real) 5 maybe 6 yrs. ago .. When ever Newell Guy did .. We made a bunch of crap and thought it was great . Kind of a comedy of errors..Not too much sharing info in those days .. Capesams took Newell guy and me under his wing . We went over his house and he showed us amazing plug skillz. I gotta give Capesams props for my early plug devlopement .. I was taught something by just about everyone on the boards and I'm still being schooled.. I attended plug college and had again Capesams,,Flap,,Numbskull,,Vineyard Blues,, Carl Johanson and Stan Kuzia as professors,,, Not too shabby .. Lately its been Bernzy,,G2,,Lu and always Numby .. I guess what I enjoy the most is fishing the plugs ,, tweaking,, and the other people who build .. I hate buying bandsaw blades ..

Sitting in Stan Gibbs basement when I was a youngster and watching him might have had something to do with it, maybe.

I was burning my toys and killing bugs .. :spidey:

What got you into it?

Was working 330-midnight tues-f and 8am-5pm saturdays and had class 745am-2 m-f . Every chance I had free time I was fishing. The girl I was ummm dating yeah.. at the times dad had invited me out on his boat for 2 or 3 years and I pretty much always declined.. I just did my thing. I finally went one day and yup old man had a twin screw 25 hydra sport that was mint with every possible option.. And no one to fish with, sweetness!! I miss fishing with her dad a TON learned a lot about Block Island, boatwise shore it’s a lot more challenging moving around wise, I like block boat shore, I’d take shore.. I don’t really ever find myself wondering hows shes doing, I usually think more hmmmm I wonder if he’s out fishing. That first trip started a fishing run that pretty much consisted of come home from work, straight to the dock to fish block island, bang out the homework quick quick on lunch at work, and keep going as many days in a row as possible. We went through a LOT of eels fishing block at night and always threw poppers at first light, one thing lead to another and for some strange reason in the middle of the 02 winter I decided hey I can make these… so I made some poppers.. ugly gawd… were they ugly.. so I started checking out stuff online, and I found some Japanese techniques, so I made some stuff for largemouf still have some in progress… kept searching online and I found the other place, then saltheart mentioned that you all here were having a get together and I attended and I haven’t been banned yet…and well here I am, I build when I have free time and I’m a burn the candle at both ends person, so free time becomes rarer and rarer..

I enjoy knowing that I made that block of wood do that, dive wobble snake in an S like a danny should… etc. It makes me chuckle inside wood is like this super primitive thing, and I work with like super ultra, nasa super uber technology so it’s a nice change of pace. I don’t like the plug wars aspect of it, I dunno I’m kinda of a total simpleton in the fact that I think that why cant people just act right?? You know live and let live?? Do what you’re supposed to do etc.. you know stuff like that or some junk…

I started about two years ago. I always wanted to fish classic wood plugs like Creek Chubs, but the cost and collector value have made that pretty much impossible. So I figured the next best thing would be to make my own copies. I'd made a lame attempt or two at freshwater plugs over the years but I decided to get seious a couple of years ago when I started reading forums like this and my wife got me a Jet Mini Lathe for my 50th birthday. I've only made 14 plugs in that time but that rate is fine for my needs. I lost a favorite yesterday on what was probably my last trip of the year, so I've got to make a few replacements. I'm working on a duplicator right now.

The part I like the most is catching fish on my own plugs. And what I like the least is all the damned sawdust!

this is my first post and i've just started building myself. there will be pictures soon. I thank all who post here.

this is my first post and i've just started building myself. there will be pictures soon. I thank all who post here.

Welcome.

this is my first post and i've just started building myself. there will be pictures soon. I thank all who post here.


Welcome to the site... pay attention and enjoy the ride, lots, and lots of talent here, as well as some friendly folks.. Enjoy!

Sitting in Stan Gibbs basement when I was a youngster and watching him might have had something to do with it, maybe.

That would do it for me! Hard to have a better tutor than that!

well spoken joe

I remember watching my neighbor carve wooden fish when I was young, Tried it a few times but didn't have the patience. Always loved woodworking, and have been making tables, boxes, chests, my bed, etc over the years. Did a lot of FW fishing when I was younger as well, got into saltwater fishing the canal with my father-in-law, and lost a lot of his plugs :eek5: He told me about SOL and building plugs, I so started making pencils and polaris's for him to use, and he would give feedback on what to change or other niche plugs that would work in different situations. Start catching a lot of fish, and people want to know what you're using! :D

My favorite part is designing different shapes, I waste a lot of time sketching stuff on graph paper, which doubles as a ruler when you're on the lathe (no duplicator....yet).

Least favorite part? probably was working with epoxy.

Because .......you can draw a straight line

then push a slight bend into it...

warp it , shrink or stretch it...

and then , you can reverse any step too

- there is free online rulers that will
sit on top of any application your using.

wonderwebware.com has them free

I use autocad every day, sometimes I use that, other times I just enjoy hand drawing

My first plugs were squid jigs made from a 3/8 dowel, screw eyes, spray painted white. We used to catch so many squid we'd turn the docks and our clothes black. I was maybe 10 at the time.

When I was in high school (early 80's) my dad got 'taken to school' by a crew from NJ fishing 'needlefish' plugs. No one back home carried them so that winter he bought a lathe and he turned a pile of needles out of pine and birch dowels that lasted him almost 20 years. That lathe gathered dust in the basement until I was down visiting him in 2002 and I lost my last 5 beater pencil poppers in 1 day to some big blues. I went to the tackle shop and they had gibbs for 18$ a pop... Too much money to feed to bluefish... So I brought the lathe home with me and I've been building plugs for the past 6 or 7 years.

I really enjoy learning how different styles of plugs work and how to make the stuff I need to fish. Theres a ton of great information on the net. Sometimes I feel like a mad scientist in the basement.

My favorite part of plug building by far is the turning. I really like shaping the wood. I still do it all by hand although I certainly see the benefit of a duplicator and eventually I will end up going that route.

My least favorite part is either bending hook hangers if I'm doing sealed plugs or waiting for the epoxy to dry so I can see how I managed to mess up this batch...

I started turning to save money...... yeah that kinda backfired. I enjoy tailoring a plug to a certain location, and my friends and family seem to enjoy the free plugs:) I hate the tru drilling and dispise the epoxy. I used to hate the actual turning, but with the stress at the new job, I really enjoy the humming of the lathe and the fact that I can't hear the phone ring or myself think.

some awesome stories, I'll report back in 10 years. :rolleyes:

A guy at work showed me a couple poppers he made to throw to the bluefish. Screw eyes and rattle can painted....didn't look too complicated. Decided to see what I could make to kind of "compete" with him. He said he stole all the oak broom sticks in his wife's broom closet to turn on his lathe. Once I bought the Craftsman Pen lathe and turned a few I realized I had a lot to learn. Went on-line and and was shocked at what I found. Countless dollars later, 5 gallon buckets full of kindling, and many heads full of hair ripped out, I have finally been able to make a decent plug that can catch fish and fisherman.
I hate having the patience the most.....waiting in between processes. Waiting for sealer & primer to dry.
I have a love/hate relationship with painting. After turning, then sealing and priming I dread screwing up a plug I have waited so long to finish and see what it looks like and how it swims, to only screw up a paint job in every way.
The part I love most.....putting the hooks on, and fishing it.

What got you into it?
seeing all the plugs my friends have made and realizing that it may be something i would like to do.

When did you start?
this winter with kits from salty's and others. then i went to plugfest. i was in awe of a lot of the stuff there. and knew then i had to get a lathe, just doing kits wouldn't cut it. i am currently looking at the TLCPRO or the JET mini.

what aspect do you most enjoy?
don't have a favorite yet...once i get the machine i'll let ya' know!
painting is cool, but designing and turning will be a blast.

What aspect do you least enjoy?
so far, turning the tail-wiring!

first was handcarved freshwater stuff. first lathe was 5 years ago. this site, mac, and afterhours were the main influences to build. the best feeling i get is fish being caught on my stuff. the best part of building is seeing a certain person i showed how to do this become what he is now in 2 short years. i hate epoxying.

I clicked on here and was instantly amazed at what different guys were doing, you can come back each day and see something new and different as well great copies of classic plugs and find info on just about anything that you think you'd like to try...tremendous inspiration to be drawn from all of the contributors, I like catching fish with them the most ...the only thing that I don't like is that I don't have more time to build...

I think the real reason i started building was the fact that you really can catch fish, big fish, with plugs. Had the bait fishing thing working for plenty of years but a whole new world opened up with plugs. There is nothing better than experiencing that top water explosion!!! What put me over the edge was realizing after watching Rockfish's pictorial, How To ,that I can actually build and catch something with what I build. A great felling. Then even better, having the guys I fish with catching fish with your Plugs. Its only been a year, and there is only two things that come to mind that I have a hard time with. I live in the hills of Monadnock. Testing in a bucket! Ice in November out in March. Also the cost!!! Belts, blades, electricity, hardware, paint,epoxy, it goes on, and on. And we thought we would be saving MONEY?