Speaking of plug buying, how are the NORTH BAR BOTTLE plugs and their unusual looking DARTER? Also, towards the end of this past season I used the BEACHMASTER Danny alot and did well. As a user of the original danny, I can say that Bob's version is a masterpiece. It swims like a champ and draws viscious strikes even from smaller fish. It is a great fish finder if you know what I mean. Buy every one you can if you can afford them. Believe me, I thought Danny Pichney was going to live forever. I should have bought more when I had the chance but fortunatley BM is available now.

i was on a b way in a ro this fall and the northbar outfished everyone 4-1. Caught the biggest fish ive caught on a plug with one this october on my first cast of the night. They dig in very well and produce

Speaking of plug buying, how are the NORTH BAR BOTTLE plugs and their unusual looking DARTER? Also, towards the end of this past season I used the BEACHMASTER Danny alot and did well. As a user of the original danny, I can say that Bob's version is a masterpiece. It swims like a champ and draws viscious strikes even from smaller fish. It is a great fish finder if you know what I mean. Buy every one you can if you can afford them. Believe me, I thought Danny Pichney was going to live forever. I should have bought more when I had the chance but fortunatley BM is available now.


"Bob's" (is he your friend....your post comes off as a sales pitch?) version is an excellent copy. "Masterpiece" is more fittingly saved for the guy who invented the plug.

The NB bottle runs deep (at least the only one I tested did)
The bottle darter is more of a swimmer than a darter, but is an excellent plug for covering the water column since you can pull it down, then swim it back to the top. Casts well, too.

The demand for these plugs and their limited supply (with resultant high cost) kills a lot of the pleasure you get fishing them.....and probably drives a lot of guys to stick with eels since they work better anyways. Sad really, since getting a good fish to eat a plug is a joy many are getting priced out of.

Odizza, was that the bottle or darter?

No sales pitch, just a kudo. Thanks for the NB info. I would like to get a bottle darter or two.

I don't want to start a war here, but you don't need expensive wood to catch fish on plugs... just look at the loaded red fin! although some colors are hard to get

IT WAS THE DARTER

yeah steve, its a cross between a bottle and a darter. i owe you a plug so ill try and stop in and toss one your way.

Thanks Bassballer. I'm stll working at the shop. Drop it off if you want.

The Beachmaster medium danny is the best Danny plug available today, no contest there. Never leave home without one white, one yellow/silver and one pollock (black/gold).

I agree, the Beachmaster Danny is nothing short of awesome. They all swim perfectly.

Flap, I agree, both with action and your color choices!

I am also very curious about the North Bar Bottle plugs. I know i am going to get one this weekend.

Any ham-n-egg fisherman can drag a plug through the water without cost being an obstacle. A simple cast and retrieve method will produce the desired results. Serenity and patience will deliver the ultimate prize for those with the fortitude to properly fish the elusive eel properly. Those willing to sacrifice will achieve total consciousness. Not to mention sleeping well at night knowing you are fishing the way nature intended us to fish. Paint and plastic not withstanding.

...Serenity and patience will deliver the ultimate prize for those with the fortitude to properly fish the elusive eel properly. Those willing to sacrifice will achieve total consciousness. Not to mention sleeping well at night knowing you are fishing the way nature intended us to fish...

Chris, thanks for the Thoughts to Live By :uhuh:

Dude, that's the Zen of Surfcasting...I feel better already :)

Any ham-n-egg fisherman can drag a plug through the water without cost being an obstacle. A simple cast and retrieve method will produce the desired results. Serenity and patience will deliver the ultimate prize for those with the fortitude to properly fish the elusive eel properly. Those willing to sacrifice will achieve total consciousness. Not to mention sleeping well at night knowing you are fishing the way nature intended us to fish. Paint and plastic not withstanding.

:claps::claps:

[QUOTE=steve;645331]Speaking of plug buying, how are the NORTH BAR BOTTLE plugs and their unusual looking DARTER? QUOTE]

History running amuck again...If you do any research at all, you'll find that Stan Gibbs came out with that bottle darter first in his quest of the bottle plug[ the one you see today] that style/shape was Stan's first try, the top without lip..then came the next style with a small upper lip, till he was happy with the last almost full lip on top . Stan rejected the the first try and never looked back, never haveing put a patten on it..it was picked up by another and had a patten taken out on it in 1995-6, long after Stan came up with it.....Yes Mr. Welcome can claim having the patten, but the style/idea/shape was NOT his.

Any ham-n-egg fisherman can drag a plug through the water without cost being an obstacle. A simple cast and retrieve method will produce the desired results. Serenity and patience will deliver the ultimate prize for those with the fortitude to properly fish the elusive eel properly. Those willing to sacrifice will achieve total consciousness. Not to mention sleeping well at night knowing you are fishing the way nature intended us to fish. Paint and plastic not withstanding.

You are unwavering, my friend. May the great oracle in the sky bless you.....

Oh yes we could. Spoilin' nice fish. Give it to us raw and w-r-r-riggling; you keep nasty plugss.

Any ham-n-egg fisherman can drag an eel through the water without cost being an obstacle. A simple cast and retrieve method will produce the desired results. Serenity and patience will deliver the ultimate prize for those with the fortitude to properly fish the wooden plug properly. Those willing to sacrifice will achieve total consciousness. Not to mention sleeping well at night knowing you are fishing the way nature intended us to fish. Sharp hooks don't catch fish, people do. :hihi:

:cheers::faga: well said Chris

[QUOTE=steve;645331]Speaking of plug buying, how are the NORTH BAR BOTTLE plugs and their unusual looking DARTER? QUOTE]

History running amuck again...If you do any research at all, you'll find that Stan Gibbs came out with that bottle darter first in his quest of the bottle plug[ the one you see today] that style/shape was Stan's first try, the top without lip..then came the next style with a small upper lip, till he was happy with the last almost full lip on top . Stan rejected the the first try and never looked back, never haveing put a patten on it..it was picked up by another and had a patten taken out on it in 1995-6, long after Stan came up with it.....Yes Mr. Welcome can claim having the patten, but the style/idea/shape was NOT his.

This thread http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=37619&highlight=bottle+darter contains a picture of the early Gibbs patterns that led to his invention of the bottle plug (i.e.casting swimmer). I suspect he ended up with the bottle design because he was primarily looking for a plug that holds at a medium depth in the canal's current. The bottle darter tends to keep diving and might be hard to get back up over the edge in the canal (I've only made a few casts with one there so I am unsure). I prefer the bottle in current, and the bottle darter in weak current or none at all. Certainly Gibbs (or someone before him) experimented with the design. I do think Welcome deserves credit for recognizing its usefulness and running with it (even if the patent thing seems a bit strained).

Ever wonder why Gibbs (or Pichney and Musso for that matter) didn't just stick with eels?

Ever wonder why Gibbs (or Pichney and Musso for that matter) didn't just stick with eels?
They probably wanted to make lures.

They probably wanted to make lures.

...and you can't make as much money selling eels since they only come in two colors...:hihi:

They probably wanted to make lures.

Really? Considering the quality of what they developed, I'd guess they were very good fishermen long before they started building plugs commercially. It seems to have been demand for their plugs that led them to their business, not internet hype, or a brilliant business plan. So if they were such talented fishermen, why were they wasting their time with plugs in the first place?

Really? Considering the quality of what they developed, I'd guess they were very good fishermen long before they started building plugs commercially. It seems to have been demand for their plugs that led them to their business, not internet hype, or a brilliant business plan. So if they were such talented fishermen, why were they wasting their time with plugs in the first place?

Why?? Some one was constantly looking for the better mousetrap..
Or the same reasons many of us tinker. That mother of invention thing...Necessity.
Talking with Donny he had heard these guys where trolling this lure in NJ and having good luck with it.He had got his hands on one, long with a blunt nose he had never seen one like it before.He toyed with the design, being long it did not cast well so he shortened it from the tail end.The Danny was born.That is why in Musso's designs the thickest part is aft of center on the plug.
They made lures because there was demand for items that could catch and hold up to catching.From what I understand Steve Campo is as responsible for pushing Donny and Danny as anyone..He was the original plug Ho.Constantly wheeling and dealing.Using the one against the other to get what he wanted.Basically scoffing up all that they would make of some runs.One of the original hard core surfman..There is so much in today's surfcasting that he is responsible for..

Hey NIB, I got a nice lot from Campos before he went North. I have Musso's with Campo lips on them, they swim better than the originals. I am assuming the majority of the original plug designs had their genesis in the off season; the period in a fisherman's calendar known as Winter. This is when real fishermen dream of the one that got away while pluggers concoct designs to catch more legal sized fish. You know, they daydream and then go in their basement with an idea on whose plug should be resurrected for old times sake. They proceed to do their best to make a duplicate of an outdated design in order to recreate yesteryear.The resulting product may be offerred to those with similar interests on a predetermined weekend to garner oohs and aahs. The gathered obelisks will then be hung on respective walls to be admired by those in the know for the purpose of receiving complements on paint schemes and finish. I guess an idle mind IS the Devil's workshop. I prefer to go the grassroots method and abstain from paint schemes and fake eyes on wood that could heat my humble abode.
Viva la eel!!!!

Hey NIB, I got a nice lot from Campos before he went North. I have Musso's with Campo lips on them, they swim better than the originals. I am assuming the majority of the original plug designs had their genesis in the off season; the period in a fisherman's calendar known as Winter. This is when real fishermen dream of the one that got away while pluggers concoct designs to catch more legal sized fish. You know, they daydream and then go in their basement with an idea on whose plug should be resurrected for old times sake. They proceed to do their best to make a duplicate of an outdated design in order to recreate yesteryear.The resulting product may be offerred to those with similar interests on a predetermined weekend to garner oohs and aahs. The gathered obelisks will then be hung on respective walls to be admired by those in the know for the purpose of receiving complements on paint schemes and finish. I guess an idle mind IS the Devil's workshop. I prefer to go the grassroots method and abstain from paint schemes and fake eyes on wood that could heat my humble abode.
Viva la eel!!!!`

I remember, you showed me a few..
I oooed and aahed..
Hell ain't a bad place to be..
I heard there are snakes there also..:humpty:

[QUOTE=steve;645331]Speaking of plug buying, how are the NORTH BAR BOTTLE plugs and their unusual looking DARTER? QUOTE]

History running amuck again...If you do any research at all, you'll find that Stan Gibbs came out with that bottle darter first in his quest of the bottle plug[ the one you see today] that style/shape was Stan's first try, the top without lip..then came the next style with a small upper lip, till he was happy with the last almost full lip on top . Stan rejected the the first try and never looked back, never haveing put a patten on it..it was picked up by another and had a patten taken out on it in 1995-6, long after Stan came up with it.....Yes Mr. Welcome can claim having the patten, but the style/idea/shape was NOT his.

Many years ago while visiting Stan he took me upstairs into a room in his house to show me his own collection of one of a kinds and some prototypes he had made. One of these was his first iteration of what became his bottle plug. He told me it was based on a plug that a guy "from New Bedford" made. His first attempt was light blue with a white belly, w/decal eyes it was offset turned with flat or slab sides. body width was maybe an inch by about 2 inches +/- in depth. It had a wooden lip and looked like a a small hand held ice scraper or miniature bull dozer blade about an inch and a half wide and the head stock where it met the body was planed down in a sort of darter style. He said it swam okay but real tight and didn't cast very well. Based on that he made a few with round wider bodies and rounded the lip a bit and that became the design standard for his bottle plug. Incidently the Polaris also evolved from the elongated rounded body design of the casting swimmer whcih is the bottle plugs real name. Stan never called it a bottle plug. I was lucky enough to be given a few of the one off plugs from him eventually but he kept that one and somewhere in his belongings it may still exist.

He also cherished a plug he called the pogie plug that was yellow and resembled a pigmy bowling pin. It was as though he didn't want anyone to get thier hands on it.

The real facts.

Now I'm really confused. So if Steve Campo was such a good fisherman, what did he and his friends want the plugs for? Wouldn't eels do instead?

The plugs were and still are conversation pieces. Fodder for cold months.People have been known to plan parties around them.
Picture a coffee table book.....

No one would go to eelfest,pogiefest sounds rivetting.



But PLUGfest, that's a PARTY!!!

Now I'm really confused. So if Steve Campo was such a good fisherman, what did he and his friends want the plugs for? Wouldn't eels do instead?

There are times when bait is not practical or attainable. I have set out to fish and if I can't make bait I go home. I can't reach the center of the ditch with a pogie head so in this instance I swallow my pride and throw a painted piece of wood with hooks stuck in it. Different applications call for different methods.

Eels are very effective, but they cast like crap and they cost money and they need to be tended to. Every three bass, or one bluefish, you catch on lure, the realized cost of the lure depreciates by the price of one eel. If you are selling fish, dealing with eels and deep hooked fish slows you down more than popping them off a plug.

I've read many times where people started experimenting building plugs and then it grew into a commercial venture. Also, the reasons people do things originally, and keep doing them later on, is not fixed. You might start a venture for one reason, and find yourself doing it five years later for different reasons. Motivations are personal and transitory; they expire with the passing of the people who held them, what is left is legacy. The legacy of the original plug builders is greater and more secure now, than ever.

The fact of the matter is, that some people prefer to fish with eels, whereas some would prefer to plug. Why knock each other around about it. Remember this is upposed to be fun, not some kind of contest to see whos method of surfcasting is more effective.

I fish eels and plugs about 50/50, eels are amazing but there are certain situations in which they dont seem to produce.

The fact of the matter is, that some people prefer to fish with eels, whereas some would prefer to plug. Why knock each other around about it. .

It's winter is'nt it?
I think this is all pretty good natured XXXXbusting

Yes, alas, it is winter....

On my soapbox...

Fish the way YOU want and the way that delivers YOU satisfaction. Whether eels, plugs, flies, or a big old hunkkaclam.

Off sandbox, carry on folks...

Yes, alas, it is winter....

On my soapbox...

Fish the way YOU want and the way that delivers YOU satisfaction. Whether eels, plugs, flies, or a big old hunkkaclam.

Off sandbox, carry on folks...

Yup...let them all fish their plugs.....More bait and big fish for the rest of us fisherman...:D

Like a bunch of 8 year olds!:bc: My way is better than yours....waahhh.....wahhhh....wahhhhhhhhh!

Like a bunch of 8 year olds!:bc: My way is better than yours....waahhh.....wahhhh....wahhhhhhhhh!

Merry Xmas

Postetod via Mobile Device

To each his own
Do what makes you happy. If everyone did the same thing life would be very boring and we would all be bitching about the same thing

Sooooooooooo..... then this fisherman's fisherman, Mr Campo, that everyone respects so much primarily fished eels and only collected plugs for conversation and the rare occasions when he couldn't throw eels downwind? Surely somebody here knew him and confirm this.

And Mr Gibbs, Mr Musso, and Mr Pichney liked eels best, but used plugs as a way to make a quick buck off less knowledgable fishermen? Is that true?

Enquiring minds want to know?

No sales pitch, just a kudo. Thanks for the NB info. I would like to get a bottle darter or two.

You and me both. It seems like you need to know which shop is getting them before the shops even know it. I'm very curious to see how the bottle darters swim in person, but I don't doubt they catch.

That's why I bought one, and posed the original question? The bottle plug has always been a very situational plug for me , but on the rare occasion when I've clipped one on, I've done pretty well. Believe it or not I have taken 3 very big fish on them over the years. I always liked the Gibbs 3 oz. mackerel bottle and more recently, the Supersrike in parrot , yellow or black/yellow. I just wanted to know if anyone out there was more aware of these new bottles by North bar.

By the way, Numbskull. I fished on BI in the 80's alot and ran into Steve Campo on occasion. He was always using needlfish or 7 inch loaded redfins most likely because they worked and because it was always blowing a gale which made live eel fishing extremely difficult. Steve used to say that the guys from RI were lousy fisherman because they used yellow Stren line. He was just busting.

By the way, Numbskull. I fished on BI in the 80's alot and ran into Steve Campo on occasion. He was always using needlfish or 7 inch loaded redfins most likely because they worked and because it was always blowing a gale which made live eel fishing extremely difficult. Steve used to say that the guys from RI were lousy fisherman because they used yellow Stren line. He was just busting.

Wouldn't Block Island have a downwind side?
Why would he accumulate special metal lip plugs as mentioned above to throw into a gale?
None of this seems to make sense. We all know eels work better. So why did all these good fishermen go to plugs?
Anybody?

I wish I could "think" I was as good a fisherman as many on here think they are! I hope someday to be a "sharpie"! Oh pleez oh pleez oh pleez! I feel bad for many of you....I really do because you miss the point.:fishin:

Numbskull, I 'm not familier with Campo's special swimmers. Steve, like most everybody on BI back then threw the weighted Redfin then the needlefish as they became availble. Really, it was tough to throw eels out there as it was always windy and/or real big seas even in the lees. I tied rigged eels on occasion which usually resulted in chop-offs. Yes , they were there too.

I wish I could "think" I was as good a fisherman as many on here think they are! I hope someday to be a "sharpie"! Oh pleez oh pleez oh pleez! I feel bad for many of you....I really do because you miss the point.:fishin:

Wake up larry it's winter..:scream:
Basically the whole thing in jest..

Now I'm really confused. So if Steve Campo was such a good fisherman, what did he and his friends want the plugs for? Wouldn't eels do instead?

Tony C. knew and knows Campo very well. We have talked at length about him. Campo was a rabid bass fisherman and just like when we fished eels and bait we (at least I) still had to have every plug that came down the pike. It's an obsession. You think you had to have it because it might be that one thing that gets you better catches than the next guy.

Tony told me that when his shop (Bass Run)was out of Pichneys or Musso's wooden creations that he could always ge a bunch from Steve C. because it was unbelievable that someone could carry that many plugs on a fishing trip plus the eel live and rigged. He was simply obsessed, aren't we all when it comes to Striper fishing in some sort of way?

Tony said Mr. Campo lives in Canada now looking for better bass grounds as far as he knew.

I'd love to meet him.

there is a word for all that plug buying, and it's a real sickness treated only by a doctor..I know someone just like steve c. who lives in orleans..he was telling me he has a basement full of thousands still in their pkging from back in the sixties..you name it he has them..evert color and size...he told me that he'd spend 3/4 of his pay check every week buying stuff he knew he'd never use, had to get his fix.For years he kept this up untill he was treated for this sickness....and to this day he still won't part with one.Said his wife and kids will be very well taken care of when he passes and they have a yardsale.

Don't forget to call me when this takes place

You are unwavering, my friend. May the great oracle in the sky bless you.....

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/SEADangles.jpg

there is a word for all that plug buying, and it's a real sickness treated only by a doctor..I know someone just like steve c. who lives in orleans..he was telling me he has a basement full of thousands still in their pkging from back in the sixties..you name it he has them..evert color and size...he told me that he'd spend 3/4 of his pay check every week buying stuff he knew he'd never use, had to get his fix.For years he kept this up untill he was treated for this sickness....and to this day he still won't part with one.Said his wife and kids will be very well taken care of when he passes and they have a yardsale.

Hopefully, his wife and kids will know what the plugs are actually worth before they sell it off :D.

Campo had different colors painted on the nose of his plugs which would indicate whether it was a deep, medium or shallow swimmer.This way all he had to do was look into his bag to know which suited the application. He customized most of his arsenal and seemed to be another tinkerer.He sold a warehouse of plugs years back to subsidize his retirement home up in Nova Scotia. I still have many of his mercury filled bombers that I love to use in Cotuit.

We all know eels work better. So why did all these good fishermen go to plugs?
Anybody?
I dont think that you could get eels on block island in the 80's...and as a result, plugs were used.

Nebe, Twin Maples used to carry them sporadically and Joe Mollica, then owner of The top of the Dock in Gansett, , used to "ship" them over to us and the other guys, even the Islanders. But because of the very large sand eels ever present the 7 " redfin and the like, then the needlefish plugs, perfectly mimicked that bait.

ah. well there you have it. I wish I could have partook in some of that action back then..

. We all know eels work better. So why did all these good fishermen go to plugs?
Anybody?

because nobody wants to find an EEL in their Christmas stocking !!

because nobody wants to find an EEL in their Christmas stocking !!

I dunno, I wouldn't go that far, Rav...:wave:

Maybe I'm just a funny guy :smokin:

because nobody wants to find an EEL in their Christmas stocking !!

Isn't eel a traditional Italian Christmas dinner?

[QUOTE=Sea Dangles;645869]No one would go to eelfest,pogiefest sounds rivetting.

I'm in for EelFest.

I'm in for EelFest.

There might be something in this.

Everybody know the Best fishermen use CUSTOM eels :hf1:

There might be something in this.

Luke, use the force. Don't go to the dark side!:smash: