Well I finally decided to try a few darters. They are one of the types of plugs I've never really fished so I wanted to put more time into learning them.

I got ambitious last night and got out the devcon 2ton and sys 3 epoxies and experimented a bit. These 4 came out good (with the exception of a thumb print on the yellow one. These all have mirror coat. The clear coat one that I tried first had fisheyes all over it. Maybe it was too cold for that in the basement. The devcon2 ton which I hadn't tried before was very thick and goopy and I didn't like working with it so I ended up stripping those two with acetone. Wakes you up good at midnight.

These are soft maple, 6 1/2 inch and right around 2.5 oz.

WOW, That squid darter is the katz azz!! Great!

Nice stuff. What did you cover the tail wrap with?

Nice Job! I find the devcon works a little better if you put the syringe in some hot water for 5-10mins before you use it to warm it up a little.

look very nice

Nice stuff. What did you cover the tail wrap with?

Thats plumbers epoxy, its solid and comes in a tube, you cut off chunk and knead it to shape. Dries rock hard in like 5-10 minutes and you can sand it. Sticks to your fingers nice too.

Registered User


Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 14 Not sure what brand you are using but most plumbers epoxy cures wet. Wait a while for it to set a bit then shape, smooth it out using finger and water, don't even need sanding. Washes away easily.


This tip was from Lapala ... tried it and it worked good ... nice looking darters .. weighted ? hydro orientated ?

vey nice, look great :kewl:...you thru wire and use a hanger instead of swivel?

Yup, they are thru wired with hangers and and all sealed up tight. I had a maple needle split last year so I wanted to try and completely seal these guys and see if that would work better.

DJ, those look incredible. Very nice work. I have to concur with Finatic, that squid looks killer.

How'd you cut the slope? Do you leave the square ends on when you cut it and use a jog of some sort?

I really like what you do to cover the tail wraps.

Registered User


Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 14 Not sure what brand you are using but most plumbers epoxy cures wet. Wait a while for it to set a bit then shape, smooth it out using finger and water, don't even need sanding. Washes away easily.


This tip was from Lapala ... tried it and it worked good ... nice looking darters .. weighted ? hydro orientated ?

Thanks Eddie, I'll try that next time. :btu:

DJ, those look incredible. Very nice work. I have to concur with Finatic, that squid looks killer.

How'd you cut the slope? Do you leave the square ends on when you cut it and use a jog of some sort?

I really like what you do to cover the tail wraps.

I think lots of the NJ guys do the epoxy on the tail to seal it up. I really like the look and hopefully they'll hold up a bit better.

As far as the jigs go... I'm not sure how to post a link but I had a thread a month or so ago that showed how I was holding the blanks square.
http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=54143

I then rip the 45 on the table saw and I made a little jig to help me draw the slope I wanted. Then I cut the slope free hand on the bandsaw and just smooth it out on the belt sander...

I'll take a pic of the jig after dinner...

I like those a lot Dave. I think you did a fine job. Not the easiest plug to master, good luck with them.

Elegant plugs.
Watch out with the Mirror Coat. It is very hard and will crack when the plug expands and contracts with use.
Clear coat is murder in the cold. Also very sketchy over any scratch coat. Also is very fussy to mix in small aliquots (use a scale 4.3:10 ratio). Add the resin to the hardner, not vice versa. Avoid silicone (like in a syringe or on plastic mixer sticks), avoid wood (which absorbs the hardner faster than the resin), clean your cups/brushes with alcohol, rotate it in a dry warm room. Takes about 8 hours to dry. I still haven't mastered it ( I run into drag marks/clumps if I touch up a plug within several minutes, and persistent bubble acne when dry unless I torch it....which pulls it away from sharp edges such as on a darter/slopehead). ETex is easier, but thicker.

Hi Bruce :wave: Last year there were macks in the eddy where I jig opposite you. Hopefully they'll hang around this year too.

Here's the jig I made to get the slopes consistant. This is similar to the one George posted in that other thread. One side has the slope for the 1 1/8 ones, the other side is for some that are closer to 1 1/4..

After I make the lip cut on the table saw I put the blank in the box, draw the slope. Cut it on the bandsaw leaving the line, then a little sanding to remove the line and bring it back to the box and see how close I got.

Elegant plugs.
Watch out with the Mirror Coat. It is very hard and will crack when the plug expands and contracts with use.
Clear coat is murder in the cold. Also very sketchy over any scratch coat. Also is very fussy to mix in small aliquots (use a scale 4.3:10 ratio). Add the resin to the hardner, not vice versa. Avoid silicone (like in a syringe or on plastic mixer sticks), avoid wood (which absorbs the hardner faster than the resin), clean your cups/brushes with alcohol, rotate it in a dry warm room. Takes about 8 hours to dry. I still haven't mastered it ( I run into drag marks/clumps if I touch up a plug within several minutes, and persistent bubble acne when dry unless I torch it....which pulls it away from sharp edges such as on a darter/slopehead). ETex is easier, but thicker.

Its funny I don't usually do a scratch coat but I did on these. Maybe that was the problemw ith the clear coat. Last year I had good luck with the clear coat just flipping them a few times, no spinning.

I had tried to make a thicker darter to get to the 3.5 oz mark. There was a lot of bouyancy in the back, so then I put a small tail weight in. Then it would surf so I put a slug of lead under the nose. That seemed to correct it but I don't think it will cast as long as a thinner longer one so I may go that route. I've got one with lead and one without ready to test and compare. I just hate having more than 1 belly treble. 1 always seems to find me...

To make that mid "hanger" do you use that soft wire and pull it thru the hole? ( I am guessing)

I like the "lines" on those darters, well done.