Well I guessing a lot of guys saw this stuff at plugfest but I'll throw up some pictures of some of the different stuff I've been working on.
The first picture are modified cowboys. They are based on the old run of cowboys which in my opinion are a far superior plug than his more recent run. I trimmed some of the fat out of the back of the plug to reduce the rear buoyancy. This helps the plug get deep and swim much more level in the water particularly with a rear flag in place of a treble hook.
The next pictures are some prototype stuff. The first a Gibbs GTS 3 a very interesting plug that has very unique action. Probably not a plug I would fish much in the surf but should be a great trolling plug. The second picture is of 2 different Juniors which after a year of tweaking bodies, weight and lips, I've finally have dialed in.

Finally, a conrad junior and a Murat Cotter Pin Swimmer minus the solder on the top of the pins.

Nice Stuff Dan. You were awfully brave bringing stuff you made to fish to plugfest.

Those thinned out cowboys look great. What lip did you use? How deep do they run? You must be knee deep in sawdust, you have been very busy.

"The first picture are modified cowboys. They are based on the old run of cowboys which in my opinion are a far superior plug than his more recent run. I trimmed some of the fat out of the back of the plug to reduce the rear buoyancy. This helps the plug get deep and swim much more level in the water particularly with a rear flag in place of a treble hook. "

Those look REAL nice.

I got an older blind cowboy yesterday, and you're right, it is noticeably thinner (we talked about this on Sat.). Older: 1.53" Newer: 1.66". The overall shape is different, the slope head is cut differently (more wood cut off the older), and the lip is bent much less. I mean the curls on the edges of the lip.

Those thinned out cowboys look great. What lip did you use? How deep do they run? You must be knee deep in sawdust, you have been very busy.

It's a conrad junior high slot lip. In terms of depth I would classify if as a medium-deep swimmer, I'm not exactly sure how deep they'll get on a typical cast. I generally use them on rips-jetties and the canal where I can cast let it dig in and sweep across, where it will dig deep and hold.


I got an older blind cowboy yesterday, and you're right, it is noticeably thinner (we talked about this on Sat.). Older: 1.53" Newer: 1.66". The overall shape is different, the slope head is cut differently (more wood cut off the older), and the lip is bent much less. I mean the curls on the edges of the lip.

Take the two swimming and you'll see the older ones are a deep swimmer while the current run is more of a surface plug.

Dan that is some great work, those cowboys are sick.

Awesome Dan.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Great job .. I tried trading from your none trade loot :blush:
you had some beautiful work on that table

I did a few cowboys and weighted them like the usual, middle w. 18 grams. swam shallow. Tried the Bm version same, same. worked on repositioning the weights on another one and now I have a real diver. I put 3 weights in the belly. 6 grams each. 1 forward of the front hook and 2 mid ship. Do a search if you like, there's a picture of it from last year. I tried to upload the picture but it was already uloaded on a trhead and I don't know how to get the picture to reappear. Sorry.

solid work. You really do your homework to get what you want out of the plug.

Wow, awesome Dan...

I just can't believe you gave up eel fishing that easily...Redlite's gonna be lonely this summer without us...

Did you base the juniors off the BM junior setup?
I did mine almost exact, I think...there is a .250 belly weight just behind the front hook hanger and a .250 tail weight based on the BM I dissected. The plug sits perfectly flat in the water.

Very nice Dan! I enjoyed checking them out last weekend.

That orange jr. is the bomb diggity!

Are on my to do list. Hope they come out half as nice as yours Dan.:drool:

Dan,

Those plugs had me drooling at plugfest :drool:

Awesome work!

Thanks for all the compliments guys I'm glad everybody liked them.

Wow, awesome Dan...

I just can't believe you gave up eel fishing that easily...Redlite's gonna be lonely this summer without us...

Who said anything about giving up eel fishing. I can guarantee some time in June I'll get frustrated enough with plugs to go back to my beloved eels. :devil2:

Did you base the juniors off the BM junior setup?
I did mine almost exact, I think...there is a .250 belly weight just behind the front hook hanger and a .250 tail weight based on the BM I dissected. The plug sits perfectly flat in the water.

Honestly, what I did was start with a rough dimensions of a body and weighting and through trial and a whole bunch of error I ended up getting back to something set up pretty close to a BM. I think mine has 10 grams in the belly and 8 or 10 grams in the tail. I'm probably still going to try different weights in these locations just to make sure but I'm very happy with where I'm at now. I'll also add, I feel like when I just copy an original I'm not learning how a plug really works and therefore my end results aren't the best, so I've been doing a lot more experimenting lately.

I did a few cowboys and weighted them like the usual, middle w. 18 grams. swam shallow. Tried the Bm version same, same. worked on repositioning the weights on another one and now I have a real diver. I put 3 weights in the belly. 6 grams each. 1 forward of the front hook and 2 mid ship. Do a search if you like, there's a picture of it from last year. I tried to upload the picture but it was already uloaded on a trhead and I don't know how to get the picture to reappear. Sorry.

The weighting on mine is set up like the original with about 20 grams in the belly, and they get as deep as I need them too. I feel like if I need a deeper running plug a Musso Maple or a Conrad might be the better option.

BM Jrs I 've done come up with 14 gram belly and a 7 gram tail. Weighs out in clear pine 2.3 oz w/o hooks

Who said anything about giving up eel fishing. I can guarantee some time in June I'll get frustrated enough with plugs to go back to my beloved eels. :devil2:



Whew...you had me worried.