I've spent much of my time fishing from the boat or in the ditch. I plan to spend most of my time in the surf this year and need to get beyond the basics regarding plugs.

Aside from the tins and buck tails, of which I have too many. What's missing? Metal lips, darters etc. Who makes decent versions of what etc.

Much appreciated!

Dannys, Needles, shads - to start ;)

Redfins!

Northbar plastic bottle darters

Ss needles

Atom 40 and a jr

All you need :)
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Some guy named afterhours makes pretty decent plugs. Makes just bout every kind you could need. I would pick up a couple dannys, northbars, a pack of hook and a bunch of eels.

Id hit up the sponsors on here they all make great plugs and got everything you need.

.....eels......:)

.....eels......:)

X's 2.

Also, Chefchris' Northbar recommendation is a good one.

I did pretty welll with Gibbs casting swimmers (bottle plug) last year.

That Afterhours pencil in your picture will never work. You should send it to me. I'll make sure it's disposed of properly.:devil2:

Without breaking the bank on custom pluggage, there are a few proven off the shelf plugs you should definitely have in your bag as well. Bombers (schoolbus/black/white), Yo Zuri Mag Darters are deadly in current, rips and in the swell on the back beaches, Got Stryper Rubber. I'm sure others will weigh in, but its a start.

Like the boat and ditch you reference, really depends on where and when you are fishing. I agree with most below and try to go by the upper, middle , bottom water columns theory matched with size of bait and time of day / surf conditions.
Most of the time I was fishing the beach Chatham to PT. I did so usually in an attempt to match sand eels and occasionally bunker or herring. The sand eels however were a mainstay so I threw a lot of bomber type lures, needles, mag darter is my secret killer, pencils, soft plastics both unweighted and with small lead heads and definitely eels. Oh and don't forget teasers. There are times when they really work.

Looks like you have topwater well covered... Only things I would add would be a Superstrike littleneck popper... 2 3/8 oz sinking... And a couple spooks. The tattoo Sea Pup or Dog works great... Or a Jumpin' Minnow.

Cheap, favorite plugs of mine- Redfins (a MUST have), Superstrike littleneck swimmers and darters (great to use plastic darters as wood can occasionally be temperamental), and Northbar plastic bottle darters.

For metal lips I'm a fan of Beachmaster plugs- a couple medium size dannys and an atom 40 are always in my bag. They are definitely expensive, but IMO the action and reliability are unparalleled... Steve McKenna said it best- "I'll spend $30 to catch a 30 pound bass".

For needles I like the Canalman Flat-glides, and the ones by Afterhours. Also the 3 oz Beachmaster Musso Wadds.

1-1.5 oz white bucktails, with pork to work the bottom of the water column.

Black or white Redgills as teasers.

Or you could go the easy route, forgo all the expensive plugs and just use eels... And you'll probably catch twice as many :smash:

Looks like you have topwater well covered... Only things I would add would be a Superstrike littleneck popper... 2 3/8 oz sinking... And a couple spooks. The tattoo Sea Pup or Dog works great... Or a Jumpin' Minnow.

Cheap, favorite plugs of mine- Redfins (a MUST have), Superstrike littleneck swimmers and darters (great to use plastic darters as wood can occasionally be temperamental), and Northbar plastic bottle darters.

For metal lips I'm a fan of Beachmaster plugs- a couple medium size dannys and an atom 40 are always in my bag. They are definitely expensive, but IMO the action and reliability are unparalleled... Steve McKenna said it best- "I'll spend $30 to catch a 30 pound bass".

For needles I like the Canalman Flat-glides, and the ones by Afterhours. Also the 3 oz Beachmaster Musso Wadds.

1-1.5 oz white bucktails, with pork to work the bottom of the water column.

Black or white Redgills as teasers.

Or you could go the easy route, forgo all the expensive plugs and just use eels... And you'll probably catch twice as many :smash:

Damn. We fish identically.
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ummmmm SEBILES!!!!!!!!!!!!! white stick shad

Excellent - Thanks Much!

Pencils: one dark, one light weight should match whichever sweetspot your rod has.

Needlefish: dark / light diff. weights.

Darters: dark/ light (black, white, yellow)

that should be roughly 8-10 lures. You'll find you dont have to pack every lure you own on every trip out, youll start carrying a bunch of stuff but youll start to find which works best for you where and you'll be down to a small pack with just a few.

about 40 pounds of live eels and a 1000 count box of gami 7/0 circle hooks :) (the 40#'s of live eels is said in jest :) )

Definitely bottle darters wicked versatile hey if you go to NY they call them bawdle dotters
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I'd get some spooks and Bottledarters and just fish the hell out of what you have.If you see people catching at a certain spot using certain color or types of plugs you can always adjust your arsenal.Don't forget teasers.