Atom 40/Blue Streak
 

Mike at M&D's made this ... Mike uses Blue Streak belly hook spacing for a tangle free plug .. I think its the way to go .. Well thought out plug Mike..

They are nice plugs, took one fer a test ride:kewl:


If the original A-40's hooks tangle why would he have wanted to duplicate that:huh:

Nice job. I am working on some myself. Did you use the atom A-40 lip? Bluestreak lip is different, but not by a lot, probably doesn't matter much.

I didn't make the plug ... Mike did at cc tackle.. appears to be same as some old A 40's I have ..

Sorry Ed I meant did he use. Since he carries those lips I would think he did. I remember seeing them before they got paint.

Same lip as the 40.

I also used the pike 3 in the same body and got 6' deeper with great action

you should post some of your work .. took the liberty ,,hope thats ok .. work is perfect ,,clean , mint ..

Just for the record, I've made ten's of thousands of casts with plastic A40's and don't recall hook tangling to ever be an issue. That might be different, I suppose, if you use split rings.

numbskull - I was gonna say the same - I use cut 4/0's no tangles

Awesome looking plug Mike. Keep up the good work.

plastic and wood the same .. still a little tight I think ..

You lucky dog!!!! :whackin:

ya it is mint color and all...

Mike, did you tail and belly weight them?

Atom 40's were never meant to swim below the surface. Guys on the outer beach would load them by drilling two holes either side of the first treble and glue in one 00 buck shot. It would kill the action but it would go down in current, Pond later marketed a loaded one (I have a few) in plastic. Don't swim worth a damm unless the current is hauling. But 40's were and should be surface swimmers that is where they really shine.

Pichney and Beachmasters 40's and Juniors swim deep. They were designed for the fast water at Montauk and breachways or casting from boats. In still waters or surf their 40's stink. The juniors work well in moderate to high surf. A true Atom 40 replica in wood should stay on the surface and work under the water maybe a foot or two before rolling over.

I'll second that motion as well. Bluestreaks were heavier too.

3/0's are the biggest hook you should use on a 40. To my way of thinking and through the hundreds of different styles of plugs I have fished some times people over tax the plugs action by putting a set of hooks that are too big.

For instance take a Beachmaster medium Danny. The biggest hook that plug should wear is a 2/0 with a 5/0 siwash tail hook to get the maximum action. I know a lot of guys who use 3/0's. Yeah they might drop a few w/ 2/0's but the 3's just kill that plug's action and they tangle up.

On a 3-1/2 oz Polaris I make an exception for canal casting. I replace the front hook with a 4/0 and put a split ring with a 3/0 dressed in hackles and crystal flash.

Also, I don't mean to hijack the thread but, I build a plug I always lay out the spacing with the hook size and number of I intend to use so that hook entanglement is not an issue before any drilling happens.

I'll try the 3/0's like you mentioned flaptail - you are not the first I've heard say 3/0 on 40's. W

When I tested the three versions of the 40 I made I used 4/0's and the action was reall nice

Atom 40 is a 1950's plug (not sure when 1st was born).. We think much differently now, making our lures more fish friendly (that sounds goofy), for releasing with the least harm to the fish . I'm sure the hooks being so close together ,,they were hoping the fish would take both trebles to insure capture ... mauling a fish was probably never a consideration .. :pats:

http://www.shorelinebt.com/id11.html

whoops maybe 1944 ... stand corrected :1poke:

Capesams told me most Bluestreaks were made of Mahogany. They had a tail weight in them, I took one apart, but the few I have don't have a belly weight. Thanks Flap for the insight. Maybe they were used more for trolling?

[QUOTE=Flaptail;559766]Pichney and Beachmasters 40's and Juniors swim deep. They were designed for the fast water at Montauk and breachways or casting from boats. /[QUOTE]

Hmm, my Beachmasters swim right on top.. weird :huh: The Juniors go down about 1-2 feet that's it and can be waked on the surface with a super-slow retrieve. Never seen one go deep from Beachmaster... and I have never swam a Pichney 40 or Jr.

[QUOTE=Canalman;560134][QUOTE=Flaptail;559766]Pichney and Beachmasters 40's and Juniors swim deep. They were designed for the fast water at Montauk and breachways or casting from boats. /My juniors go 10 to 12 no problem and I have fished all 16 I have. The big ones just dive. If you swim them very very slowly they will swim just under with the tail slightly protruding but the action is way off. My juniors work well holding in the receded wave on the beach with wave heights bigger than four feet, they just dig down.

The Beachmasters are better boat plugs than surf plugs.

Your Atom swims nicely just where it should.

Well I am glad to hear that :)

It's weird that yours swim so deep! I use my BM's in shallow water, from the surf, I had a yellow/white one that just plain killed from the surf... and then it was taken from me by a determined bass one night last September... oh a sad day it was. :fury:

So I started making my own :hee:

Juniors baby!

Nice Dave. Hens an Chickens ?

I have used the BM jr's in the current with a heavy owner 2/0 front hook an the lip bent way up to make it dive I would say I was lucky to get 5 ft down..I don't use split rings on the swivels.I have a standard spacing for hooks when I build a plug so they don't tangle.
3" for 2/0's
3 1/8" for 3/0 an
3 1/4 for 4/0's
Mind ur swivel drop depth an this should work fine.In other words the bottom loop an maybe some of the barrel of the swivel should stick out of the grommet..

Nice plug.

Tested Mike's version this morning with Numbskull as a witness against the Beachmaster. Mikes was definetly the better plug. Swam nice, nice paint and finish, well made. The Beachmaster sucked big time.

Buy Mike's.

WOW...