Quote:
Originally Posted by Back Beach
Sinker all the way. Still messing with the weighting schemes though. Casts like a missle with no tumbling and swims up off the bottom like a sinking 7" rebel does when you put tension on the line. I want to keep it 1.5 to 1.75 oz. It might still be a little heavy so I'm going to lighten the tail up a bit.
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Be careful if it swims the way you want. Needles are all about total weight and balance. The angle they sink at determines how fast they plane back to the surface. The heavier the tail relative to the rest of the plug (ie the further back the balance point), the faster they come up. The more level the needle sinks, the less depth control you get for any given weight. Once they get down they're harder to get back up (although holding a given depth is easier). The body of the needle acts like a planer board, get it tilted up and up it comes.
For any given angle of attack, the heavier the needle the faster you have to retrieve it to generate lift to keep it up.
The swimming action comes from the throat and angle of attack. Think of a eel swimming plate or tin squid. Get that S shape (or even a simple taper) close to the front and tilt the tail down a little and it will swim. Elongate the throat and it will run straight. Both work. The trick is getting a plug to fish the depth and water speed you want.