[hardcore from shore]

A few of you (like Big Fish) know and have met and have helped my soon to be 90 year old dad with plug building tips. Here is Bill at his lathe (a 50 year old Craftsman) and a stubby needlefish (copied from the Dave Anderson Fisherman 2007 article), and the 30 inch striper (one of many up to 34 inches ) I caught on MV with it in August. He also does great darters that have worked on Wasque last year and also worked fine on Cutty this year along with Tattoo and Big Fish metal lipped swimmers I used. He has done a fine knock off of the Big Fish Pencil (thanks Larry- I still buy and catch on the originals as well). He has made me great needles from 4 inches to 10 inches and pencils as well as metal lipped swimmers and great polaris poppers. He also has created a great squid, fashioned after one I saw in an On The Water article (one is hanging up at the Cutty Hunk Fishing Club). Bill loves talking plugs at the MSBA Expo or Tri State banquets. He uses the plastic eyes with anchor stems he or I pick up at M&D's. Over the last 10 years he has become very fancy with his painting almost always putting a splash of red below the lure mouth/ gill area. He uses a clear coat epoxy resin we learned about at the plug builders forum. I can only take credit for making the lures work, he gets all the credit for creating them. There is something special I feel every time I catch a fish on one of his lures (and luckily that is quite often).

Bill