Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post

Eric Roach · 02-28-2014, 02:25 PM

Thanks guys.

#5
This basic needle is made of rock maple and has no lead. With those hooks and rings it will wake if moved fast enough but will sink at roughly 1"/second if crawled in quiet water. Lightening the rings /downsizing the hooks will create a floater. The rear is 3/8" so it's wide enough to drill out to add 1/4" cylinders of lead to get it down at a moderately fast speed.

#6
This 7.5" sand eel is slightly longer version of the 6" sand eel needle I used with pretty good success last fall. It's a great plug for subtlety in shallow water -- it suspends, so just letting it sit or slightly moving it was really effective on finicky fish. Can't cast it 100 yards, but it certainly gets out there a lot further than un-rigged 6" or 7.5" Slug-Gos. One downside is line management: The plug is so thin and light you can barely feel it in the water. If you aren't careful, the line lays lightly on the spool and sometimes twists because there isn't enough resistance to turn the line roller. If the action was slow, I had to pinch the line every few casts to keep the "wind knots" to a minimum. Still, it fills a niche nicely. I'm going to lose the holographic tape on the next one, and see if a painted chrome side looks more realistic.

02-28-2014, 02:25 PM	#4
Eric Roach Big E Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Seabrook, NH Posts: 681	Thanks guys. #5 This basic needle is made of rock maple and has no lead. With those hooks and rings it will wake if moved fast enough but will sink at roughly 1"/second if crawled in quiet water. Lightening the rings /downsizing the hooks will create a floater. The rear is 3/8" so it's wide enough to drill out to add 1/4" cylinders of lead to get it down at a moderately fast speed. #6 This 7.5" sand eel is slightly longer version of the 6" sand eel needle I used with pretty good success last fall. It's a great plug for subtlety in shallow water -- it suspends, so just letting it sit or slightly moving it was really effective on finicky fish. Can't cast it 100 yards, but it certainly gets out there a lot further than un-rigged 6" or 7.5" Slug-Gos. One downside is line management: The plug is so thin and light you can barely feel it in the water. If you aren't careful, the line lays lightly on the spool and sometimes twists because there isn't enough resistance to turn the line roller. If the action was slow, I had to pinch the line every few casts to keep the "wind knots" to a minimum. Still, it fills a niche nicely. I'm going to lose the holographic tape on the next one, and see if a painted chrome side looks more realistic.