The days before needlefish...

[tlapinski]

Over the past few seasons, the needlefish has really come into its own as the "popular" plug to use in the surf. I know there have been some faithfuls from the birth of the needlefish and its bloom in the 80's, but it really seems to have taken over the surf market lately. I will even admit to really falling in love with the needlefish for its versatility and fish catching ability in so many different sets of conditions.

So, here is my question: What plug did you use before you used the needlefish, in the places you now see as "go to" needlefish spots? I have asked this question to several fishermen this winter and I have received very similar answers, but I was suprised as to the results at first.

[RIJIMMY]

Tlap, I consider my Dad an old timer, his big days in the surf were mid-80s to mid-90s. My Dad is anti-plug, he beleives in live eels or jigs (bucktails or shad body) He never used needlefish. When he did use plugs there was only one. His primary plug which he swears by is a scale finish with chrome redfin. Most of his are so beat from the fish and rocks, they barely have any finish left on them. He injected them with water to weight them down. He has caught more fish on those than any other plug. When I show him all my wood plugs, he says goes into a big rant on how I'm wasting my money.

[Joe]

DZ could tell ya - he's the resident needlefish historian

[bloocrab]

Although it's not the "hardiest" of plugs...I STILL enjoy a 9" joint - in an Olive -flavoured wrap. Not the friendliest casting lure, but I like it -

When I fish a plug, I try to "be" the plug. Most of the time, I imagine myself as the plug...and how I would react in the conditions I'm swimming in. Taking bursts of 5-6' ...then stopping as if to look around...slowing the retrieve when passing through a big wave, etc.... I think most people fish plugs like they're pieces of wood or plastic, those people don't catch much fish ... To beat the fish, you gotta be the fish.
Getting back on track, I feel more like a fish when I fish a jointed -

[jsullivan]

brown/olive danny

[Nebe]

for me, needlefish are used when i want to go deep, so it would have to be the bucktail.

[Karl F]

Rebel Windcheater, (the 70's version, not todays), blue/chrome, or black/chrome, had some that were worn down to the "bone" color, sometimes those worked the best. Shallow flats over sand eel beds, snap the diving lip off, and skip and pause over the top. To get them deeper, we'd wrap solder around the tail hook shank, they'd stnd up on their tail, similar to an arse loaded needlefish today.

[tobias]

Darters.

[l.i.fish.in.vt]

Though i am not a needle historian, needle happen to have been around since at least the 1960's.i know of several gentlemen in their late sixties early seventies who fished needles along the jersey shore.these were mostly garage made.

[tlapinski]

Not so much looking for the needle history in this post, just what each of us used before we started using needles. Although, I am a bit of a needle history buff myself with a good portion of my plug collection consisting of needlefish.

Anyway, I used a couple different plugs before I got into the use of needles. For the areas I where I now fish shallow needles, I used to fish bombers or dannys. Some times I would throw a rebel here and there, but mostly bombers. For the deeper water, I would toss darters mostly. As my use of needles has increaded, so has the range of spots I fished increased. They seemed to both develope at the same time, and having a plug that can cover all the depths of the water became beneficial to me. Also, I have seen a change in the dominant bait where I fish. Where I used to see lots of large baitfish like herring and adult bunker, I now see peanut bunker, silversides, or bay anchovies. No longer will an Atom 40 or large danny mimic the primary forage.

[DZ]

TLAP,
Karl's right - the original Rebel was "the" go to plug at least from Montauk to the Cape. I also used the Atom Junior when the rebels didn't produce.

A little history:

"The original Rebel Wind Cheater Super Minnow has long since been
discontinued (1983). There was a time when it was the most popular minnow type plug used on the striper coast. There were two sizes of the old Super Minnow: the F90, which was 7 inches long and weighed 2 ounces, and the F80 which was 6 inches long and weighed 1.5 ounces. They were the "heavy duty" versions of Rebel's popular series of minnow swimmers, the F40 and F30, which were not thru-wired. The F80 and F90 were floating models and cast very well for minnow type swimmers, hence the name Wind Cheater. They were also thru-wired for extra strength when targeting striped bass, pike, muskie, and other large fish. They were the only thru-wired minnow type plug on the market."

A more in depth story about them will be posted on Tattoos site in the future.

The original super minnows were discontinued just as the needlefish really started to become popular AND after Pradco acquired the Cotton Cordell Redfin and Bomber. They replaced the super minnow in the market.

DZ

[tlapinski]

DZ, I discovered, for myself, the super and windcheater rebels you speak of recently. I have since put some effort into acquiring a solid stash of them. Fortunately for me, I have come into a few collections fo both styles in large enough quantities to keep me happy. Another lure which has seen a lot of use for me over the last few seasons is the 7" Red Fin. I love these things! Loaded and stock, I have probably caught as many fish on them as just about any other plug in my arsenal. I have a solid black one which I used quite extensively last season. There is as much bone color showing through on it now as there is original black. Easily 100+ fish over 20#'s on it last season alone.

[vineyardblues]

Hi Toby.

1) eels
2) needle
3) the old 7inch floating rebels
4)5inch split back rebals (yellow) and the black one's

And yes, I have that plug for you

VB

[BrianS]

I need to join the "needle revolution"

I have a bunch, but really am pretty unsure how to use them...

[DZ]

T,
I agree.
A chapter from the "Snowstorm Blitz" entitled "Needles and Fins" - guess what the "Fins" stand for?
Redfins are the #1 plug out of my bag - best and most affordable striper plug on the market.
Black "Fin" is deadly.

DZ

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by tlapinski

Easily 100+ fish over 20#'s on it last season alone.

[*LB]

I have had good sucess with Bombers but I have never tried a Red Fin. Because they both look similar, and my local shop doesn't carry Red Fins, I never went out of my way to buy one. Can anyone describe the difference in action or castability between these two types of lures?

I find the Bombers to be most effective with a slooowww retrive - as a result the jointed versions don't seem to have the action at that speed. I like black and the school bus color. For some reason the hooks on the tackle shop bombers are a lot beefier than the X-mart version of the same plugs. Another good reason to support the local tackle shops.

[goosefish]

chunks

[Saltheart]

There was a time when the only plugs I had were black and silver rebels , big danny swimmers , Atom swimmers and atom poppers. That was it. We also carried metal like hopkins , some big spoons and some bucktail jigs.

[basswipe]

Kastmasters,Atom poppers,Bombers,Cordell Redfins,Rebels and Mirrolures were what I used throughout the 80s with good success especially on blues.They also worked quite well on freshwater stripers and hybrids when I was stationed in TX.I even took some decent redfish and specs on them when I made the journey down to Port Aransas and Corpus.

[Crafty Angler]

Tin squids.

[BrianS]

Ya know
One thing I loved, and I havent seen them in a long time....

Were these metal sand eel replica's. They were white and jointed, one hook...
I caught my first keeper on one of these.

I gotta see if my grandfather has any hidden away.

[Bill L]

What plug did you use before you used the needlefish, in the places you now see as "go to" needlefish spots?

I am a relatively new convert to needlefish. I got a few in the late 80's when they were written up a lot, but I never really did fish them. I dont think I had any confidence, and other stuff was working.

Some of the places I now see as "go to" needle spots are shallow rocky areas, where I like to work the needle on top in the wash, with or without a teaser. The plugs I used to use a lot here were poppers for low light conditons, and bombers at night. Now the needle is the first out of the bag, and many times its all I use, besides switching up colors and sizes.

[zimmy]

I certainly don't qualify as an old timer...but I have had this discussion with my grandfather. He started fishing the salt fairly seriously in the mid 1950's. He has never used a needle. Said he didn't see them untill later and never saw a reason to try them. "There's always something new." Back then he used eels, tins...like hopkins, bucktails and various wooden plugs, atoms and such. When the rebels and redfins came around, they were used much of the time. Luckily, he has some hoem movies from the late fifties and sixties of he and my grandmother and friends fishing. The buggies, the lack of any buildings along most of the beaches, really incredible and inspiring to see...

[Mr. Sandman]

going back in time.... while todays go-to is the needle, in the late 70's and 80's it was the gibbs bottle for me. Prior to that it was the rebel.

Funny I don't fish the bottle or rebel that much anymore..I love the plug but todays customs are more fun, in fact, as for the future...while I still fish needles a lot, I am moving away from them more and more. Fishing more swimming custom plugs. Needles offer castbility and a range of fishing options that few plugs do. I think it will be around for a long time. Last year my "go-to" was the big surf howdy (although fished like a needle) followed by a pike then 2.5 oz habs needle. Whatever seems to work finds its way to the top. After last spring, I found myself fishing the Salmo Fatso....with VMC hooks. I took several nice fish with that plug last year. Looks like a real fish, no lip but wobbles nicely and looks real! However, once the spring run was over it did not catch as well as the others.