What do you guys think...

[capecodkid]

Was talking to my friend about plugs. He was saying that its useless to have all these custom wood plugs and different colors. He says that all plugs have white on the bottom and that the fish can't even see the colors till there very close to the plug. Now I'm one who spends $30 a plug for good wood. What do you guys think of this?

Also he says that Stan Gibbs started the plug generation for stripers. Now I think he did sumthin but these guys now adays redesigned the plugs like John Habs, Ryan Smith, Mike Tattoo, etc. I Love my beachmasters but he thinks all this stuff is a waste to buy.

Just wanted to know what you all think of this. Thanks Guys!

[striprman]

I've caught stripers on cigarette butts

["uffah!!"]

Originally Posted by capecodkid

Was talking to my friend about plugs. He was saying that its useless to have all these custom wood plugs and different colors. He says that all plugs have white on the bottom and that the fish can't even see the colors till there very close to the plug. Now I'm one who spends $30 a plug for good wood. What do you guys think of this?

Also he says that Stan Gibbs started the plug generation for stripers. Now I think he did sumthin but these guys now adays redesigned the plugs like John Habs, Ryan Smith, Mike Tattoo, etc. I Love my beachmasters but he thinks all this stuff is a waste to buy.

Just wanted to know what you all think of this. Thanks Guys!

Hey CCK, are you sure your only 13 years old?? Your too smart!!!!

[capecodkid]

People think a 13 year old can't know his way around fishing, then you don't know me.

[numbskull]

Clueless friends come and go, a good stash of beachmasters is forever.

["uffah!!"]

Originally Posted by capecodkid

People think a 13 year old can't know his way around fishing, then you don't know me.

Thats not what I'm saying!! Fishing lures are designed to catch "Fishermen" not fish!!!!

[Vogt]

I for one dont feel that white is the only neccessary color, however I am a firm beleiver in Basic colors. My bags ussually consist of white, yellow , blue, and black plugs. I also feel that the action and size of the plug to match the forage is much more important than color.

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by "uffah!!"

Thats not what I'm saying!! Fishing lures are designed to catch "Fishermen" not fish!!!!

There is some truth to that, but I design them to catch fish, the others I make are pretty much copies of plugs that do catch fish not just fishermen.

Ask Fisheye about if the fish can see the top of the plugs color.

[Tagger]

Sometimes your friends right ,, alot of times he's not .. I'm sure you've been on the beach during fall run and everybody is throwing something different and everybody is on . The fish are competing for food . Doesn't matter what you throw, they are on it soon as it hits the water. Thats great but most the time your working for fish ,, Its like there are no fish .. Then you put the right plug on and your into them while others can't buy a hit .. I've been on the other end of it also watching fish taken while I skunk . . Keep collecting your plugs ,,maybe try your hand at building .. Some people just like the challenge of working life into a piece of wood/plastic/rubber and fooling a fish . I think your one of them .. Good question .. I think maybe Flap or somebody could give you the Gibbs story .. I know it spotty .. he knows it first hand or plug ..

[ChiefLinesider]

Originally Posted by capecodkid

Was talking to my friend about plugs. He was saying that its useless to have all these custom wood plugs and different colors.

You might want to rethink that friendship.


Only kidding.

Would love to see the look on his face though, when your hooking up with bass after bass. And his Non-custom lure isn't doing the job. If you like custom plugs, buy them. Theres nothing like fooling a bass into thinking a piece of wood is its next meal.

[In The Surf]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Clueless friends come and go, a good stash of beachmasters is forever.

You just made my night

[djfishes]

Match the forage is the name of the game. Let me ask you thi. Who catches more fish? If it's you then you have your answer. I have yet to buy a custome plug and the worst thing in the world for me last year was watching a guy slig a habbs slammin fish on every other cast while my little #^&#^&#^&#^&'s Sporting goods pulg only caught sea weed.
Stick with what you know. I know that i am changin, because i know that what i have been doing didn't work alot and i am changing LOL

[Notaro]

du, i like to use plugs, custom-made and manufacturekids. both of them work for me. its not a waste of money if it works for you.

[Rockport24]

yeah, hopefully FishEye chimes in because he just wrote about this very issue in one of his articles in the Fisherman. I think the basic idea was that the top of the plug reflects on the surface and fish see this.

[ripitsik]

This is actually a good time to chime in because since I went to both shows I was just in "aw" with so much stuff that is there. specifically wooden plugs. I want to get into timber this year. It would be my first time getting into due to the success that I have heard from others. I actually met with Donny AfterHours and spoke with him for a while (really nice guy). I ended up buying a nice topwater fatboy slider from him. I also bought to 9 inch pencils both in black and eel color that both weigh 3 oz and 3.5 oz. I wanted to ask you guys as a rookie, What type of timber should I buy and what "basic" color should I buy? I would like to buy about 150 bucks worth of timber in different types. I have everything else covered such as tins and rubbah. What do you guys think. Bascially I am trying to figure out what is everyone's "go to plug"

[Notaro]

Originally Posted by ripitsik

This is actually a good time to chime in because since I went to both shows I was just in "aw" with so much stuff that is there. specifically wooden plugs. I want to get into timber this year. It would be my first time getting into due to the success that I have heard from others. I actually met with Donny AfterHours and spoke with him for a while (really nice guy). I ended up buying a nice topwater fatboy slider from him. I also bought to 9 inch pencils both in black and eel color that both weigh 3 oz and 3.5 oz. I wanted to ask you guys as a rookie, What type of timber should I buy and what "basic" color should I buy? I would like to buy about 150 bucks worth of timber in different types. I have everything else covered such as tins and rubbah. What do you guys think. Bascially I am trying to figure out what is everyone's "go to plug"

u shld have gotten his spookster, too. do u want to buy swimming or topwater plugs?

[ripitsik]

both I would say. I have had many situation where I was not prepared enough with good top water plugs and was left to watching other pulling one after another. I am trying to keep that from happening again. I have always been a jigging or eeling type of guy and I was a different experience as well as more success

[ripitsik]

I also looked at Don's website and he's got some great stuff. He def. takes great pride in his finished work. Awesome guy though full of energy and will give anyone a helping hand with any questions.

[Notaro]

surf the search engine here. u will find a thread abt plugs colors. this will give u the basic ideas of what color of plugs u shld bring and etc.

[GattaFish]

It is absolutely true COLOR makes a difference in SOME conditions.

Then there is vibration/action and presentation. Some even say size of the eye,, But I am not convinced on that since I have some plugs with NO eyes that catch.

I have done well sticking to basic colors/patterns. Black, Yellow, White, Eel and never to forget my hot pink HAB's Night and Gale which served me very well last year in a certain spot with 20 kts of wind in my face while others around me caught NOTHING....

As far as custom plugs... Just keep using them because they work.

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by ripitsik

I ended up buying a nice topwater fatboy slider from him. I also bought to 9 inch pencils both in black and eel color that both weigh 3 oz and 3.5 oz. I wanted to ask you guys as a rookie, What type of timber should I buy and what "basic" color should I buy? I would like to buy about 150 bucks worth of timber in different types. I have everything else covered such as tins and rubbah. What do you guys think. Bascially I am trying to figure out what is everyone's "go to plug"

150 bucks = about seven wood plugs
If it were me I'd go with:

3 oz pencil popper white (or big spook)
medium danny yellow/white
big danny or A40 in blue/white
medium heavy needle (habs or beachmaster) in black or blurple
medium surface needle (afterhours/#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&/gibbs) in green/silver or white
3 oz blue/white gibbs bottle
3 oz Tatoo darter in yellow (or beachmaster if God loves you)
If you don't deal with moving water, swap out the darter for either a subsurface swimmer (night) or Polaris popper (day)...which ever you fish the most.
Combine those with a teaser and you can cover most situations you'll find yourself in pretty well. Good luck.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Numbskull...
had to check your math.. it didnt sound right 7 x $21.50 though...
damn they add up!

[The Dad Fisherman]

As long as you enjoy having/using them tell your buddy to go pound sand......it ain't about him.

Beside the one who dies with the most plugs wins

[BassDawg]

Don't listen to your ill-informed amigo!

It is a HUGE rush to fool a monster on wood!! So if you like this addiction that we all share to quality wood and the skilled craftsmanship that goes with it, tell your friend to stick wit his bait or whatever!

Fish do see the tops of the plugs via a little something called Snell's Window. This phenomenom occurs as the water refracts the image from directly above the water or, mirrors the top of the plug to the inspecting fish. Most feesh have keen eyesight and, like humans, Stripers have rods and cones thereby providing them great vision day or night in the proper conditions.

The distance our beloved prey can see is debatable with one school of thought stating they are nearsighted, while others believe they can see as far away as 100 feet in the upper levels of the water column under clear conditions. Either point is moot, once the Cow has decided to hit your wood, the color has been seen and zeroed in on!

So rock on wit yo bad seff, and keep on pluggin' if that's what lands you the most feesh!! Exspecially so, if your mate is gettin' skunked whilest you're haulin' in lahhhge, afta lahhhhge, afta LAHHHHGE!!!

[Al in Westport]

Hi CCK,

For me there is nothing like throwing wood. To be using a plug that someone you may know or have met, someone who put a lot of personal effort into making this pretty piece of wood that we hope will fool our favorite fish is tops. I use my share of plastic and rubber but for me the best is when I get a striper on a wooden popping plug, what a rush. As to color? Yes, I believe it makes a difference, perhaps not always, but enough. One other thing to consider...these plugs are made in the good ‘ol USA!

Al

[Tagger]

I've told this one before kid ... but not to you .. Gods honest truth .. Many years ago I was told "good fish at break of dawn " at this beach (capecod).. So I'm there like 4:00 am ,,, Its dark but lots of sillouettes moving around. As it gets lighter there's 50 guys there pretty close together all bohemouth casting to the center of the Atlantic . Name dropping ,,, Stan Kuzia ,Ron Arra, Carl Johanson ,,some OTW writers and a bunch of other heavies I don't know .. One guy(unknown) in the middle landed about 7 fish everyone eles got skunked .. Just so happened I parked near the guy and he showed me the plug . It was a Stan Gibbs polaris popper but it was a color that hadn't hit the market yet .. He was a friend of Gibbs and bought bunches of plugs direct .. The color was that Pogie color grey with the black dot on the side.. Everyone was throwing Polaris Poppers and Pencils just not that color . These guys are probably among the best that ever surf fished and names will definately be long remembered .. No doubt in my mind ...at times color matters most ..

[TC23]

That's like saying you only need one deer rifle and one duck gun. It may be factually accurate, but where is the joy? Oh where is the joy I ask you. You bought one plug from Donnie, I bought 4! AND I got a free hat to boot! That's livin baby, right there!

[tynan19]

Originally Posted by ripitsik

Bascially I am trying to figure out what is everyone's "go to plug"

Read the recent thread "If you could only have one" with the poll in it to find what is everyone's go to plug.

[Joe]

It does not matter what anyone thinks. One person could say color matters, one person could say color does not matter, they could go back and forth and at the end of the day neither person would change their opinion and the truths that they have found on their own would still be true - regardless of what other people think or say.
Fishing is an art, and when we start to question how people approach their fishing, we begin wandering into the subjective.

[Nebe]

color, silluoete, action.. combine all 3 and you have reached the golden apex of fooling a fish. its happened to me a few times where i was at the right place, found what the bait was, found the right offering in my bag that matched the bait, and was the right color... worked that bait just right... fish on almost every cast. Days like this you never forget..

so yes, all those speccial colors, all those special shapes, and all those plugs that have different actions make a big difference.