Cedar Plugs...can it get any simpler?

[Mr. Sandman]

For years I have marveled at how productive the cedar plug is and the size of some of the fish they take. As a kid I recall my Dad and Uncle dragging these things along with "Jap feathers" for tuna off Montauk in the 60's. Even today with all the super fancy spreader bars with life-like squid and full size fish lures in tow exotic jet and cone heads some setups costing upwards of $300+, the ol' $4.95 cedar plug still produces trip after trip. Just the other day I was talking to someone who found some tuna and tried all the expensive gear without success only to find the fish slamming cedar plugs every pass.

Can it get any simpler? most of them don't even have paint just a raw cedar plug with a lead head and a hook resting in the drilled out core on a leader.

A couple years ago we lost our last one and it seemed to be the only thing that was working. I jury-rigged a Habs needle . While not quite as productive as the original cedar, nevertheless it did indeed work and outfished a greenmachine . There is something special about this very simple almost cave-man like lure.

What is it about this plug that fish seem to like?