e bay beachmaster danny bid @ $91

[caumsett]

I have read all of your comments with great interest, obviously, since many of the posts on this thread are directed at me. However, despite the fact that I would be in my right to become very aggressive and slam everyone with derogatory remarks and labels that would ruin what little credibility I may have left in your eyes, I will instead carefully word my response so as to be as objective, factual and mature as possible, given the circumstances. This is going to be a long one, so I hope I don’t bore you half way down:

My first reaction after reading the first few posts was one of amusement. I initially felt that this thread was going to be like yet another one of those endless diatribes in which certain groups of surf casters knock the “new guys” (i.e., anyone not over 60, has a job and/or young kids and doesn’t have hours of free time to spend taking down reels each week) for owning 4-5 maintenance-free Van Staals – or for even owning one. However, I have found that when you peel away the layers of the onion you find that most of those individuals in this group would actually (and often secretly) admit to loving to own one, but they are either on a fixed income so they can’t afford it, or cannot mentally justify the dollars necessary, so instead they revert to sour grapes and put down what they cannot possess. After a few minutes of thinking about this, my level of amusement increased, as I see those same traits going on in this “Knock the EBayer” thread. I felt a little better.

As I read on, my amusement turned to mild annoyance. Instead of the usual good-natured ribbing and banter, I began to see outright attacks. ChiefLinsider wrote “he beat me out for a yellow bm danny months ago. also for some old rebel windcheaters.” Interesting. This indicates that ChiefLinesider was one of those who bid along with me for these plugs. Does that not put him in the same “spendthrift” category as I? I don’t recall how high he bid, but it would seem that if he was bidding he was interested in winning and we all know what it takes to do that – you have to be high bidder, obviously. However, since he did not win the plugs, and I did, he decided to denounce me. Why? Chief, if you really wanted the plugs that badly, you would have won them by outbidding me. That’s all fair and square; this is how this EBay thing works. I am sorry that you did not win the auction, but it is a free economy. Please do not knock me for my successes. I don’t know you but I am sure that you are an excellent fisherman based upon your desire to capture these great lures, so it is beneath you to resort to derogatory comments.

I then came across a post from Jimmy Z, which really upset me. He wrote “This buyer has been outbidding folks on lures for a while now. I know that name” and then he felt the need to add a puking icon. Well, what can I say? He must hate me so much that he wants to throw up all over me – right? It’s amazing that someone can feel that way about someone else when they have never even met. I sent him a very polite PM and asked him to please state his feelings about me man-to-man, one-on-one. What I received back was, despite being polite, essentially a non-response. You know sometimes you will see someone talk behind someone’s else’s back, but then when the victim confronts the attacker in a very non-confrontational manner, the attacker suddenly becomes nice and polite and says things like “Hey, just kidding, you’re really not such a bad guy” etc. etc.? The moment the victim walks away, the attacker mutters something like, “Geez, what a tool!” You see, when people attack someone in a public place (like on this board) but do a complete about-face when confronted, that person is being disingenuous. It is difficult to trust such an individual. Jimmy Z, I do not hate you for what you did but I would have actually felt better if you just came back to me with an honest response. If you really think I’m “OK” then what was your intention for the post?

I was also told that my bidding practices make the whole process “one-sided”. What does that mean? Well, I assume it means that I am monopolizing EBay. So where is the crime in that? Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the whole idea of bidding to deliberately make the results one-sided (i.e., in your favor)? If this means that I am being “unfair” that’s really not relevant. If you were to go to a new car dealership and offered to pay less than the guy standing next to you, does that make the other buyer “unfair” because he chose to pony up more cash than you did? Not at all.

Does Jimmy Z hate me because I win auctions, or because I outbid him? I really don’t know and honestly it doesn’t really matter.

The bottom line is, it’s my money and I do have the right to spend it as I see fit.

It seems more like the problem is not that I am a spendthrift, but that I simply have won several auctions and for that alone I am being singled-out!

I know some guys who have 37 reels and 84 rods. Why? I don’t care? That’s their affectation and they have chosen to spend their money as they are entitled to. No harsh words from me.

PS – I saw a mackerel jointed Pichney that sold on eBay a few weeks ago for well over $600. Does anyone know who bought that one? I did not see anything in this forum about that. I believe I know who bought it but I am not about to bad-mouth him. First of all, I have nothing bad to say anyway. It’s not like I’m just “holding back” from making my feelings public. The truth be told, I personally think it’s extreme and over-the-top – but that’s as far as I would go. Does the person have the $ to cover it? I assume he has plenty. Good for him and I congratulate him on being able to afford it. Would I spend that much on a plug? No.

Speaking about plugs: I am not a collector. Again, I repeat: I am NOT a collector. We have two little kids in the house so displaying lures would just be too much of a draw for them (ouch) and I have no interest in staring at vintage lures anyway. I buy lures to fish with – period.

If you met me, you would find that I am a fairly accomplished surf caster that has been fishing in the surf for at least 34 years. “Due to kids” (my favorite excuse) I have not fished as hard in the last few years as I used to - priorities change. However, I still get many, many innings all over the Island. I enjoy all aspects of the game – from quiet backwaters and marshes to raging currents while wetsuiting insane locations, to everything in between.

I don’t have a lot of time to play around, so I chose quality, dependable tackle – and what is known to work.

With that said, this is why, when I am in the wooden plug market, to choose predominantly Beachmaster as my main source. I have found that they work well and they are consistent. We all know that Bobby was Danny Pichney’s understudy. Who else can make that claim? That alone speaks volumes about the plug.

Why do we see so many auctions for Beachmaster plugs? Because they are in demand. Bobby’s product has an incredibly smooth, flawless finish, his plugs are very consistent and they catch fish – and people will pay for them. They are hard to find. They are not produced on a regular schedule. I don’t know where the info comes from as to how I will be feeling buyer’s remorse a year now when BM Dannys will be available at $20 a pop, but my sources tell me that they are not going to be made for quite some time. So you can wait and wait and wait – or you can buy what you can get your hands on now.

Are there many, many other premium plugs out there? Of course there are. I am not going to start dropping names as we all know the top builders but each and every one of them turns out a quality product. I have many plugs from various builders and I would say that for the most part I have not been disappointed. However, once again, it comes down to confidence. I am simply more confident with Beachmaster plugs.

The world does not revolve around what you can build yourself. There are many of us out there that do not have the time, space and dedication to create our own lures. If you can do so, I applaud you.

Are genuine Pichneys “magical”? I may get slammed for writing this – but I don’t think so. I doubt that over the course of a year you would see a difference between the number of fish caught on a genuine Pinchney Danny versus a Beachmaster version in the same color & size. Given that, is there any reason to spend $150 on a genuine Pichney Danny Plug to fish with it when you can have a BM for $30-$40-$50 (let’s forget about my $91 bid for a moment  LOL!)? I don’t think there is. However, there is a question of availability. BM Dannys are very hard to come by in the basic, down-to-earth colors. At least I have found this to be true. This tends to drive the price up. Ultimately, if you want one, you will have to pay for it to get it.

Could you get a genuine yellow Danny made by Pichney? Doubtful for that price. Did he even make these in yellow? I have never seen one. But we know that yellow is a great color.

Now, what about plugs that are more or less unique to Pichney such as Conrads, Slope-Heads, Sandeel Swimmers etc? Again, correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t see too many of these styles out there by other builders. If you want one of these, expect to pay for it.

I would like to end by stating that I am surprised at the number of parochial attitudes on this board. Admittedly, I have spent a lot of money on plugs. But I have the money to spend. That’s not a gloat, it is fact. Am I wealthy? Not all all. I work hard for a living. However, I have the means to buy what I want and I find it small-minded to judge those who are able to do so.