Metal Lip Swimmers - Poll

[EricM]

To toss out a number, I will venture 5%...though there have been times and places when ONLY metal lips are doing the reaper's work on the fatties.

[NEXT2NUN]

Trolled on wire I'm sure a lot of commercial guys are catching tons on them!

[Clogston29]

I'd say that the percentage is low, especially with the amount caught on pogies and eels from boats. Even if limited to percentage of 40s in the surf, I'd say the number would be low, say around 5%. Eels, chunks, soft plastics, needles and finish swimmers would all take more large fish IMO.

That being said, and as others have said, there's just something fun about fishing them. I had a bass of 35-40# follow a yellow troublemaker danny the whole retreive on BI last fall, coming up right behind it and dropping further back, only to hit when the plug got pulled back by the undertoe. The hit was in so close that I really didn't have a chance to fight the fish and lost it to pulled hooks pretty quickly. I'll never forget watching that fish stalk the plug though. That's why I love and continue to fish metal lips even though they are a "heartbreak" plug as someone else said. Largest fish I've manage to land on was in the upper 30# range.

[Backbeach Jake]

My largest to date and a very high percentage of schoolies. My metal lip about 5" long. Larger ones I don't do as well with. My thoughts on that would be that the smaller plug fits in the mouth-the whole plug. The larger plug doesn't, and a larger lip might act as a shield to the hook. I've puzzled on that for a long time, Tagger suggested that reason, he's wicked smaht you know. Makes sense to me..

[baldwin]

I take some of my nicest fish each year on Dannys. Love them.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Backbeach Jake

Tagger suggested that reason, he's wicked smaht you know. Makes sense to me..

Freekin Tagga, always thinkin,
coming up with new ideas and theories for the plug builders Think Tank.

[Clogston29]

I think larger metal lips give the fish more to throw around when they shake their head, making it easier for them to throw the hook. The size of the body prevents many fish from getting it in their mouths and forces the mouth open and shields the hooks during the hook set when fish do get the whole plug in their mouth. The result seams to be alot of fish hooked in the soft tissue around the fish's mouth, rather than the boney inside of the mouth, where the trebles of needles and finish swimmers usually end up.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Backbeach Jake

The larger plug doesn't, and a larger lip might act as a shield to the hook. I've puzzled on that for a long time, Tagger suggested that reason, he's wicked smaht you know.

I'm a dummy .... I think numbskull suggested metal lip sheilding that first hook .. My problem with the smaller danny is 2/0 hooks .. I fish a min. of 3/0 on a plug and not sure if I like my odds on a big fish with that . vmc wire diam doesn't jump up until 5/0,, havn't gone to 6x yet .. My big fish plug has been a needle .. I'd be willing to wager a good needle will kick a good dannys arse as far as big fish go .. You can get a needle right down in front of thier face ,, where they lay ..