Lip Descriptions

[BigFish]

Example: I studied/tested and fished several "Surfsters" when I was designing my "Prey" swimmer. All the models I tried rolled 180 degrees and were unweighted......and I hated them! I was looking for less roll and more wiggle. I simply dropped a shot of "00" in the belly to give it more keel effect along with the 3/0 hooks and achieved the desired action. Just that subtle change with the same lip radically changed the action of the "surfster" style "Prey". I believe weighting will have more to do with the action of a particular plug than will the lip. My .02 cents.....in this economy might not be worth that much but there it is.

[The Dad Fisherman]

I agree with that 100%...thats not what I'm saying. adding weight will definitely have an effect on the way a plug swims. But we are talking basic characteristics of the lip only. How does its differences make the plug act.

Now take that same prey swimmer w/ the 00 weight and put a different lip on it. It will swim different now...Why? The lip is obviously changing the way the water is being "Pushed" as the plug is retrieved.

Does a thinner profile lip pust the water over the top of the plug where a larger profile lip tends to push the water to the side? or More water over the top.

Does a longer lip tend to push more water over the top as compared to a shorter lip?

What effect can you expect when you pick a certain lip?

This is all food for thought.....

Originally Posted by BigFish

Example: I studied/tested and fished several "Surfsters" when I was designing my "Prey" swimmer. All the models I tried rolled 180 degrees and were unweighted......and I hated them! I was looking for less roll and more wiggle. I simply dropped a shot of "00" in the belly to give it more keel effect along with the 3/0 hooks and achieved the desired action. Just that subtle change with the same lip radically changed the action of the "surfster" style "Prey". I believe weighting will have more to do with the action of a particular plug than will the lip. My .02 cents.....in this economy might not be worth that much but there it is.

[BigFish]

But the lip is the same on both plugs......the only difference being the weight. If I had no weight it would roll 180 degrees as you say the water is riding in the cup of the surfster lip causing it to "roll"......but the wdded keel weight subdues the action giving more wiggle and less roll. I guess all I am saying is that there is no "inherent" action in any lip as the action of that lip will be predicated on the plugs design! Ask any 5 builders Sandman's question about any one lip design and you will get 5 different answers is all I am saying. Good discussion though.....I like it! Always love to hear what George's thoughts are!

[Jigman]

I think numbskull summed it up pretty well.

Originally Posted by BigFish

.... I simply dropped a shot of "00" in the belly to give it more keel effect along with the 3/0 hooks and achieved the desired action. ... I believe weighting will have more to do with the action of a particular plug than will the lip. ...

In your example, you are adding other factors besides the lip. I believe the lip does play a big role in the action of the plug. As an example, I do up a medium sized surfster. It will also swim well with a pikie lip in it (hybrid surfster). Same wood, size/shape, hook configurations, etc. Everthing the same except the lip. I have two plugs with very different actions.

In general, wider lip gives more wobble/roll, narrower lip a tighter wiggle less roll. Yes, you can mess with other factors and get the desired results, like Larry's example. However, I know when I am designing a new plug, after I've gotten the shape down the first thing I consider is what lip to use to get the action I am after. If I am after a wide wobble, I grab a pikie lip first. If I want a tighter wiggle, I go for the danny lip. Lefty lip is somewhere in between. Those at least give me starting points. After that its weight location/amount and hook configuration.

Jigman

[smac]

I keep it simple . May be a little crude, but it worked great for me this winter.

One thing I learned,was to not drill the belly whole if any. I brought a goodie bag of lips, electrical tape, and various size belly weights to the waters edge and froze my azz of testing everything in different combos.