trial and error?

[Jigman]

Pick one type of plug that you like to throw a lot. Pick a set of conditions that you typically fish. Now make something to fit those conditions. Once you have one down well that is catching, move onto another type of plug/conditions.

Jigman

[Rockfish9]

My head hurts from reading all this... but I do admire your enthusiasim.

First off, I only scanned this thread, as I said, my head hurts...if you think, you can not "waste a bunch of wood" your picking the wrong hobby.... there will be waste..... as others have said, decide what it is you want the plug to do, where you are going to fish and procede from there.... your going to have to spend some time studying how bait fish react under various conditions, your going to have to keep notes, you will want to make your plug acts like a baitfish acts.... then by changing shapes of your plug, adding or subtracting weight you will begin to see patterns, the learning curve will quicken, but you must be willing to invest time, be studious and not be afraid of failure.. this site can give you a tremendous head start... but it's gonna take some hard work....

good luck
Roc