Jointed Needles

[Sea Dangles]

Originally Posted by numbskull

. A famous cape fisherman supposedly got a 61lb bass on a jointed Habs a few years ago

Quite the endorsement

[BassDawg]

What, now talk of Stetzko's Mr Wiggly??

Did not give it its full share of offerings as I was into Sluggos and live eeeeeeeeeeeeels for the first time last year and I fell in LOVE with their amazing catchability!!!

However with Mr Wiggly, I did land two sizeable schoolies and this would be qualified as a jointed swimmer with incredible action and water column presence (able to adjust to bottom, middle, top). Heavier than most swimmers and I was able to achieve greater distances than with a regular swimmer.

I am sure that given the "right place and right time" application this lure would tame sum COWS !!!

[RIROCKHOUND]

And the thing will fall apart on a decent fish.
Looks great, but it's fish catching and durability sucked...

Originally Posted by BassDawg

What, now talk of Stetzko's Mr Wiggly??

[Sea Dangles]

Not all jointed needles are created equal. This version SWIMS.

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

Not all jointed needles are created equal. This version SWIMS.

I've posted this before, but I think there is a lesson worth repeating. 15- 20 years ago, beach fishing the big hole on Tuckernuck, I got shut out using eels while two Nantucket guys on each side of me caught half a dozen 30-40 lb fish each using the smaller Rapala Slivers on which they had sanded off the ridge on the lip and loaded the rear (from the hook back) with split shots. Damnn things just dove into the shelf of the beach and bumped up the slope with the tail wiggling in the outwash. If they hadn't been there I'd have fished eels all night confident there where no fish to be found. I'll try to post a picture of their idea this pm.
PS Eventually I switched to SS needles and did no better, live and learn.

[numbskull]

Something those of you who use spinning tackle on sand beaches with steep shelves might want to try. Most of the scratches on this plug are from bass. First picture shows the lead (split shots) second shows the ground lip. Upgrade your hooks. Saw some serious bass beached on these little things by some Nantucket guys who knew what they were doing big time.

[Skitterpop]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Something those of you who use spinning tackle on sand beaches with steep shelves might want to try. Most of the scratches on this plug are from bass. First picture shows the lead (split shots) second shows the ground lip. Upgrade your hooks. Saw some serious bass beached on these little things by some Nantucket guys who knew what they were doing big time.

and....... some of the older Rapalas with the diving lips will work like these. Not jointed but fishy. Bunch of sizes to pick from to,

[Rockfish9]

I happen to like jointed plugs, I've caught alot of fish on them, there is a time and a place for everything.. I've never seen the need or felt I could gain an advantage from building a jointed needle...so I personaly have never done it, I kind of feel the same way about darters... I have built a jointed one,, even caught a few fish on it, but felt that it was a wsted effort, the best qualities of the darter were lost in the joint....

[DZ]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Something those of you who use spinning tackle on sand beaches with steep shelves might want to try. Most of the scratches on this plug are from bass. First picture shows the lead (split shots) second shows the ground lip. Upgrade your hooks. Saw some serious bass beached on these little things by some Nantucket guys who knew what they were doing big time.

George,
Boy does that plug bring back memories! When the needlefish were hot in the 80s I remember seeing those rapalas at the Eastern Outdoor show when it was in Boxborough. We were very keen on "slim" plugs and they looked like they'd fit the bill. We talked to the Rapala rep about them and asked if they would ever be made with smaller lips - he said no. We did get a few and ground down the lip but they still swam to deep for us. I never thought of the loading idea. I'm glad someone figured out what to do with that plug.

You can probably see that most good jointed plugs come with a lip. I've tried to put lips on various needles with no luck - the ass end of a traditional needle is to heavy to swing. The back end has to be light to swing but them you lose the casting capability. I've always been looking for a needle that could swim just a little bit more - I even put Slipknot to work on one but it didn't pan out.

DZ

[Sea Dangles]

Rebel Jawbraker has a place in the bag too.

[Skitterpop]

Originally Posted by DZ

George,
Boy does that plug bring back memories! When the needlefish were hot in the 80s I remember seeing those rapalas at the Eastern Outdoor show when it was in Boxborough. We were very keen on "slim" plugs and they looked like they'd fit the bill. We talked to the Rapala rep about them and asked if they would ever be made with smaller lips - he said no. We did get a few and ground down the lip but they still swam to deep for us. I never thought of the loading idea. I'm glad someone figured out what to do with that plug.

You can probably see that most good jointed plugs come with a lip. I've tried to put lips on various needles with no luck - the ass end of a traditional needle is to heavy to swing. The back end has to be light to swing but them you lose the casting capability. I've always been looking for a needle that could swim just a little bit more - I even put Slipknot to work on one but it didn't pan out.

DZ

Why could`nt you use a maple front end and a floater pine tail end?

[Mr. Sandman]

Originally Posted by numbskull

I've posted this before, but I think there is a lesson worth repeating. 15- 20 years ago, beach fishing the big hole on Tuckernuck, I got shut out using eels while two Nantucket guys on each side of me caught half a dozen 30-40 lb fish each using the smaller Rapala Slivers on which they had sanded off the ridge on the lip and loaded the rear (from the hook back) with split shots. Damnn things just dove into the shelf of the beach and bumped up the slope with the tail wiggling in the outwash. If they hadn't been there I'd have fished eels all night confident there where no fish to be found. I'll try to post a picture of their idea this pm.
PS Eventually I switched to SS needles and did no better, live and learn.

Numb,

This is a great post and why I love this site. I use this lure a lot from the boat but I like the mods and the surf story. I was wondering what difference you saw in action when grinding off the lip edge?

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

Numb,

This is a great post and why I love this site. I use this lure a lot from the boat but I like the mods and the surf story. I was wondering what difference you saw in action when grinding off the lip edge?

Deadens the action quite a bit, but makes the plug more fishable from shore. You can feel it bump the bottom and vibrate a little in the backwash.........I've only fished them at night but they must look pretty natural to bass grubbing on sandeels.

BTW, cool calender you've got this year. Just ordered several and the DVD. Ariel photos of the places you fish are incredibly useful.

[Mr. Sandman]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Deadens the action quite a bit, but makes the plug more fishable from shore. You can feel it bump the bottom and vibrate a little in the backwash.........I've only fished them at night but they must look pretty natural to bass grubbing on sandeels.

BTW, cool calender you've got this year. Just ordered several and the DVD. Ariel photos of the places you fish are incredibly useful.

Glad you like the photos thanks for the feedback. They will get better in future seasons. I plan to have them out eariler in 08 and will have a fly over video on next years. Also, this year I have some nice goodies on the Disk, ie some hi-res bottom mappint of Quicks hole.

Getting back to the topic, I switched to this plug because it is MUCH better built then that POS fasttrac that others rave about. From the boat the sliver tolls better at higher speed and bones and albies love it. Also it can stand up to real abuse which the others can not.

That said, I have never fished it from the shore. After seeing your post I will give it a go this year though and it looks like a good winter project to mod a few of them.

Again thanks.
Jim