Is this the Place?

[the greek]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Nice plugs, Ted. Look like they "fit the lip" better than the actual originals did. How wide did you make them?

I made the plug as wide as the lip at the widest point which is where the rear taper starts. I like the one I did from pine the best. That is the yellow one. I made the others from cypress and they weigh exactly the same as the pine one. Swim is different. I know I should have expected it but it surprised me how different. I can get the pine one to swim subsurface and is pretty stable but the cypress ones won't leave the top. They are also pretty unstable and will roll out if cranked hard but leave a big wake with alot of tail wag. These are my first attempts at a forty and at least I have somewhere to go from here. I wish I had access to some of the older plugs like you guys seem to have. Trying to find them let alone people to bounce ideas off here is difficult at best here.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by the greek

These are my first attempts at a forty and at least I have somewhere to go from here. I wish I had access to some of the older plugs like you guys seem to have. Trying to find them let alone people to bounce ideas off here is difficult at best here.

Ted ... you can borrow mine for models ,,either pic up at fest or since your working on them now ,I could mail em .. should copy the jr. to for future referrence,, fatter,,stubbier than bm and others ..

[the greek]

Originally Posted by Tagger

Ted ... you can borrow mine for models ,,either pic up at fest or since your working on them now ,I could mail em .. should copy the jr. to for future referrence,, fatter,,stubbier than bm and others ..

That would be great. I would love to at least take a look at some at plugfest.

[the greek]

Also I hope what I wrote did not come across wrong. When I said trying to bounce ideas off someone here is difficult, I meant here where I'm at in PA not here in this forum. Everyone here has always been helpful to me.

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by the greek

I can get the pine one to swim subsurface and is pretty stable but the cypress ones won't leave the top. They are also pretty unstable and will roll out if cranked hard but leave a big wake with alot of tail wag. .

Have you tried bending the line tie up to get them down? If no go, try tweaking the lip upwards a touch.

[the greek]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Have you tried bending the line tie up to get them down? If no go, try tweaking the lip upwards a touch.

I tried playing with the line tie a little. Not much help. Also tried swapping out the 3/0 that are on there with 4/0 and not much different either. May go a bit higher with my lipslot on another and see what happens. Also if I can find some AYC big enough I may try one with that and see what happens. I will try bending the lip up a bit as you suggested.

[eskimo]

Originally Posted by the greek

I made the plug as wide as the lip at the widest point which is where the rear taper starts. I like the one I did from pine the best. That is the yellow one. I made the others from cypress and they weigh exactly the same as the pine one. Swim is different. I know I should have expected it but it surprised me how different. I can get the pine one to swim subsurface and is pretty stable but the cypress ones won't leave the top. They are also pretty unstable and will roll out if cranked hard but leave a big wake with alot of tail wag. These are my first attempts at a forty and at least I have somewhere to go from here. I wish I had access to some of the older plugs like you guys seem to have. Trying to find them let alone people to bounce ideas off here is difficult at best here.

I've ran into that with some musso's.

I wanted to try both pine and basswood just for kick's and although the weight came up the same the basswood version seem to be a little more sluggish (or so I thought), which might not be a bad thing.

Included a basswood proto on the next round and wasn't sure if it was me or not but I thought it swam a little sluggish again, compared to the pine. Might be the sealer absorption although the weight is the same OR its just how that wood reacts.

or it's just me.

[eskimo]

From this weekend.

Figured I would try out a couple different kinds of spooks. offset vs. non-offset, narrower vs fatter head etc.

I fished some traditional ones I made last year when I would stay out until first light and the water was flat. walked nicely just couldn't cast em.

Also, two pencils and two polaris's I gave away for Christmas. I was going for squid but I think I end up with linoleum flooring.

[Jigman]

Originally Posted by eskimo

... walked nicely just couldn't cast em....

Spooks can be decent casters, but will not cast as well as a pencil or a regular popper. You can increase their casting distance some by making them more aerodynamic. If you try increasing the lead you'll make them harder to walk. If you are after a topwater, daytime plug that will cast real well, stick with a pencil or polaris popper.

Jigman

[BigFish]

I have to disagree with Jigman based on my personal experience. A spook I make casts equally as well as my pencil and absolutely slays fish equally, if not better, than my pencils. Aerodynamic is the key as Jigman said. Jigman, I have never fished the famous JigSmith but many of my friends have.....I know that sucker is a fish slayer but I would imagine it must cast very well??

[eskimo]

Originally Posted by eskimo

walked nicely just couldn't cast em.

Originally Posted by Jigman

Spooks can be decent casters...

Hence messing with a few different shapes.

Not looking for the distance of a pencil. Just seeing what I can get out of them with a little compromising. I also haven't fished one of your spooks or your collaboration spooks but have been inspired by just the design.

[Jigman]

Larry,

That spook casts well, just not as well as a pencil. If I am going for distance, I'm thinking pencil.

Jigman

[ProfessorM]

Originally Posted by eskimo

From this weekend.

Figured I would try out a couple different kinds of spooks. offset vs. non-offset, narrower vs fatter head etc.

I fished some traditional ones I made last year when I would stay out until first light and the water was flat. walked nicely just couldn't cast em.

Also, two pencils and two polaris's I gave away for Christmas. I was going for squid but I think I end up with linoleum flooring.

All look great . Nicely done.

Speaking of spooks here is what I have settled on from a few years of fiddling around. For me first was the Youzui Hydro pencil,which to me is a spook , but I luv that plug and used it a lot so then I tried to make something similar thus the white thing. Worked good but kept tinkering. Then I was lucky enough to get one of Andrews plugs and really liked that, low line tie. So I tried to combine the jigman and the youzuri together. I sanded off the paint on the hydro pencil to find the weight basically in the middle of the plug. It also was pretty much where jigman put his belly weight so I settled on that location and drilled and weighted the plug perpendicular to the hooks and bottom of the plug. You can see weight hole in pic. I put lead flush from one side to other. A lot of work but I like the results. I did real well on the plug last year so that is what it will be. I much prefer it out of red cedar too. It cast's great but I am fishing it out of a boat, which to me is the optimum way to fish any spook. Standing with rod tip on the water to me gets the best action..
I also can't say enough good things about the howdy as it is my best catcher every spring, also made of red cedar. Fish can't resist that plug in spring Flap used to laugh at me out in our tin boats on the flats because I would verbally defy the fish to hit that plug. They just could not resit. I t was like crack for fish.

[eskimo]

Those are awesome P.

noticed the weight hole when you first posted and it got me thinking Is the older version with out the lower line tie weighted side to side as well? I tried weighing a needle from side to side last year but up forward behind the eyes.

Lots of times while on the rocks I will still fish spooks with my rod tip down making angled sweeps. A lot less violent (which I like) then fishing them as a pencil but from a boat is ideal.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

All look great . Nicely done.

Speaking of spooks here is what I have settled on from a few years of fiddling around. For me first was the Youzui Hydro pencil,which to me is a spook ,



Standing with rod tip on the water to me gets the best action..

Thanks Paul ,, I've never fished that Youzui,, another plug I'll have to buy ..

Thanks again .. Numby yells at me for fishing a spook like that ,, I'll snap the rod up once in a while but prefer to keep the nose down in the water .. Either popping the rod down or to the side ..

[Backbeach Jake]

Thanks a million, Paul. I'd never have thought of that, but once shown ,makes perfect sense. Yaw inducing weighting. Brilliant!

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

I sanded off the paint on the hydro pencil to find the weight basically in the middle of the plug. It also was pretty much where jigman put his belly weight so I settled on that location and drilled and weighted the plug perpendicular to the hooks and bottom of the plug. You can see weight hole in pic. I put lead flush from one side to other.

Paul .. That horizontal hole you drilled side to side in your spook,, Is that below the center of the plug .. Thanks .. can't tell from pic .. looks like thru wire is towards top of hole ..

George ,, I really like the predator head/bottle plug .. I think your on to something .. I'm gonna copy .. brillant .

[Diggin Jiggin]

Well I finally got some stuff started, using soft maple.

I've been messing with the Donny shape that George posted dimensions of for me a few weeks ago. In addition to the surface swimmer it was intended as, I also wanted to experiment with it to see if I could get a deep swimmer with that same basic body shape.

I've also been adding a small tail weight to them and I like having only 1 belly hook so that throws the weighting off a bit so I've done a lot of test swimming this week.

For the lipless diver I extended the nose of the plug 1" and then copied the basic nike head shape. I ended up having to move the line tie higher, and making the head a little larger than the lipped swimmer to increase the size of the diving plane. I also ended up moving the weight forward of the belly hook to get it to dig in. It drops down 2-3 feet on a slow retrieve and will go deeper in current. It swims with a pretty wide wobble, turns left/right about twice as often as a darter.
Its pretty much what I wanted, we'll just have to see if the fish like it next spring.

I also had tried some 2 belly hook versions of the diver, but once I got the single belly hooked ones worked out I decided to turn the 2 belly hooked ones into jointeds. The first one I tried swam great but was just barely subsurface maybe 2-3". I turned a slightly thinner one yesterday that I'm hoping will go deeper.

I also turned some darters but haven't gotten to the point where I screw them up yet.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Diggin Jiggin

I also turned some darters but haven't gotten to the point where I screw them up yet.

Don't scew them up ... take some time and make a sled ... Take one of those blanks and rip it in half . Lay it on a block of wood like a darter blank and trace ,(bandsaw),leave some stock in the back (arse of plug).. mark where you want your belly hole .. On sled drill out belly hole and glue in a 3/8 dowel there or whatever you, you use for a belly hole .. In back of sled drill hole where the arse hole of plug is .. Now pre drill belly/arse of blanks ,, slip belly hole of blank over the dowel and screw the arse with and 1.5 drywall screw .. Blank should be held firmly in the sled so you can make square cuts at 90 degrees ..(bandsaw),, Make a pattern ,, trace darter profile,, leave a little line .. touch up beltsander to line ..

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Diggin Jiggin

I also turned some darters but haven't gotten to the point where I screw them up yet.

forgot ... also make a "bed" too .. Same thing as sled minus belly dowell and arse screw part .. Use this on your drill press table to drill belly holes in blanks .. So blanks aren't all rolly poly and belly holes drill square .. if that makes any sense

[ProfessorM]

Originally Posted by Tagger

Paul .. That horizontal hole you drilled side to side in your spook,, Is that below the center of the plug .. Thanks .. can't tell from pic .. looks like thru wire is towards top of hole ..

G.

right thru on center and redrill lead after. The Youzuri had a round ball like a 00 buckshot and was on center. I have not put one below center but might be worth a shot. I also put a belly weight right directly below the horizontal weight too but to be honest i can tell which one it is as I made several last year and hid the darn weights so well i couldn't tell which was which so i disassembled the ones that i used that i liked and found out where the weight was but have not found the one with the belly and thu weight yet. I may not have swam it last year. I now don't try to be too fussy with belly weights so i can tell what I did.