Studs and Duds...lets see em and hear the stories

[Diggin Jiggin]

My plan for the year fell apart in may. I went into the season having built a 126mh arra and a ton of big plugs to fish with it, then I got a wet suit in may and fished mostly lighter gear and eels so I didn't even fish most of the big stuff I made last year

I poured and fished a ton of rubber this year, seems like I fished a lot more black than in prior years. Most of the pearl white stuff I poured I never used.

I did ok with pencils this spring. I had some good fish size wise but never really had a lot of fish numbers wise... Seemed like I was always a day early or a day late... That bottom pencil with the peeling paint was one I swapped for at plugfest. Has real nice action and its a lot lighter than mine. I had a few fish mid 20's on it, but I forget who built it ??

Black darters were good to me and are about the only thing in my night time bag that don't get rotated out.

[Diggin Jiggin]

This fall was needles, eels and bucktails. I had my first (and only) really good night with needles including my first 30 on a needle. Top 2 needles in the picture are floaters and I did well with those 2 that night. I also did well with maple ones like the one below them but I lost 2 or 3 of the ones I used that night.

The one thing that was a bust for me was 'sealed' plugs with hangers. I thought they'd wear better if I could keep the water out but the bottom darter in my prior post with the big chunk of paint missing taken out had a fish get both hooks in a funny position that made the belly treble dig into the plug and rip it up. The other thing I had trouble with was the plumbers epoxy on the tail wraps. I had that crack on these 2 plugs. Maybe its the way I wrap the tail loop as mine are always 2 or 3 twists long.

[the greek]

Originally Posted by Diggin Jiggin

That bottom pencil with the peeling paint was one I swapped for at plugfest. Has real nice action and its a lot lighter than mine. I had a few fish mid 20's on it, but I forget who built it ??

That pencil was one I built. You can tell real easy by the peeling paint . Glad it got a few fish for you.

[Diggin Jiggin]

Originally Posted by the greek

That pencil was one I built. You can tell real easy by the peeling paint . Glad it got a few fish for you.

I got one of my favorite fish of the year blind casting that pencil in the back of a dying rip @ sunset one night. Funny how every year you get a few fish that really stand out in your memory. I'll re-paint it for next year... Same color too