Suspending Needles

[Eric Roach]

These all suspend (actually sink extremely slowly).
The first two walk/dart due to the shoulders & lead placement.

Specs' from top to bottom:

• 8.25", 3.1 oz, hard maple
• 6.5", 1.7 oz, hard maple
• 6", .65 oz, hard maple

The one in the middle is already gone -- it was gouged to hell and I finally lost it to a good fish the other night. This is the first needle I've built that I could swim exactly like a tandem-rigged Slug-Go.

The sand eel needle only casts a hair further than a rigged Slug-Go, but has come in handy on finicky fish.

[chefchris401]

top one has a similiar shape to your pencil spook.

i love suspending needles, try the surf asylum flat glide, very versatile plug.

that sand eel is sweet.

[PNG]

Very nice Eric. What are you sealing the maple with. I found CPES effective not urethane. The urethane sealed plugs split however I was using soft maple again nice job

[Eric Roach]

Originally Posted by chefchris401

...try the surf asylum flat glide, very versatile plug.

I need to pick up one of those plugs -- everyone seems to rave about them.

[Eric Roach]

Originally Posted by PNG

...What are you sealing the maple with...

I use a Xylene-thinned epoxy called ESP 155. I microwave the plug for 10-15 seconds before I pour the epoxy back and forth over it. In a hot box (about 85 degrees) the epoxy cures in about three hours. I've never had a hardwood plug split with this sealer.

[numbskull]

Elegant stuff. Part glider, part needle. Do they "walk" subsurface or on top?

[WoodyCT]

Those are really neat Eric!

Nice to see outside the box plugs.

Keep up the good work.
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[ProfessorM]

beautiful looking plugs

[Eric Roach]

Originally Posted by numbskull

...Do they "walk" subsurface or on top?

Subsurface. I've had to play with the design to get them to dart horizontally -- the water resistance against the hooks causes them to dip down when twitched so I had to angle the lip to cancel it out.

The larger design gets a lot of hits with a slow & steady retrieve then pause/twitch/pause.

I really enjoy(ed) fishing the smaller one, it walked/glided very well and stayed level even in current. I just twitch-retrieved it at a good clip and it got smacked around.

[Eric Roach]

Thanks all for the comments.

[spence]

Nice, I made some similar to the bottom one years ago though my paint wasn't as fancy...

-spence

[blondterror]

This is an incredible family of needles... love the look and I bet them catch as well as they look..

[JMAC_kerel]

Nice work. I like the shapes, subtle colors, and gill detail. I am also a fan of very slow sink (suspending) plugs that the angler gives the action to.

[Charleston]

Real nice looking plugs Eric. Good work.

[Eric Roach]

Thanks again.

I had a thread going about the math of buoyancy a while back, as I was trying to figure out the lead to get these to suspend. As it turned out (and as several of you mentioned), I couldn't do it exactly via math; the smaller the plug, the less tolerant it was to slight differences.

If anyone wants to try suspending plugs, this is what I learned:

• Fill a 5 gallon bucket of seawater and add 1.5 cups of bleach to kill the organisms -- this is your test tank; if you have to use tap water, remember that the lure will be more buoyant when you use it in saltwater.
• Seal and wire/screw-eye your plug and rig it with the split rings and hooks you want to use.
• If you use a snap like a Breakaway or Tactical Angler etc., remember to rig it on your plug when weighting -- it will make a difference.
• Using the tank, try different belly/tail weights until it "suspends" the way you like (I go for a slight, level sink).
• At this point, you are ready to epoxy your belly weight void and paint/topcoat.
• Epoxy will alter the plug a little bit, so be sure and test it again once it is completed; fine-tuning can be accomplished by trying different split rings or hook sizes/styles (if necessary).
• Changing hooks gives you different retrieve charecteristics -- going lighter on the belly hook and heavier on the tail hook gives you a waking needle; going heavier on both gives you a faster sink, etc.

Some other notes:

• I use hard maple because it gets you close to suspension without a lot of lead.
• The styles of plugs I have made (so far) haven't necessitated the use of tail weights, which makes the process easier.
• I've found weighting for a slight sink keeps the plug subsurface in the wash.
• I've found that when the plug is truly level and close to neutrel buoyancy, a retrieve will actually drive the nose down as the water resistance works against the hooks; with a sharp twitch, this action is pronounced. If you want to null that out, angle the nose of the plug (you'll have to experiment).

Despite all the extra work, it's fun to end up with a balanced plug. In quietish, shallow water this style seems to do better for me than sinking needles.

[pbadad]

Eric great work. I'm also was thinking of doing a super sized suspended needle this winter. I've down a simple model crudely looking like a broomstick. She aint pretty but it catches. Slow sink and darts when twitched. Nice explaination of your procedure. Important note you made that sometimes get over looked: test in saltwater!

[iamskippy]

Great read thanks! Another great point a lot of builders over look or atleast i hear in conversation is hardware weight, it actually makes a big difference on a lot of fronts like you mention right down to the TA clip..

Again great read thanks again hope to see you at plugfest.
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[bassmaster]

Thems lures look good, interestin on the nose. glad to see ya messin with weighting them. maple is good and if you need a heavy lure in nasty water they werk real good weighted right..
master

[ProfessorM]

LOL. David
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