Hawg Hunter - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

fishing bum wannabe · 10-30-2002, 07:13 PM

I saw an interesting plug on along the canal. It looked similar to a Gibbs Canal Special pencil popper but wider. It was called a Hawg Hunter. I understand they are no longer made. Does anyone have a picture and dimensions (Weight, Length, Width)?

Thanks

JohnR · 10-30-2002, 08:48 PM

Brad Pohler, the man that made all the Hawgs and a friend of a lot of the canal guys ( and a few here), passed away this spring. There are a few of his plugs still kicking around.

Generally, they are big plugs... I don't know if I have any pics here yet, but I"ll take some when I get some.

Bob Thomas · 10-30-2002, 09:22 PM

Though I only knew Brad for a short time, he was a great person to talk with. I met him at the Triangle in Sagamore and at the Mass Bass show. Great great guy and sorley missed. Built a fantastic plug.

I've got a bunch of his creations....I'll try to take some pics tomorrow. For the most part, they are heavy...anywhere from 2 1/2 oz up to 5 oz. Nice big plugs......struff I am trying to emulate!

fishing bum wannabe · 11-02-2002, 10:01 AM

This is a copy of a Blue Streak that I made 20 years ago. I caught a 51 lb bass on a twin to this one.

I have been making plugs off and on for 25 years. I got into to making plugs during the Bluefish bonanza of the late 70s. I was catching a lot of 10-15 lb blues in Boston Harbor but going through more plugs than I could afford to replace. Necessity drives us to learn new skills.

I still hope to get info on the Hawg Hunter. It looked like an interesting plug and it's always good to have an esoteric plug in the plug bag. The fact that that plug works is even better.

fishing bum wannabe · 11-02-2002, 10:57 AM

This is my version of a Canal Special, weighted to 2 3/4 oz with a flat bottom. Caught a small bass with it last Sunday in the ditch. The bottom is flat (this doesn't show in the picture). Basically a 2 oz pencil popper with double the lead weight and a flat bottom.

Thank you Stan Gibbs! I don't think we give Stan the credit due him for plugs he designed. Many of his designs such as the Bottle Swimming Plug, the Pencil Popper and the Polaris are unique. Stan's designs are some of the most copied plugs I see at the Ditch.

capesams · 11-02-2002, 03:50 PM

If I my ask, what have u been useing for a top coat on your plugs? .......txs.

fishing bum wannabe · 11-02-2002, 09:17 PM

Untill I saw this forum I was quite happy to paint the plugs with Krylon or auto retouch paint and repaint as necessary. The fish don't seem to care. In the future I will be trying flex coat simply because I have plenty of it on hand that I want to use up.

As I write this there is sawdust all over me from turning some 3 oz bottle poppers. I will try the Flex coat on those.

Goose · 11-03-2002, 10:04 AM

I picked these up at M&D's this spring. I'm guessing 4 1/2 to 5 oz's. Pretty sure they're all gone.

fishing bum wannabe · 11-05-2002, 08:48 PM

Thank you for the picture Goose. Have you fished the yellow surface Hawg Hunter? How does it work compared to a Pencil Popper? How long is the plug?

Thank you for your help.

Bob Thomas · 11-06-2002, 02:18 AM

"A"

I know.........I'm gonna try to get the pics to ya tonight.......at work right now and have to work until 4:30 this afternoon.

That yellow Hawg Hunter works a little better than a pencil popper, in my opinion. I find it "Skips" a little more than a pencil popper does. For the most part, that lure was weighted at about 2.5-3.5 ounces (at least the ones that I bought do.) Brad also made regular pencils as well as poppers like the one pictured above the yellow one.

I'll try to get those pics tonight...I promise

Goose · 11-06-2002, 09:06 AM

The polaris is 6"1/4 and feels about 3 oz's, the other is 8"1/4 in length and feels about 4oz's. Both are 1"1/4 at there widest. I've seen most of the canal boo-roo's work the yellow hawg hunter on a steady retreive and jerking the tips of there rods creating lots of action. I'm guessing a fast action tip would be good. It seemed everybody and there brother had these babies hangin off there rods as they peddeled the canal, mack pattern was most seen. I'm no expert on plugs, maybe somebody else can desribe the way these are fished.

bassmaster · 11-06-2002, 03:07 PM

that bottom one is a canal special type, and the flat on the underside of that plug makes it skitter alittle better

Bob Thomas · 11-08-2002, 12:46 PM

Here's my assortment

Bob Thomas · 11-08-2002, 12:47 PM

Little Closer of the Left........

Bob Thomas · 11-08-2002, 12:47 PM

And a closer of the right.......

fishing bum wannabe · 11-08-2002, 11:20 PM

Thanks everyone for the information. Bob I really appreciete the effort you went through for a stranger. I really like the looks of Brad Pohler's plugs. i love pencil poppers, and Brad's variation looks great. I will be turning some up over the winter. Unfortunately I won't be able to test them until spring. I do a lot of fishing from a boat using pencil poppers in the rips when the squid are around. I love watching the Bass knock poppers in the air and/or clear water while trying to catch them.

Brad Pohler's Hawg Hunter is certainly unique. It sounds as if Brad was well liked and respected. Unfortunately I fished the canal again this fall for the first time in 7 years so I missed the pleasure of meeting him. I will try to make sure that my copies of his plugs live up Brad's standards.

fishing bum wannabe · 12-11-2002, 09:23 PM

I want to thank Goose and Bob Thomas for the Hawg Hunter photos and their descritions. I made 10 Hawg Hunter 'mannabes'. They are 8 1/2" long and weighted to 3.5 oz. I was able to take the supplied photos and get good scaling, as well as detailed drawings using Adobe Photoshop.

The one with the eye in the middle is a neat squid coloration. Paint the body with three coats Rustoleum Painters Touch white primer. After drying, coat the top of the plug with Rustoleum Painters Touch red primer (actually a reddish brown color). Finally, while the red primer is wet, coat the entire plug with Krylon natural pearlescent paint. Spray over the brown area lightly and give the white belly heavier coverage. Final top coat was Envirotex. The picture does not begin to do that color combo justice. The squid color plugs look ready to cut up, deep fry and make calamarie.

Before finding this board I was happy to crank out a couple of dozen poppers each year. I wasn't worried about finish (2-3 coats of the cheapest paint I could find) and go catch fish. i was meticulous about the tapers and weighting of my plugs. Now I am as interested in the finish as i am in the action. i doubt that these will catch any more fish than the plugs I had been making, but they sure do look prettier in the tackle box.

fishing bum wannabe · 12-11-2002, 09:27 PM

Sorry, I posted the original photo Bob thomas posted. Here is the shot of my "wannabe" Hawg Hunters

capesams · 12-11-2002, 09:55 PM

nice job on those plugs, keep up the good work, their sure to catch fish in the ditch, as well in those rips.

Slipknot · 12-11-2002, 10:21 PM

Those are sweet, I love the squid color you got. nice job.

chris L · 12-12-2002, 07:43 PM

the flat bottom pencil is called the "sagamore 155 special " . I dont have a digital camera other wise I could show you a good selection of Brads work . I have poppers , needle noses , 155 specials , pencils , whining bills , stone golds and gilligans .

nice collection Bob . real good lures assinippi