[numbskull]

OK,OK. Granted needlefish are great lures, and if you love 'em and know how to use 'em, you don't need this plug. But if, deep in your bones, you're a metal lip junkie who craves something that throbs in the dark of the night, then this is one you should build.

The original was made by Masterlure, a company with paint adhesion problems of their own, out of birch. Years ago I made some copies out of maple. The first two were magic, the next two seem too heavy and haven't been as effective. I still have one good one and it has taken me numerous 20-30 lb fish casting, from a boat in the day and from the shore at night. It has neutral bouyancy and suspends on retrieve. It is tuned to come in about a foot or two down, and has proven particularly effective in the fall (even with herring around). These plugs are fussy and not very stable in moving water, but they cast better than you'd think and I have as much confidence in them as I do in a medium Danny, which says alot in my book.

If you choose to make one I'd probably suggest birch instead of maple since you can always add a little weight (towards the back of the front section) or up your hook size to get it's bouyancy right. I've also read (in an old Frech article about the same plug) that you can make 'em out of pine, but I haven't tried it so far. They also made a bigger version, and I built one 12" out of maple which weighs a ton, looks promising, but is tiring to cast and I've yet to find something big enough to eat it. On the smaller maple ones, I've cut my own lips out of thinner than usual steel to keep the weight down. I think a small "lefty" style lip would work, however. I'd also suggest you forget the tail hook and use long saddle hackles under scant bucktail to give the plug a more sinuous action. This is an easy plug to make, a little trouble to tune, but get it right, retrieve with your rod tip high, and I think you'll like the result. Good luck.

Specs.
Front half. 7/8" wide, 3 9/16" long.
Back half 7/8" tapering to 5/8" at the tail, 3 1/8" long.
Front hook, 1 3/16" from nose.
Rear hook, 5/8" from joint.
Lip slot, and front rounding taper 1/2 " long.
Lip 1 3/8" long. 1/2 " at base, 3/4" at first bend (1/2 inch from base), 15/16 at 2nd bend (7/16" from 1st bend), and then curved with a 7/16 radius from the 2nd bend to the tip. Wire hole is midway between the centerline and bottom of the plug.
I use small swivels (and have had one ripped out) and 1/0 hooks to keep weight down, but with birch you might get away with 2/0's
Paint- original is white belly, silver sides, with olive bands down back and upper half of each side. They didn't seal their's, but I'd suggest you do.