Why testing is important

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by l.i.fish.in.vt

personally i like to catch fish not watch others catch them.as i said to each there own.

That is why God made eels.

In seriousness, however, I understand what you are saying. The worst swimming plug I ever built is this "skinny donny" design I stumbled on. Horribly unstable (it barrel rolls with a twitch), unwilling to stay on the surface, and virtually unfishable on spinning tackle (too hard to retrieve that slow). I tested it, rejected it, and forgot about it until one day I stumbled into a bluefish blitz pushing peanuts on a beach near my house. I ran home and grabbed something I could care less about losing, threw the plug into the melee, and a 15 bass came out of nowhere to crush it. WTF?!!!.

Subsequently I fished it, tweaked it, and have ended up with a plug that has taken several fish over 40-47 lbs for me and a few friends. The plug swims so poorly that I've stopped giving them away since guys would swim it once, decide it was crap, and never use it again.

So although I don't agree with your "try anything as a hammer and stop with what works" philosophy, I do agree that none of us are as smart about plugs as we think and there is always more to learn by trying stuff and letting the fish decide.