so tell me

[Backbeach Jake]

is right ! I never saw it swim! It was untested and new moon when I first threw it. I wouldn't a bet that I even hit water. Blind dumb luck. It's stuff like that that puts the stunned look on my face. Gifts from above that I know I don't deserve. Like I said before, I have sooo much to learn. I also have some great and generous teachers here.

[steelhead]

I took a danny over to one of my little testing rips this afternoon. By playing with the lip angle and the thru wire loop, I was able to make it swim on the top makng a wake like a motor boat to bottom bouncing. in the current in the same spot. The difference between the motor baot and the bottom bounce was the thru wire loop. With the loop bent at an extreme upwards angle, the plug dove right to the bottom. With the loop and the lip bent way down, almost aprralel to each other, the plug swam right on top making a wonderful wake.

[Jigman]

I do all kinds of plug testing. New swimmer I'm working on, I gave some thought on the size/profile of the local bait, then tried to get something close to that in wood. Next was trying to duplicate that action of that bait with the plug. Tried several woods, lips, weight locations/amount and combos until I got what I felt was the appropriate action for the plug. Made up several in the usual colors. Will be testing/tweaking on fish real soon.

Once I have a plug that is catching well, I'll also try a variet of colors to see which work best. Have also done plenty of testing on various sealers, primers, paints, and clear coats and combinations of those. You can do some of that testing at home. Once you find a combo you like, you can try it for a season to see how it holds up under various conditions. Can test other combos against that to see what works best for you.

Jigman

[Nebe]

BM, how did the clearcoat on your plug hold up after all that abuse??

[Flaptail]

In the immortal words of the Bassmaster, "I'm ruined." I went down to the bulkhead this afternoon in Falmouth and test swam a bunch of my winter work. I don't turn so everything was either scratch and dents, mis-drills or charity that I sanded, re-drilled, primed, painted and coated this winter. I was holding off but after trout fishing yesterday ( which was pretty good) and seeing all the crocusses on rt. 6a then going out to Truro and Wellfleet to see the beach I had to do it. So I rigged them all out with hooks, bucktails etc. and let them swim. They all went great ( the white darter needs a single not a treble on the rear end) but the big pink/white and blue/white swirl Atom that I made from some Slipknot discards just made me loose it. I need MAY and the outer beach at dawn or the Elizabeth Islands. I was seeing mirages of bass coming up to look at them. I had to leave the dock. They swim that good. I cut the lips to match the individual bodies widths rather than use manufactured lips.I need Bass and I got a bunch of stuff to feed 'em. Come on April 20th at least !!!

[bassmaster]

good posts, i have surfsters to build and swim this spring along with some pikes goingto the islands....