This "Is" The Place!

[JMAC_kerel]

Originally Posted by BigFish

When is this thread going to hit "winter fever pitch"? I have my coffee and will finish my cup, have another and then I am heading out to the shop for the day to work on several projects! So what are you guys working on??

Ok I'll bite. I'm going to be working on some larger sizes and slightly different shapes of stuff that was working well for me this past year. And more than likely, carve some different weighted versions for different conditions.

[numbskull]

Those remind me of something. Are you familiar with the Frech plug?

[JMAC_kerel]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Those remind me of something. Are you familiar with the Frech plug?

I have indeed seen old pics of Frech's banana plug and it's reincarnations. I like that shape a lot including your version. I believe it was originally an adult bunker imitation? Was / is it meant to be fished hanging just under the surface? (judging by the flat back) Someday I think I will try something similar with my own spin on it.

Besides my peanut bunker, the plugs in the pic I posted have a more slender profile. All are made to sink slowly and act like a glider / jerkbait depending on retrieve.

[numbskull]

I suspect you are on to something. Glider baits are not common in saltwater. Bagleys made a big one for a while but it drew little interest.
Frech's banana is sort of a cross between a glider and a weak acting darter.

Recently the Sebiele Shad has caught on. Just a heavy fat glider. The musky guys have been using similar stuff for decades. Opened my eyes, though, when I watched Ernie (Mr Striper) do a job with one on a night I couldn't even draw a hit. If Ernie can catch fish on something, you know it must be damn good.

I recall an excellent thread about gliders 1/2 a dozen years ago by a guy who built lots of them for musky. If I recall, he made the point that the action was dependent on the weight distribution. He described taking a standard ballerina/howdy shape and making a simple glider to learn. They were all set up to sit dead level and to sink slowly or suspend. I think (but may have it backwards) that if you weighted them on each end they would do circles, and if you weighted them dead center they would run straight. By adjusting the distance between the weights you could get the action you wanted. Has that been your experience?

Here is the one and only glider I ever built, about 6 years ago (then got side tracked building bananas and lazyfish). Tested, but never fished it (lacked faith). It has been sitting in a discard box ever since. Between getting schooled by Ernie and seeing what you are doing, gliders may just end up on the to do list this winter. Thanks

[JMAC_kerel]

Originally Posted by numbskull

I suspect you are on to something. Glider baits are not common in saltwater. Bagleys made a big one for a while but it drew little interest.
Frech's banana is sort of a cross between a glider and a weak acting darter.

Recently the Sebiele Shad has caught on. Just a heavy fat glider. The musky guys have been using similar stuff for decades. Opened my eyes, though, when I watched Ernie (Mr Striper) do a job with one on a night I couldn't even draw a hit. If Ernie can catch fish on something, you know it must be damn good.

I recall an excellent thread about gliders 1/2 a dozen years ago by a guy who built lots of them for musky. If I recall, he made the point that the action was dependent on the weight distribution. He described taking a standard ballerina/howdy shape and making a simple glider to learn. They were all set up to sit dead level and to sink slowly or suspend. I think (but may have it backwards) that if you weighted them on each end they would do circles, and if you weighted them dead center they would run straight. By adjusting the distance between the weights you could get the action you wanted. Has that been your experience?

Here is the one and only glider I ever built, about 6 years ago (then got side tracked building bananas and lazyfish). Tested, but never fished it (lacked faith). It has been sitting in a discard box ever since. Between getting schooled by Ernie and seeing what you are doing, gliders may just end up on the to do list this winter. Thanks

Thats a beautiful glider right there. (You should never have boxed it! Have faith and fish that bugger ) Yes, the smaller ones I usually build have the weight(s) located pretty close to center and close to the bottom edge. I have found I get more 'action' with lighter wood that way. On the larger plugs I have made I do have to move the weights around both forward and backward a bit. The gliders/slider etc are by no means new to the salt, but I agree you don't see as many of them around like the more traditional style plugs.

[Jigman]

Originally Posted by numbskull

...I recall an excellent thread about gliders 1/2 a dozen years ago by a guy who built lots of them for musky. If I recall, he made the point that the action was dependent on the weight distribution. He described taking a standard ballerina/howdy shape and making a simple glider to learn. They were all set up to sit dead level and to sink slowly or suspend. I think (but may have it backwards) that if you weighted them on each end they would do circles, and if you weighted them dead center they would run straight. By adjusting the distance between the weights you could get the action you wanted. Has that been your experience?...

Determine how much weight it takes to sink the blank you have. Split into two equal sections. One will go close to the front of the plug, one close to the tail. You have to test float to determine the right locations. When set up right the plug will sink level.

Jigman

[numbskull]

Spent the week procrastinating.
Did turn some poppers.....looking like it will be a popper winter for me.
Few other odds and ends (skin plug and bottle).

Noticed something. Pichney used the Blue Streak as a model for his conrad, slopehead, and original A40 (the later one is thinner). See the photos. The A40 is slightly shorter in the tail and longer in the nose, but the same dimensions in between. The red plug on the bottom is a Blue Streak Jr. It uses the same shape as the Popper, just the nose is shorter.

[numbskull]

In the popper thread, Grapes mentioned how good ''all three sizes" of the Blue Streak popper were. Of course I only have the large, so naturally that drove me nuts. But when I noticed that Blue streak didn't bother with a different shape for their Jr atom, I guessed they would have used the same body for their Jr popper. Furthermore, on the xray I could see the large popper was weighted with two 3/4" weights, so it seemed likely that they used one 3/4 weight in the Jr popper.

So I built one, rigged it, and floated it. It floats identical to the large version which makes me think I got it right. What' ya say Steve, close?

As for the smaller one.......well I do have a small reverse squid I could use as a model........I wonder......