Why testing is important

[Back Beach]

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

Numbskull,to each there own.the only thing i want from a plug is for it to catch fish. don't really care about how it swims,how it is sealed and all the other bs i hear when talking about plugs.if a pipe can drive a nail then it is a good hammer in my book. years ago i was doing some trim work,an old timer was changing the blade on his table saw,using a hammer and a screw driver,i offered him an adjustable wrench,declining it,saying he had been doing it that why for 25 years.when i saw the nut later on,it would have been impossible to get it off with an open end wrench.the only plugs that i have ever fished or swam other than the ones i make myself are a few plastics.i guess after close to 15 years building plugs and 12 years reading these forums,i am tired of looking at pretty plugs,that swim great,are well designed and can't put a fish on the beach.i have stood next to enough people throwing the latest and greatest without sucess when my crappy plugs are catching fish,not that that means those people aren't having as much fun as i am,but personally i like to catch fish not watch others catch them.as i said to each there own.

John, are you saying the first darter you ever made worked perfectly and caught fish? You never tested them out or had to tweak them to make them perform better? Of course you did and that's what this thread is about...a lure does have to perform some basic functions that you can pre determine before building in order to work properly, does it not?

If someone asks you to build a floating needle, do you grab a hunk of maple and a bunch of lead? I understand your argument meaning the heavy weighted maple needle may still be a killer, but it doesn't make for a good floating plug.

[wrikerjr]

I think that John and George both have it correct. You want a plug that catches fish, but as Hab's pointed out you can catch fish with a potato peeler when conditions permit. Many plugs today never even see water they are simply very nice paint jobs rather than good fishing tools. There seems to be a great emphasis on fancy scale patterns, copying of other makers, etc, rather than on developing a plug profile and action that the builder deems appropriate.

IMO profile and action when properly designed and executed by a plug maker will result in an appropriate lure. Is that what the fish are looking for in the area you are fishing, that is up to the fisherman to figure out.

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by wrikerjr

You want a plug that catches fish, but as Hab's pointed out you can catch fish with a potato peeler when conditions permit.

I saw him do that

[Back Beach]

One of my mentors, Old Goat, used to catch fish on bic pens and old toothbrushes...that is, back when he had teeth.