Sand eel swimmer... How to.

[Rockfish9]

once the body is roughed out, sand smooth contours with #80 sand paper... as of late, I have been using 1" belt sander strips, they last longer and are more durable... finish with #220..

lay out your body, first mark is for your lip slot, this mark will be @ 5/8".. mark #2 @ 1" is your eye mark...Mark #3 is @1 1/2, this is your front hook... Mark # 4 is your belly weight, it is 2 7/8" from the nose, it has been moved forward to allow for a slower retrieve but still have a decent semi fast swim action.. mark 34 is for the rear belly hook it is 4 3/4" from the nose..

Drilling:.. using the square ends to stabilize the plug, line up the center of marks #3 and #5 and spot face the plug with a 1/2" forshner bit ( to flush mount the belly gromet) then follow with 3/8 froshner bit about half way through the plug.. this can also be done with a step drill ( shown in the photo) P/N #29525A51 purchased from McMaster carr... last I knew they were about $35...Now line up hole # 4 and drill a 3/8X3/8 hole, I like a forshner bit for this as well...

My break is over..the conclusion at lunch time..

[Rockfish9]

next step marking the eye... find ( or make) a block of wood the is just above center and draw a pencil line across the circle marked for the eye... use an awl to pilot the hole and use either a hand dril or the drill press with a 1/4 forshner bit to drill the eye socket about 1/16" deep,...

through drilling.. this can be done on the lathe or drill press (if you have enough height) .. I'm useing the lathe ( speed set @1200 rpm) for this fitted with a 5/32 aircraft style bright finish drill bit, drilling from the tail end with the nose supported by the tail stock, hold the plug in your hand and slowly feed the plug into the drill by sliding the tail stock, revers direction often or any time you feel the drill binding or making noises.. you only want to drill to the front hole, if your drill is not long enough, dont worry, the job can be finished by hand when we drill from the front..

Continued..

[Rockfish9]

lip slot... because we are not using jigs or fixtures, in the name of accuracy, I like to use a small square and carry the mark from center across to the mark on the plug for the lip slot... by cutting the slot prior to removing the square ends, it allows for a square and level cut ..

at this point we could move on to cutting off the square ends, but i find when I'm using the square ends that if i put the plug back into the lathe , I can use this to hold my plug for installing the belly weight and for final sanding.. so, install a 4 gram belly weight into the 3/8" hole and fill with some 5 minute epoxy putty, it comes in a stick and all you need to do is pinch off a small piece and mix the twp colors until they are one.. ( I use Elmers 2 part wood repair when I have several plugs) once the putty is dry, you can do your final ( rough) sanding with #220....

[Rockfish9]

remove your plug from the lathe and remove both sqaure ends, I use a band saw, but a back saw works well also...

now slide a #1 lefty high slot into the lip slot, center it and lark it with an awl...remove the lip and using a hand drill. drill at an upward angle into the front hole, you want to be as near the top of the hole ( as if the plug were belly down) as possible, this will keep the #1 swivel from hanging down too low.. if your drill did not reach the front hole, now is the time to connect it... test fit all your parts...if all is fitting properly, lighly sand the plugs ( with the grain) with #320 to remove finger prints and any lingering roughness, lightly round the edges around the nose and tail , this will help paint and top coat to adhere to the plug...dip in your chosen sealer and paint them up..

the finished product should be fitted with 2/0 VMC and either a 3/0 siwash, sparcly tied or flag..

with the sand ell explosion and lack of larger baits in some locals.. slim profile plugs just may be the ticket to a few more hits...

tight lines
Roc

[Slipknot]

That is a great how to Joe
I like that plug, I have one and caught fish on it too.

remind me to add this to the How to forum above

[Mokes]

Rockfish let's all his great secrets out here. I shoulda known...

[GooGoo Man]

I can say first hand that this plug catches,
I was lucky enough to get a mackerel painted sandeel at last years plugfest, was really too beautiful to fish, but I did & it caught a bunch last fall in Rhody.

Thanks again Joe, love your tutorials.