Spook Hell..........Help

[numbskull]

You want it to roll, it is only way the fish can see the color you paint it. If that bothers you, paint it solid color. Spooks work best when you get them to thrash as well as glide. I would not fool with belly weight and certainly not a chin weight unless you are trying to build an underwater glider.

Loose the siwash. Too big, heavy, and long (and absolutely NO bucktail). You don't want drag on the tail of a spook, it really kills the action (witness how just a little weed on a tail hook makes a spook impossible to work). I'd probably test it with 3/0's before seeing if it can carry 4/0's. Bernzy's howdy uses 1/0 hooks.

[Eric Roach]

Thanks again. I thought the Siwash would be less drag than a treble, but I will try both. I'll also try smaller hooks.

I should get a chance to try one this weekend.

[Eric Roach]

I could use some more input.

The picture below is a third iteration; it's getting close.

• Dimensions are 9 3/8" L X 1.45" at the shoulder.
• Wood is AYC.
• Rear wt is .82 oz centered with ~.22 oz slug just ahead of it.
• The 3/8" eyes are pretty flush, as the recesses were drilled to match the taper.
• Belly hook is a 3/0.
• Tail hook is a 4/0 Siwash, which is lighter than even a 1/0 treble.
• Rigged weight is ~3.7 oz.
• At rest, the lure is straight up & down with the eyes just above the waterline.

The action isn't too bad, the rear weight forces the nose to splash when working it, but not overly-so. It zigs/zags but not as easily as I like, sometimes it get's "stuck" in a lurching motion before walking again.

I'd like to stay under the current rigged weight -- I'd like to be able to toss this with my usual sticks.

I can't help but think I might get more of a "walk" if I kept the existing taper of the plug, but I lopped 1" or so off the rear so it didn't have so far to swing to change the direction of the plug.

Wooden musky plugs I've seen around this length are much heavier, which leads me to believe I need to start making concessions on the overall length if I want to throw it with my usual gear.

Anyone else have any advice on geting this design to "walk" better?

[numbskull]

It sounds like it may be too heavily tail weighted. Less tail weight to let it float 1/2-3/4" higher and get the shoulder of the plug doing more and perhaps taking a similar distance off the tail (which is acting like a rudder) is what I would try.