Yozuri Mag Darters

[nofish]

I have three of the above referenced plugs that I like very much. My problem is that I can't cast that thing as far as I can throw it. Anyone try loading them with water? If so how much did you use? I know they allready have weights inside, so will injecting water really hamper the plugs performance?

[merch]

Try using a lighter action rod. those things shoot like rockets even into a wind when using the appropriate rod an line. I use an 8' medium fast Star rod rated for 1/2-3oz with 20lb fireline. It hat seems to move them pretty well and is more than enough for a very decent fish. I haven't tried loading the darters but I have loaded the crystal minows which works pretty well.

[nofish]

Yeah, an excuse to get a new rod. How can I pull this off? When you loaded those crystals did you fill them half way or how many cc's did you use?
An since I have your attention do you use distilled water when you load plugs? I'm thinking maybe distilled water may not cause any fungus inside. You know on a clear plug maybe you can get some green fungus going inside and the plug looses it's color or maybe not, since it will be sealed up nothing can grow in there. Anyway thanks Merch.

[merch]

I loaded them for a specific reason which was SBFT. They seem to have a particular liking for the crystal minnows. I wanted to be able to cast them into a wind at a good distance. I filled the minnow completely with tap water. I don’t think growth in the water would be a problem. The plug is plastic anyway. In order to load it I heated a paperclip and poked 2 holes in the minnow. One right behind the eyes and one about 2/3 the way down the body from the head. I used an epoxy syringe with a plastic needle from the marine store and put the tip in the tail hole. I filled the bait until water came out the top hole. The two holes were necessary because I was using a rather large plastic syringe that didn’t fit through the hole. If you can find a small metal syringe the second hole or carburetor wouldn’t be necessary. In order to close the holes I heated a knife tip and spread the plastic over the hole.
I use a really fast retrieve while tuna fishing the so extra weight did not affect the action very much. In fact gave it a little more control with the quicker retrieve. It lost some action on slower retrieves but I’m sure if you played around a little you could find a good balance.
This is the same procedure I use to weight 7” redfins except I use a bucket full of water to tell me when there is enough water in them. They float at about 45 degrees in fresh water with 3/0 VMC’s and splitrings. Dennis Zambrotta wrote a good article on this.

[thewaterfordstriper]

i fill my red fins with water to the head hook hanger. the same way steve mckenna does it. imo it swims better with the water in it than it does w/o.

[Pete_G]

Make sure you cast the Mag Darter hard enough to shift the magnets inside.

I'm guessing that probably isn't your issue since you're looking to cast further and probably already putting plenty of power into the cast, but I thought I'd put it out there as a possibility.