Wood Lures

[titan]

Pete,

Any plans or thoughts of adding in any new brands of wooden plugs? Since Habs is gone, Troublemaker is done and Beachmaster is unreliable to say the least right now, I've noticed that your shop doesn't have the wood selection you used to have only a year or so ago. I just refuse to buy Gibbs, too many bad experiences with crappy paint finishes, broken barrel swivels and swimmers that don't swim right. I've looked online at some of the LI shops and they seem to have incredible selection and stock. They carry plugs that have a great following out at Montauk, like LIfishVT darters, Jay1 customs, R.M. Smith and J.N-Ski. Knowing the insatiable demand there is for custom wood plugs I'm curious to hear if you plan on expanding the brands of wood that you carry. Thanks.

[cchobot]

Not sure if Pete has missed this so I'll chip in w/ what I know...

We're always trying to add any new high-demand products we can. Obviously wood fits that bill. We'll be actively trying to add some of the lines you've mentioned. Part of the problem we run into is w/ wood being so hot right now and limited supply some of the suppliers will only sell to a certain shop in any given area. We applaud their loyalty and recognize they're doing what they can to supply as much as they can and struggling to keep up with the demand. With all that said the best answer I can give is: "we're on it"

Thanks for mentioning the builders you enjoy as those will be the ones we focus on.

Thanks!

[luds48]

Originally Posted by titan

Pete,

Any plans or thoughts of adding in any new brands of wooden plugs? Since Habs is gone, Troublemaker is done and Beachmaster is unreliable to say the least right now, I've noticed that your shop doesn't have the wood selection you used to have only a year or so ago. I just refuse to buy Gibbs, too many bad experiences with crappy paint finishes, broken barrel swivels and swimmers that don't swim right. I've looked online at some of the LI shops and they seem to have incredible selection and stock. They carry plugs that have a great following out at Montauk, like LIfishVT darters, Jay1 customs, R.M. Smith and J.N-Ski. Knowing the insatiable demand there is for custom wood plugs I'm curious to hear if you plan on expanding the brands of wood that you carry. Thanks.

I'd say the Saltwater Edge selection is pretty stout in terms of plug selection in comparison to most shops though I would love it if they added LIfishVT. Those plugs are very fishy and extremely durable.

If you have not already I would recommend giving some of the Afterhours plugs a shot......especially the needlfish. Super Strike being another obvious choice though it's not wood of course and you shouldn't overlook Tattoo.

The J.N.-Ski and Jay 1 plugs look nice but I'm not sure how proven they are up this way.

[cchobot]

Working on a lot of the builders named here... Speak now, who would you like to see SWE carry

[merch]

I agree with the need for a new variety. Some of those plugs mentioned by the other guys here looked nice in photos and appeared to have some very unique styles and patterns as well. It would be nice to be able to touch and try some of these up here to determine what works best. I would REALLY like to see a Danny's other than Gibbs i.e. one that works well, readily avaliable. I have had one of the beachmasters before but I don't remember how I liked it. Is there anyone out there who is following the original Pichney's formula for this plug? Big ones too. It would be nice to see some Atom 40's regularly avaliable too (I love the small ones from beachmaster, but again they are tough to come by around here), or maybe some giant jointed pikes. Big, proven, wooden plug designs is what I guess I'm getting at. Of course I always look forward to new innovations as well.

[wrikerjr]

Some feedback on the plug makers:

Jnski plugs are phenominal plugs if you haven't tried them please give them a shot. SWE should definetly make an effort to carry them.

Jay1 I just ordered some and am will reply back on how I like them, but I have heard great things about them as well.

As far as LIFISHINVT his plugs are excellent. I am not a big fan or poppers for custom as I think Gibbs makes an excellent popper. His darters are very good along with the pikies.

RM Smith makes some of the best danny's i have seen in a long time (never had a beachmaster, like trying to find a pot of gold for me, not willing to spend $60 bucks on ebay for a plug to fish).

Tattoo's large swimmers are very close to the a40's and very good.
I had no idea that troublemaker stopped making plugs. Is that true?

[FontaineRods]

one thing about the custom lures builders, availability. granted some of these guys make the nicest lures in their specific lure type, but trying to get them is almost impossible. also, some seem to catch fisherman more than fish, which is what they were designed for. "once in a blue moon" is not even a good way to describe their availability. some chose to specifically build their biz in just that method - create a demand or just build what they want and not kill themselves. that's all fine; that's their choice. i think that is why you see the mad buying when a custom lure company made a delivery at a shop. guys would stock up for the fear they didnt know when these lures would be available again in a run. some people that are making the buying are those that are just jumping on what they see posted on boards vs truely "needing" that lure due to its ability to catch.

i used to be a beachmaster danny lover. at one time they were readily available and they flat out worked. could that be due to the lure or my confidence in that specific lure? maybe a combination of both. but, years go by, demands grow, and stock dwindles. thus, trying to find them was impossible. ebay was not an option, even tho spending $30 on a productive lure was something i didnt mind. so, i started looking for alternatives to these customs that were available. my results have not changes due to not having that specific lure that i used to fish, but i have stopped having that need to look for that custom. i think that's one of the reasons why gibbs is still doing just fine - they are almost always available, not matter the slams of the company's quality. i will still on occasion buy a gibbs pencil as they do work, but i just need to rewire and change hooks.

tattoo's are readily available and they work great. the darters and swimmers are great and really need some review if you dont already have them. his larger swimmer has filled the void from the bm danny and the jr swimmer is perfect on those calmer nights. that being said, i no longer "need" that bm danny nor will i go out and buy them now. i've tried afterhours needles recently, but have yet to really give any solid feedback on them, but i have heard good reports. of course, ss plastics are some of the best lures made today.

summary, dont limit yourself to hard to get custom lures. being able to walk into a shop and pick up a lure and walk out is more valuable to me than waiting for ever for that next batch.

[FUMIFISH]

Surf Howdy

[luds48]

Yellow Red Head

[clogston]

i'm sure you're already working on this, but I'm really interested in trying out the plugcaster plastic darters and needles when they become available.

as previously mentioned, LIFishVT plugs are very well made

bigwater pikies are very nice, but I think that he's having a hard time keeping up with the demand on his website, so supplying another shop would probably be tough