Photo by David Y. Wei
"Selection of Tomic Lures"
From left to right: Tomic Classics 6 inch through 3
inch, Tomic Terminators, and Tomic Wee Tad.
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Over thirty years ago, when he was guiding
in Sannich Inlet and working as a commercial salmon
fisherman, Tom Moss invented the "Tomic" plug. Tomic
plugs became an immediate sensation for the commercial
salmon troller and, soon thereafter, the plug of choice
for many sport fishers. The first all plastic-bodied
salmon plug, the Tomic not only caught fish, but was
extremely durable.
While some nostalgics may argue that the wooden "Lucky
Louis" plug was the best mass-produced salmon plug,
it had to be handled very carefully. Its finish could
crack and the balsa wood body absorb water. Commercial
trollers couldn't take the time to dry and inspect each
lure, and a water-logged plug didn't have the right
action to catch fish consistently. |
| Tomic plugs are available
in a wide range of sizes, from the two-inch "Wee Tad"
for trout, up to seven-inch plugs that are popular with
Port Alberni anglers in late summer. In general, Tom
and his son Wayne recommend the five-inch size, which
my wife Suzanne and I found extremely effective fishing
at Knight Inlet, Campbell River, and the west coast
of Vancouver Island. Recently, Tom and Wayne also discovered
that the Wee Tad, rigged with a 4/0 single hook and
trolled quickly, was absolutely dynamite on trophy-sized
fall coho, and attracted a number of tyee as well. On
a recent trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands, the guides
showed all the guests how effectively six-inch Tomic
plugs could attract chinook. A well-stocked tackle box
should carry an assortment of two- to six-inch plugs,
especially in colours #158, #232, #600, #602, #632,
and #700. In Barkley Sound, many guides always fish
one line with a three-inch Tomic plug in colour #600,
and at Knight Inlet, a five-inch Tomic in colours #158
or #602, while in the Queen Charlottes almost any lighter-coloured
six-inch plug seems to work. |
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A nice catch on
a 5 inch #700
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The six- and seven-inch sizes are most effective when chinook
are near or at the mouths of their spawning rivers, and not
actively feeding. In late summer, these larger plugs are extremely
effective around the head of Rivers Inlet, around Port Alberni,
and in the "Tyee Pool" at Campbell River.
The Mosses designed a custom-made plug just for the Tyee
Pool, called the "Tubby Tyee." The Tyee Pool is a special
area at the mouth of Campbell River that is restricted to
rowboat fishing, and the somewhat more tapered design of the
shorter and fatter Tubby Tyee allows for greater action at
extremely slow rowing speeds. While the "Tubby" version of
their plug is very effective at normal trolling speeds as
well, the Mosses feel that an angler using motorized trolling
needs only a regular Tomic plug, rather than paying the additional
cost of this custom lure.
Catching coho often requires fast-trolled lure. The "Broken
Back" Tomic is a jointed plug that whips its tail seductively
when trolled between two and a half and five knots. Coho find
this plug irresistible in a 4.75-inch size, in the colours
#632 or #654. Tomic also makes a version of this lure with
an eye in the tail for a trailing hook, as well as with an
eye in the head for a single hook.
The two treble-hook version of the classic Tomic plug is
called the "Multi." The treble hook in the tail of the plug
puts more weight at the back, which keeps the tail of the
lure away from the line when casting. The classic version
of the plug was difficult for freshwater anglers to use as
a casting lure because it would rotate, and the hooks in the
head would tangle in the line. The Multi plug, and the Broken
Back with tail hook, are both great casting (as well as trolling)
plugs. Since both float, they are excellent topwater plugs
for bass or pike in the spring.
For anglers who choose to use the line eye/tow bar that is
fixed in the head of the plug, the Mosses recommend using
the "Berkley Trilene" knot to tie leaders to their plugs.
The Berkley knot is best, but any knot that can really be
tightened so it won't slip will do. The knot should be placed
on the top flat side of the eye, so that it is at a right
angle to the eye, and tightened so it can't slip. The placement
of the knot "tunes" the action of the plug so that it will
swim head-down and evenly from side to side. The leader can
also be adjusted using an elastic or a bead swivel and elastic
on the leader, above the knot, to position the pull on the
plug further up the back of the lure, which imparts a more
erratic, crippled fish action.
When using lighter lines one can easily remove the tow bar
and run the leader freely through the body of the lure where
the tow bar passed. Now if a fish breaks off or cuts the line
with its teeth, the lure will just float back to the surface.
To prevent cut-off, many guides use tandem hookups tied with
50-pound test dacron, then tie the hookups to the main line
passed through the plug.
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Photo by David Y. Wei "The Terminators"
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The Mosses' latest invention is the
"Terminator" spoon/wobbler. Selected anglers in Europe,
the United States, and here in B.C. extensively tested
this lure before its introduction, and declared it
one of the best multi-purpose lures around. The lure
has the leader threaded through its body, which has
a number of holes drilled along its length in the
head and tail. Placing the line through different
holes in either the head or the tail gives the lures
different attitudes (head down with tail up, level,
etc.). Each attitude imparts more or less action,
and can also make the lure swim more or less erratically.
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The unique feature of this lure is that the sides curve concave
up along the back. From what I saw in the test tank at the
Mosses' home, the lure wobbles up and down in a porpoise-like
swimming motion, then suddenly sideslips, threatening to turn
completely upside down or to start spinning. The concave sides
prevent the turnover, and force the lure back into its wobbling
action. The threatened flip looks enticingly like a wounded
baitfish trying frantically to regain its upright orientation.
The holes also allow the lure to be rigged differently for
trolling or casting. Hooks can be attached to the head only,
the tail only, or both the head and the tail. Numerous combinations
of hooks, hook sizes, and hook placements along with different
line placements give the Terminator almost any configuration
for the desired casting or trolling action.
The concave back will hold small stick-on weights, or scent
pads to give even more versatility. Tom Moss likes to fish
his Terminator with a hootchie threaded onto the tail. The
ways to fish this lure are limited only by imagination.
The Terminator can also be used as a flasher in front of
small anchovy bait or bucktails. When used as a flasher, the
leader is threaded through the Terminator so it exits from
the top and is tied to a bead swivel to allow the bait or
bucktail to rotate freely without spoiling the action of the
Terminator. Using a 4.5-inch #237 Terminator as an attractor,
30 inches in front of a small anchovy in an Anchovy Special,
I caught two trophy chinook in Howe Sound the very first time
I used it.
The two sizes available are 4.5-inches, and 3.5-inches. There
are 15 colours. Testers have found the green-blue colours
#109, #500, and #738 excellent for coho, and "Army Truck"
#168, mother of pearl #602, "Old Yeller" #169, and black sparkle
#712, effective for all salmon. The testers liked the "Killer"
colour, #315, for trout.
| In my own
informal tests, I found the 4.5 -inch Terminator in colours
#203, #602, and #700 extremely effective for chinook.
Coho seemed to like the 3.5-inch Terminators, especially
when trolled 36 to 60 inches behind a flasher. Terminators,
with a large white or green hoochie threaded on the back
and fished very close to the bottom, are deadly for halibut.
We also found Terminators, fished without a flasher, have
so little resistance, that even a small fish can give
a good scrap. |
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| The Tomic
Terminator now also come rigged with a spinner blade at
its tail. Known as the TNT (short for Tom's New Toy),
this newly rigged Terminator provides that extra edge
of flashing light that can be very enticing for fish under
a variety of fishing conditions. TNT's are available in
all standard Terminator colors with the option of gold
or silver spinner blades. According to Tom Moss, this
lure gives a lifelike action with an extra flash as an
added advantage. |
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The Mosses, Tom's partner Mary (who is also shop foreperson),
and their small crew produce all their lures at the Mosses'
home in Sooke. Each lure is hand-painted using an airbrush
- real works of art! Although they are busy producing a vast
array of lures, the Mosses' boat is always ready to "test"
some lures at a moment's notice.
For more information on Tomic lures for casting and trolling,
contact Wayne Moss, at P.O. Box 550, Sooke, B.C., V0S 1N0.
Their Internet address is http://www.tomiclures.com
which can also be accessed using the link from this site;
phone 250-642-3214, fax 250-642-7789:
http://www.tomiclures.com/
To contact dealers carrying these products visit:
Berry's
Bait and Tackle
Fishing
Pro Shops
Island
Outfitters Sportfishing Centre
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