Plastic lucky Louis, J plugs vs wooden lucky louis
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paguy
Well-Known Member
Old wood plugs are more dense and less buoyant than the plastic plugs, They will still catch fish but don't have as good a action as a similar plastic one. Old wood plugs also absorb water after time and become more dense and heavy which can affect there action. The shovel nose Lucky Louie's have a great lip and shape design for slow trolling, Which is why they work so well behind a rowboat, The commercial fisherman didn't like the shovelnose Louie because it didn't work well fishing fast, And is why they liked the slimmer designs with smaller lips, Like the regular Lucky Louie. Hope that helped answer your question.
wolf
Well-Known Member
You do know wood floats right??? LOL I have used both extensively for many years in fact the wood ones float way better and plastic ones crack and all the years ive used wood never seen them get to the point where they are water logged they have to be under water way more then a 8 hour shift. I still have my original wooden lyman shovel nose and have got many a fish, first time i used it got a 38 lber on it. Now it has not much paint on it and still produces I used it HARD for years paint chipped off etc never missed a beat, lets be honest we dont ue them much unless your on the rowing thing or throw one out for "well its slow day"
You can tell a shovel nose as it has a way more wider lip and deeper cut others are narrow at the lip
kallitype
Active Member
If my old LL plugs get the lip edges worn due to digging bottom, or paint gets bitten off, I seal them with a couple coats of glossy urethane varnish, it makes the colors "pop", and seals out the water. I never fish them more than a couple hours, anyway. If I haven't gotten bit in a couple hours I'll put something else on, like a green/glo spoon, or a white hoochie.
Mako 22
Well-Known Member
Neat info guys.
I fish the Port Angeles area and when pulling plugs I generally use Tomics, been using them since 1976.
However just for fun I have been collecting plastic Luckie Louies and J Plugs and plan on using some this season. The ones in the photos below were garage sale finds here in Port Angeles.
A few wood ones here, including a Wallace Highliner, Lymans and some I cannot identify.
Tomics galore. Must have 200. Most were free from Troller friends or cheap garage sale finds.
I fish the Port Angeles area and when pulling plugs I generally use Tomics, been using them since 1976.
However just for fun I have been collecting plastic Luckie Louies and J Plugs and plan on using some this season. The ones in the photos below were garage sale finds here in Port Angeles.
A few wood ones here, including a Wallace Highliner, Lymans and some I cannot identify.
Tomics galore. Must have 200. Most were free from Troller friends or cheap garage sale finds.
paguy
Well-Known Member
kallitype
Active Member
Thanks paguy, those look pretty deadly for kings around my neck of the woods! I bet they would
do pretty well in Campbell River Tyee pool as well. Where did you nail that big spring in your avatar??? Small head
relative to its body size, we see those way down in Oregon in the Chetco River, 50# fish not uncommon
in early October. I just looked on ebay for Lyman Lures, it appears that some local bought out the remaining stock of
wooden Lyman plugs when they closed up shop, and is advertising them as new old stock at about $75 USD per plug!!!
do pretty well in Campbell River Tyee pool as well. Where did you nail that big spring in your avatar??? Small head
relative to its body size, we see those way down in Oregon in the Chetco River, 50# fish not uncommon
in early October. I just looked on ebay for Lyman Lures, it appears that some local bought out the remaining stock of
wooden Lyman plugs when they closed up shop, and is advertising them as new old stock at about $75 USD per plug!!!
nootkaassassin
Well-Known Member
I love my Louie’s, I have been fishing them for 10 years now and they will produce. Never had much success with the factory patterns and I only use 5-6 basic patterns with either a glow or uv base. You don’t have to troll fast like the Tomics to get that erratic darting action. I rig my Louie with tandem eagle claw laser sharp X3 strong size 4 trebles that are nice and light and I don’t get much hook swing damage on the plug. I believe the light hardware might also effect the action. I also like when you hookup the plug floats up the mainline to the surface.I can’t say for sure if the wood plugs out fish the plastic plugs.
First Picture
Top plug Shovel
Middle plastic stubby
Bottom plastic 5 1/2 Standard
Second Picture All 4 wood
Top wood glass eye stubby
Middle wood 5 1/2 Standard
First Picture
Top plug Shovel
Middle plastic stubby
Bottom plastic 5 1/2 Standard
Second Picture All 4 wood
Top wood glass eye stubby
Middle wood 5 1/2 Standard
Mako 22
Well-Known Member
Tyee Pool at Campbell River or our local pool near PA?
I plan on wringing out the pearl pink Louies this summer out on the ledges at the Humps. Like yours they need teeth marks!!!
Speaking of teeth marks, an old retired 7 inchTomic I used in the 1970's. Now in the display. Look at the hook rub: Best action plug I have ever used.
Don't be bashful about using big plugs!
Mako 22
Well-Known Member
Mako 22
Well-Known Member
I have enjoyed the opportunity to angle with plugs most of my life. I have collected a few cool old designs over the years, both wood, metal and plastic. I am not concerned about the integrity of a wood plug other than it does have a lifespan if the substrate coating gets compromised. I made a small investment into some tools and materials like some sized yellow cedar. It will be fun to play around a bit with some ideas that I have had for a very long time. I'm jumping in with both feet...it should be interesting.
Wow, looks serious. Reminds me of the plug builders in the North East US that build wood striped bass plugs. Those guys love Alaska Yellow Cedar and would kill for your supply shown in the photo.
In fact, Stripers On Line has a very good section on plug building. If you have not yet visited the site, would be worth you time. stripersonline dot com Scroll down until you find Lure Building
Dave H
Well-Known Member
Hopefully we'll get a bit longer time this year than we had last.
Looking forward to seeing you guys again.
Take care.
