Make Your Own Underwater Plug For Freshwater Fishing

The underwater plug requires a metal lip which makes it dive, wriggle, and travel under the surface. The shape and dimensions of this lip are shown below.

It can be cut out from sheet brass, and two holes are drilled to take small screws for fastening the lip to the wood body. Although a straight metal lip will give the plug some action, better results are obtained if the lip is bent like a shallow plate or saucer.

This can be done by hammering the metal lip gently with a ball peen hammer. The hammering can be done against a block of hard wood which has a depression gouged out to take the metal lip.

When assembling the underwater plug, start by screwing in a screw eye under the head to which the line will be attached. Then fasten on the metal lip with two small screws just behind this screw eye.

Next, about an inch behind the metal lip, screw in one of the treble hooks. A second treble hook is attached about mid way between the first one and the tail, and the final treble hook is attached to the tail.

The "jointed" plug is easily made by using the same body as the underwater plug described above. Only here you cut the wood body in half, as shown below.

The two parts are then connected by screw eyes. The rest of the plug is assembled the same way as the underwater type, except that only two instead of three treble hooks are used.

As mentioned before, the dimensions given here are for the larger bait-casting size. These plugs will run from about 1/2 to 3/4 ounces in weight.

You don't have to follow the dimensions given here; make the plugs smaller if you want to. The small spinning-size plugs can be made one-third smaller and these will weigh between 1/4 and 1/2 oz.

The treble hooks used on the larger bait-casting size plugs should be either sizes No. 1 or 1/0. For the smaller spinning size, plugs No. 2 or 4 are more suitable. Such hooks can be bought in fishing tackle stores, or order them by mail.

Web Make Your Own Fishing Lures

| Back to Top of Underwater Plug |