Plugs are wonderful when a ton of bait is in the area... And, for some reason, when an abundance of squid are around too. For returning Kings, they are my first choice early, early morning. In addition to what the other folks are mentioning, I like them because I can cover water by trolling faster than normal.

My preferences are a 5" all glo rattle, green splatter back, or all white J-Plugs for Kings and a 4" green splatter back for Blackies.. I also modify them by removing the hooks and adding an extra length of bead chain to the split ring and then adding a siwash hook. This places the hook back behind the bait..

Ace-Hi is another good plug that is a solid performer.

Tomic makes a good plug, but you'll need to watch the action. It is a hard tuner unless you free line them (removing the posts)...

It is hard to find a "great" plug. Maybe 1 in 25 consistently produce fish. This can get expensive!!! When you find a plug that catches fish consistently, whatever you do, never get rid of that plug. Never modify or paint it- there is something about it the fish love.

If you are running two rods in the boats, the trick to not tangling is always turn the boat towards the flasher side. This is the "slow" side and your gear will drop deeper while the plug will ride a little higher..

The small 3" and 4" are great Laker plugs over at Chelan