IF you had the chance to create the perfect steelhead plug...what colors would it be?

How about numbering them 1-5, with 1 being the most preferred?

1. Gold w/black back

2. Pink, with black back

3. Blue, with black back and red bill

etc.

There's a reason I ask...

Mike

Three weeks, four days, 20 hours, 12 minutes and 59 seconds. 904 cigarettes not smoked, saving $180.89. Life saved: 3 days, 3 hours, 20 minutes.

normal or dirty water- a green and a pink

clear water- a green and a gold/blackhead/orangestripe or double eagle

always gotta have greeny though

1. Pink and black (as long as it's wigglin in front of a big aggressive fish)

2. Black and silver (as long as it's wigglin in front of a big aggressive fish)

3.Blue and silver (as long as it's wigglin in front of a big aggressive fish)

4.Green and silver as long as it's wigglin in front of a big aggressive fish)

5.Any color if I snatch them out of my buddies tackle box or find them in log jams.

How about this one?

I may have one of every color made.. but I bet I use less than 10 of them.

1> Metallic purple Hot shot- AKA Purple Jesus.
2> Metallic green Mag wart
3> Silver with black stripe wiggle wart AKA " The B!tch
4> Metallic Pink wiggle wart with black stripe AKA Heather Locklear.
5> Black with silver glitter Hot shot - AKA Michial Jackson..

Blue is a good one also... but could only pick 5

Fnp
Looks like a Brads,bw29, I have caught several silvers on it.Someday if I ever decide to pull plugs for steel I think that would be a good 1 to try.

Dirty water, 1.chrome tad with a chartruse head 2. size 35 hot shot hot pink,medium vis or IDEAL, 1. plain met pink tad , no rattle 2. size 35 hot shot, blue pirate 3. dark blue tad,no rattle,clear or nearly clear 1. chrome with orange rib tad,black head,no rattle 2. dark purple tad,no rattle 3. gold with black spots tad,no rattle 4. chrome with sparse blue dots tad,no rattle. 5. size 35 hot shot black with chrome prizm inside,

I'd settle for just a Miss Piggy, Dr. Death, and Skeletor.

Parker:

The Dr. Death I know...but the other two got me wondering...what is a Miss Piggy?

Mike

Three weeks, five days, 10 hours, 48 minutes and 2 seconds. 925 cigarettes not smoked, saving $185.15. Life saved: 3 days, 5 hours, 5 minutes.

1. Black and Gold
2. Baby blue and White
3. silver and green
4. dark blue and white
5. Baby blue and pink

1. gold / orange stripe
2. cop car
3. green pirate
4. green herring bone
5. blue pirate

My favorites in no specific order
1) Jerry Lee Lewis
2) Dr. Kevorkian
3) Jay Buhner
4) Red Rooster

Cool! (But can you tell me what that means in colors..I haven't got a clue as to what a Jay Buhner looks like...cool name, but what is it?)




Mike


SMOBER: Three weeks, six days, 10 hours, 53 minutes and 5 seconds. 960 cigarettes not smoked, saving $192.17. Life saved: 3 days, 8 hours, 0 minutes.

Dr. Death & Skeletor are my go to plugs.

Closer to your first guess.

I have been researching making a new line of plugs, just for steelhead. One thing I have found in my research, so far, is that different plugs are popular on different watersheds.

Color combinations vary greatly, it seems...from the black and white "Cop Car", to gold and black, pink/black (Dr. Death), etc.

What I am wanting to produce is a superior plug with the action steelheaders want, and in the color schemes that steelheaders prefer. These plugs won't come with trebles you have to rip your fingers off to remove when replacing with siwash...instead, they will come with the Gami siwash installed with bead chain or swivels, ready to fit the water and do their job.

The line should be fully ready by next fall, but I'll need some "product testers". Those who responded with helpful color schemes, above, are the first on the list to get a range of samples to try out on your favorite steelhead waters...

Just beginning to put this all together, so patience is required while I screw up a few dozen getting the "bugs" worked out. I don't want to say much more until I have working prototypes and can properly pay for advertising on PP. (The render unto Ceasar thing...

Mike

Three weeks, six days, 19 hours, 52 minutes and 56 seconds. 973 cigarettes not smoked, saving $194.79. Life saved: 3 days, 9 hours, 5 minutes.

From a marketing and business perspective I think the perfect color is the one that catches the fisherman.

Some things to consider: (I am not an expert, so take this info with a grain of salt)

*Not all plugs work on all rivers.

*Not all plugs work on all fish species.

*Use bright plugs on dark days and dark plugs on bright days (as a general rule).

*Clarity and quality of water also dictates colors to use.

*Look at what is "in common" of the plugs mentioned above. One thing you'll notice is "contrast". IE, a black/dark head on a shiny silver bodied plug. Why does that contrasting work so well?

*I'd be willing to be that the trueness of the action of the plug plays a bigger role than the color. Even on Tadpolly's, which run pretty darn good almost all the time, why is that there is always 1 or 2 Tads (doesn't matter what the color is) that always can be brought out to produce a fish? Concentrate on the action and trueness of the action over the color.

*Given the choice, I'd much rather have an Owner trebble on my steelhead plug (if not in selective gear waters) over a Gami Siwash and bead chain. Even so, not too sure a bead chain is needed - unless you are fishing in snaggy wates for coho that love to do the Death Roll on your plug.

my most productive Steelhead plug has been a custom painted tadpolly, that I have nicknamed the Christmas Plug. it is a metallic pink body with a metallic blue bill and green stipe down the back. The next plug would have to be the Dr. Death, then the BW 29.

I fish mostly bigger waters (Columbia and Snake) so mostly use somewhat big/deep plugs.

For steelhead:
Metallic red/black back hot-n-tot or wart
Fluorescent red/black herringbone mag/wart
Metallic green/black back hot-n-tot
Michael Jackson wiggle wart
Hot pink or metallic pink wart/mag wart
Chrome/fluorescent orange back wart, hot-n-tot, or fatfish
(Plus a few hundred others that rarely get used)

For chinook:
(Besides the Kwiks in green/silver, red/gold, glad clown...):
chartreuse/lime green herringbone mag wart
hot pink mag wart
fluorescent red/black herringbone mag wart
luminescent mag wart

Although the kwiks are my bread & butter, surprisingly the mag warts will outdo the kwiks in some conditions. We've had double digit days flatlining mag warts in the Hanford Reach.

I agree with the comments about action being most important... I have a whole box of toothmark lures, nothing goes in that tray unless it's caught at least a handful of fish. Confidence-in-a-box.

One with the most teeth marks