Plugs are a popular type of hard-bodied fishing lure

Fishing lure

A fishing lure is an object attached to the end of a fishing line which is designed to resemble and move like the prey of a fish. The purpose of the lure is to use movement, vibration, and colour to catch the fish's attention so it bites the hook...

. They are widely known by a number of other names depending on the country and region. Such names include crankbait, wobbler, minnow, shallow-diver and deep-diver. The term minnow is usually used for long, slender, lures that imitate baitfish, while the term plug is usually used for shorter, deeper-bodied lures which imitate deeper-bodied fish, frogs and other prey. Shallow-diver and deep-diver refer to the diving capabilities of the lure, which depends on the size of the lip and lure buoyancy.

History

The concept of an attractant tied to the end of a line to entice fish goes back to prehistoric peoples, but the modern concept of the plug lure is attributed to James Heddon

Heddon

Heddon is a brand of artificial fishing lures created by James Heddon, who is credited with the invention of the first artificial fishing lures made of wood in the late 1890s....

, a beekeeper from Dowagiac, Michigan

Dowagiac, Michigan

Dowagiac is a city in Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,147 at the 2000 census. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, who was whittling a piece of wood one day in the late 19th century

Century

A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...

 while relaxing alongside a millpond. When he rose to leave, he tossed the carved scrap of wood into the pond, and a large bass struck at it as it wobbled down through the water. Intrigued by this, Heddon began experimenting and perfected a design he dubbed the "Lucky 13" — a plug that is still sold today. By the early 20th century, many companies were in the business of designing and selling plug lures.

Construction

The construction of typical plug is:

• A solid or hollow body made out of light weight wood
  Wood
  Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
  
   such as balsa or plastic
  Plastic
  A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
  
  , sometimes separated into two pieces joined by a small flexible link to enhance the impression of a fish whipping its tail fin
  Fin
  A fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, . The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices...
  
  .
• A thin sheet metal or plastic lip attached to the front of the body, sometimes adjustable to change the diving ability and wobbling movements of the lure.
• Two, or occasionally three, treble hook
  Fish hook
  A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fishermen to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...
  
  s.
• An eyelet for attaching the fishing line.
• Generally, a painted or imprinted color and/or design, to make the plug appear as close as possible to a natural food of the aquatic environment. However, some very effective plugs occasionally have a design or color unlike anything seen in such an environment.

Action

Classic plugs float on the surface or suspend in the water, but will dive under the surface of the water and swim with a side-to-side wobbling movement (hence the alternative name wobbler) upon retrieval. Plastic plugs can dive to either a very shallow depth, due to a small lip, or to a moderately deep depth (i.e. several meters), due to a large lip. As for wood plugs, the size of the lip is not what makes your depths increase or decrease, but rather, it is the way you bend the lip or eye. Sometimes, plugs are named after their diving ability, e.g. "deep-diver" or "shallow-diver". Plugs can also be designed to hover (neutral buoyancy), sink slowly, or sink rapidly. Some have a small metal ball inside to "rattle" when retrieved.

Other lures are sometimes generically called plugs or wobblers. They come in all different shapes and sizes. These plugs are usually made by small companies and cost around twenty dollars. Each plug has its own action or has none unless you give it one. Wood plugs can range from anywhere between 3/4 oz. and 4 oz. usually. The different plugs come in a few basic categories. There are surface swimmers, subsurface swimmers, needlefish, poppers,pencil poppers, and darters. they all have their own specific place and time to be fished.

Size

Plugs range in size from around an inch (~3 cm) to around 8 inches (~20 cm). Plugs in the 2–3 inch (~5–7 cm) size range are most commonly used however. As a general rule large plugs are used for large fish, and small plugs for small fish. Fishermen casting

Casting

In metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process...

 for very small fish such as crappie

Crappie

Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...

 will use very small plugs, and anglers fishing for large fish such muskellunge

Muskellunge

A muskellunge , also known as a muskelunge, muscallonge, milliganong, or maskinonge , is a large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae...

 or Murray cod

Murray Cod

The Murray cod is a large Australian predatory freshwater fish of the Maccullochella genus and the Percichthyidae family. Although the species is a called cod in the vernacular, it is not related to the northern hemisphere marine cod species...

 will use extremely large plugs. But trophy-sized fish are occasionally caught on very small plugs, and fingerling perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

 will sometimes strike — and hook themselves — on a plug as big as they are themselves. Plug fishing is more common in freshwater fishing than saltwater fishing, but it is growing greatly upon East-Coast striper fishermen.

Fishing Technique

Most plugs have their "action" built into them by design, but good fishermen give nuance to the plug's action in many ways, such as varying the speed of the retrieve, occasionally "twitching" the rod tip during retrieve, or even letting the plug stop completely in the water, then resuming retrieve at a very high speed. Plugs are often cast so they land next to places where fish may be hiding, such as a snag

Snag

In forest ecology, a snag refers to a standing, partly or completely dead tree, often missing a top or most of the smaller branches. In freshwater ecology it refers to trees, branches, and other pieces of naturally occurring wood found sunken in rivers and streams; it is also known as coarse woody...

pile or an overhanging tree and worked back enticingly. A skilled fisherman can methodically explore many possible hiding places for fish by continually casting and retrieving a plug.

Theoretically, any plug design will catch fish — fish will, out of anger, hunger, territorial protection or simple curiosity, occasionally strike at any small object moving or falling through the water. But some plugs have become famous for their high degree of effectiveness in the hands of a good fisherman, while others come and go from the market quickly when found to have limited success.