Conrads et al

[mfm22]

A few Conrads old school & Dave Anderson style
Thanks Capesams for eyes[I'll need some practice]

Needles from scrap maple they felt right @ 7" & 1 3/4oz.

Lipless eyes Jfig -Thanks

[Lower]

do you sleep? hahaha...nice group of plugs. Hope you have time this spring to fish them all!!!!

[chefchris401]

nice looking stuff, that marble one is sweet!

conrads have to be one of the most underrated plugs around, no one throws them any more or commerically builds them.

[ProfessorM]

Originally Posted by chefchris401

conrads have to be one of the most underrated plugs around, no one throws them any more or commerically builds them.

you got that right. You have to make your own lips so that is why most don't. I do think there are lips available now but have not seen them yet so I can't say if they are exact or a hybrid type lip.



Great looking plugs mfm22, esp. the skin ones

[eskimo]

those look great!

the conrad was one of my most productive plugs last year.

[ecduzitgood]

Very nice work!

[numbskull]

Sweet stuff. I agree, that marble one is drop dead pretty.

Salty's lips are excellent, and the prototype large one is dead on as well.

[angler229]

Nice plugs, I'm digging the conrads.

[pbadad]

Very nice. I love doing swirls. I been using a latex glove and twirling the plug thru my closed hand. How did you do yours?

[Canalman]

NJ Tackle has a conrad lip now too. The plugs look perfect!

[WoodyCT]

Maple?
Birch?
Cedar?
Basswood?

Wondering what you used, as I've seen guys use all manner of wood on these.

[mfm22]

pbadad- simple saran wrap[tip via Joe figs-thanks Joe ]

canalman - I know ,have them also more multi purp lip very close but without turned up sides wire hole is lower...Saltys were better for this job

Woody- none of the above -ayc as I had it,turns nice and is denser than pine/ red cedar/basswood.. maple might be nice

[WoodyCT]

Maple was what Danny used- get's them down deeeeeeeeep.

[wrikerjr]

Originally Posted by WoodyCT

Maple was what Danny used- get's them down deeeeeeeeep.

I have a few of danny's conrads and they appear to be made of different types of wood. I currently use birch and have very similiar results.

[WoodyCT]

No doubt wood he scavenged from pallets and such.

[mfm22]

That was the story I heard .. he'd pick up pallets and such at Con Ed where he worked
Not sure they used maple in those ,even back in the day

[Canalman]

Originally Posted by mfm22

canalman - I know ,have them also more multi purp lip very close but without turned up sides wire hole is lower...Saltys were better for this job

The Saltys is perfect for that build yes, that's why I suggested them in the article.

Woody, I did some research on the Conrads and found that there were two different ones (sinking and floating) the floaters were made of pine and sinkers maple or birch. Of course I did not have a wide array of plugs to choose from so there may be other intermediate versions as well. Have you been able to confirm the use of maple in the floaters? Just curious. I borrowed a well-used floater that was clearly made of pine. Interesting how these guys made slight variations like this.

-Dave

[WoodyCT]

but the one C I refinished was maple with no belly lead. I suppose Danny tried different woods to get different results- different actions and different depths.

Denser wood should go deeper and have a slower action as it would more easily penetrate the water, and be more resistant to changing direction, thus responding slower.

Lighter would be shallower and wigglier.

There's a time and place for everything to shine, so build 'em, throw 'em, tune 'em and see what each one's niche is.

[wrikerjr]

Originally Posted by Canalman

The Saltys is perfect for that build yes, that's why I suggested them in the article.

Woody, I did some research on the Conrads and found that there were two different ones (sinking and floating) the floaters were made of pine and sinkers maple or birch. Of course I did not have a wide array of plugs to choose from so there may be other intermediate versions as well. Have you been able to confirm the use of maple in the floaters? Just curious. I borrowed a well-used floater that was clearly made of pine. Interesting how these guys made slight variations like this.

I have never heard of an intermediate and the 15 or so that i have 2 were the floaters and the rest were all deep divers, one had a more rounded off face and most had eel skin notches grooved in afterwards. I bought most of these plugs as beaters in yardsales for about $1 or so over the years.

-Dave

Dave,

I am by far no expert like you. I have about 15 of danny's conrad's floating around my house and most of them are off with friends at this point as i completed the build and am very happy.

Some were indeed made of pine and some were birch or maple (i am not 100% sure it is all maple, but its not rock maple that is for sure). I actually cut 5 of the plugs in half (i know i know but i don't have a x-ray machine access and my dentist looked at me like i had 5 heads when i asked him to x-ray the plugs) so i did what i had to do.

Of the 5 plugs i cut in half 4 were made of maple and one of pine. Some of the maples had weight in them and some did not but they all seimed to weigh the same at the end. The pine was heavily weighted but the line tie was lower. All lips were the same and all plugs sat at rest the same in the water. I have never seen a conrad plug that is neutrally buyount or sinks without a retrieve. The maple when retrieved went down about 6 feet on average and you could tune them to go lower but the pine only went down about 2 feet and you could get it on top easily as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed the article you wrote on the conrad junior and as a plug builder who did my research and extensive testing can say what you wrapped up in the article took me about 1 1/2 years to do and i would do it again as I like to learn from every build i take on.

Kindest,
Billy

[wrikerjr]

Originally Posted by WoodyCT

No doubt wood he scavenged from pallets and such.

I heard stories of him getting wood scraps from anywhere and everywhere. Its amazing what he did with wood scraps if you think about it, i stress about quality wood and he just took whatever and made it work.

[WoodyCT]

I fuss and fuss over paint and clear coat, but Danny clearly put his efforts into the shape and action. It's almost shocking how ugly some of his plugs are.

[wrikerjr]

Originally Posted by WoodyCT

I fuss and fuss over paint and clear coat, but Danny clearly put his efforts into the shape and action. It's almost shocking how ugly some of his plugs are.

I think that they are so ugly they are beautiful, but i am crazy

[Canalman]

Originally Posted by wrikerjr

Dave,

I am by far no expert like you. I have about 15 of danny's conrad's floating around my house and most of them are off with friends at this point as i completed the build and am very happy.

Some were indeed made of pine and some were birch or maple (i am not 100% sure it is all maple, but its not rock maple that is for sure). I actually cut 5 of the plugs in half (i know i know but i don't have a x-ray machine access and my dentist looked at me like i had 5 heads when i asked him to x-ray the plugs) so i did what i had to do.

Of the 5 plugs i cut in half 4 were made of maple and one of pine. Some of the maples had weight in them and some did not but they all seimed to weigh the same at the end. The pine was heavily weighted but the line tie was lower. All lips were the same and all plugs sat at rest the same in the water. I have never seen a conrad plug that is neutrally buyount or sinks without a retrieve. The maple when retrieved went down about 6 feet on average and you could tune them to go lower but the pine only went down about 2 feet and you could get it on top easily as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed the article you wrote on the conrad junior and as a plug builder who did my research and extensive testing can say what you wrapped up in the article took me about 1 1/2 years to do and i would do it again as I like to learn from every build i take on.

Kindest,
Billy

I'm no expert, I'm just someone who is interested in the methods of the masters like the rest of us. Your info is extremely interesting... of the ones I tested, I had a sinker that sunk head-down and a floater... I liked the action of the floater better so I set out to build that one. Luckily it was worn and I could tell that the plug was made of pine.. I worked out my version from there.

-Dave