vinnyb

Same here. The closest I got was a phone conversation. I was trying to track down some of his needles which, at the time, were very difficult to find. After calling a bunch of shops, I finally worked up the nerve to call him directly (if memory serves, the phone number was printed right on his plug packaging). Expecting to get an answering machine, I was very surprised when John picked up the phone. I could tell from the get-go that he was a very nice guy. I explained that I was looking for some of his 2 oz needles & he was kind enough to inform me of a shop that would be getting a delivery the next day. We chatted for a bit about his plugs, fishing, etc. It was evident from the conversation that he was a genuine person who had a true passion for what he was doing. I distinctly remember him telling me "all I should be making is needlefish" meaning that the demand was so high for this plug. But of course he had many other styles & I'd imagine he enjoyed making those & developing new styles as well. It's sad he's not with us anymore but it's pretty cool that we have all of these creations of his to help keep his memory alive.

This is awesome

Great Tim - now you're gonna have me smelling all of these plugs ;-). Great stuff - thanks for contributing. Musta been cool during the online store days to receive boxes of goodies from Habs, Fixter, Choopy, etc. A bit like Christmas every time you opened one I bet.

Hi DZ. Yes John & Mike (Tattoo) did collaborate on the Hab-a-tat plugs but poppers were not part of that Mike did make his own poppers but with a completely different profile

I disagree - it's a not wanting to be crowded out of a spot I worked to find issue.

I completely agree & when/if I'm approached by another fisherman (either on the beach or boat) I'm always friendly & respectful. So much so that they have no clue I'm lying right to their face . But to the OP's question, unfortunately today there are very few fishermen out there who are willing to put in the required work to find their own fish. So when someone approaches, you have to assume this is the case unless proven otherwise. By telling someone you're catching fish, you're not really helping anyone - least of all yourself. Since you had a stringer of fish visible, flat out lying probably isn't going to work so you're kinda stuck. But I definitely wouldn't have shared the info about the potential PB - that's just guaranteeing unwanted company. One of my closest friends decided to take up surfcasting about 2 years ago. I told him I'd teach him, but he wouldn't be getting any "spots" from me - he'd need to do his own work. To his credit he's put his time in & now "sorta" knows what he's doing - or at least he's off to a solid start ;-). We fish together fairly frequently & I always treat those outings as opportunities to teach - be it the open beach, back bays, etc. He'd take those lessons & try to apply them - to figure out the where/when/how on his own. This is how you help someone IMO.

I did see that but the wraps seem to vary on some of my Habs needles too.

Thanks for finding this thread Kev. This is probably the post you're referring to. The paint & detailing seem to be very consistent with Habs. There's no belly grommet just like on his needles.

I acquired this some years back & seem to remember it being a Habs. Looks very similar in profile to the small Habs Polaris style I’ve seen pictures of here. It measures 6.5” & weighs 3.3 oz. What say you plug gurus?

Closing this for now. If interested, PM me & I'll open it back up. Thanks!

Last call at $25 shipped

Closing this for now. If interested, PM me & I'll open it back up. Thanks!

Totally agree but with the way this fiasco has unfolded thus far anything is possible ;-)

WOW you're a lucky SOB! So the good news is that since he didn't show on the first date, he likely won't show on 10/23 either. That means as long as you can convince the judge you're in the right, you should get a favorable judgment.

If the defendant showed, I think you're pretty much screwed.