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eel skins on plugs question

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stripercrazy

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18 mins ago, oldschool77 said:

Large Tupperware of Kosher salt 

Off season I take them off the plug and put them in a salt saturated brine solution 

I do something similar. I store the plug ( individually) in zip lock bag w/o hooks in the crisper section of the fridge.. Hooks, particularly VMC trebles, siwash will stain skin if left in bag with salt. I add Kosher salt to each bag enough to coat plug. When I want to use the plug I add hooks and transport plug(s) to shore in a small cooler. I put the plug(s) in my surf bag when I get to the fishing spot.

In the winter I'll store hook-less skin plugs the same way in zip lock bags w/kosher salt in fridge.

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I am more a grab and go guy. The stains don't seem to hurt my hookups and taking trebles on and off is a hassle, plus for eelskins I usually cut my VMC since they will foul if I don't .

If I know I'll be using a plug the next day or soon thereafter I will absolutely toss it in the freezer

Edited by oldschool77
There's no need to stand on top of a rock when the water's 6 inches deep around you and you're wearing waders - you're at cuttyhunk damnit, be hardcore. -EBHarvey
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Can't wait to try my new stuff. I do love throwing eel skins in general but the maintenance can be tricky. Forgot a skin in a bag and it was full of holes stinking up my bag the weekend after 

There's no need to stand on top of a rock when the water's 6 inches deep around you and you're wearing waders - you're at cuttyhunk damnit, be hardcore. -EBHarvey
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  • 1 month later...

Just tried to skin my first eel and man, I'll leave out the details but that was not fun.  Got it off, but the tail end of the skin is split down in the very end.  As in, the skin on the tail is essentially just two flaps now.  Anyone ever run into this?  It was a very large eel 

C&R

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6 hours ago, Bluetaildragger said:

Just tried to skin my first eel and man, I'll leave out the details but that was not fun.  Got it off, but the tail end of the skin is split down in the very end.  As in, the skin on the tail is essentially just two flaps now.  Anyone ever run into this?  It was a very large eel 

Yes they spilt sometimes ...I sew the split with regular sewing thread to keep it from splitting more ... how’d you skin it ? Like ...nail the head to a board etc...  

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it happens, kinda sucks since finding the bigger eels is sometimes tough, at least for me - usually it happens to me on the smaller ones luckily

 

they still work, tail just doesnt inflate like a ballon as much, kinda does a split tail pork rind thing, more action / less profile

I tried repairing it by sewing like said above and rejoining both tails was kinda lost cause but at least useful to prevent further splitting

 

all i got is go real slow and careful when pulling the last bit of skin off the tail - pull evenly from both sides , 2 pairs pliers, to avoid shearing force

- head nailed like charles said

 

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I know a very good fisherman who uses a Cham Cloth to make a simulated skin plug. He cuts the cloth to size and pre punches holes along the length of the cloth on both sides. He colors the cloth using a waterproof marker, usually black or light blue.Then using Wrapping Thread he stitches "The Skin" tightly over the plug.  One cloth will make an assortment of different Skin Plugs.  Can also be used on old bucktails to make a sand eel type of lure.  Hope this helps. 

 

sb

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On 3/4/2019 at 11:50 PM, Lord Helmet said:

I’m a big fan of eel skins, it’s a high confidence lure for me. You can put a skin just about any lure but I have had the most success with needles.

I have a 1 3/4 super strike needle that I took a piece of wire and got it hot and created an indent to tie up the skin. Works great in skinny water or calm nights. I know guys last jyear in April by me have done well with loaded red fins tied behind the lip. I can’t personally speak for how effective they are but Instagram has some around. 

 

My montauk needles are the 2 and 3 oz BM skins and a chef Chris needle he made out of a bar stool. It at least 8-9 inches  painted eel skin blue and caught me a low 20 on my first cast. The BM junior swims great with a skin too. Try bending the line up if you want it to dive a little. I think I left the BM in the freezer most of the year this past season. I added skin to a sp bullet bc I had no other use for that lure.  Casted well but I lost it to a bluefish and haven’t used it since.  I rig mine with the skins inside out. If you are on Long Island cow harbor sells skins and I believe rigged eels. 

From a very savvy Cape Cod guide (who loves skinned plugs) I learned that he likes to skin Atom A54 plugs (which require big-azz eels, I will grant you).

 

What's of more interest--from a POV that I'll call "generally applicable eel-skinning stuff"--is that he usually doesn't BUY plastic plugs with the eel-skin groove.  He simply melts a groove into those plastic plugs.  This same approach can work on any plastic plug including needles, striper swipes, plastic swimmers, etc.

 

HTH

G.B.O.G.H. -- DT326

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--M. Mead

Be safe, be smart, be kind.--Gary Crocker, Maine Humorist/Philosopher

 

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