Swimmer plug action

[jerseystriper]

I have a question regarding the swimming of plug pictured. It is a 5" 2 1/4 oz. flat nose swimmer, which I thought or think is a top swimming plug. I quess it matters with the plug but would these swim below surface with a quicker retrieve? It's just that the other night/after dark I caught 3 stripers with it. I thought while fishing it that it was below the surface(not deep though) but maybe not. I quess anything can happen but I thought top water plugs were not effective with bass at night. At the time of catching the fish the moon was not up and it was not very calm either

[Roccus]

First, bass spend more time near the surface at night than they do during the day, if your tagreting bass in 3-6 feet of water the surface is where it's at...

you never heard anyone that knows anything about bass that surface lures are for day time only, your confused with popping plugs, which generaly are worked to fast present the plug in a natural manner at night... even these will perform well under a bright moon...

to your plug...many, many things influence how deep a plug will run, not just the head shape... flat nosed plugs like goo-goo eyes and conrads are your deepest swimmers... weighting and wood composistion as well as lip type and posistion of the pull eye will also determine how deep ( or shallow) a plug will run... if you want the plug to run closer to the surface, bend the pull eye down( slightly, if the plug still runs too deep, you can change out the hooks for a size smaller, often starting with the rear hook.. which on some plugs can be removed alltogether.. . a 3/0 VMc weighs about 3 grams.....lastly and this is the last adjustment you should do, you can bend the lip down slightly this however should be your last resort ...if you mess up, the lip may be ruined....

as you gain experience, you will understand more and more what actualy makes a plug do what it does, it's something that only time can teach you...

tight lines
Roc

[jerseystriper]

Thank you Roccus
I was hoping you would answer as your responses(and a few other folks) are very informative. I had not had a chance to test plug except that night. When I grabbed this plug I thought I was grabbing a similar one that I knew dived 2 to 4'. This plug may have been on the surface, I had casted towards the moons reflection to see but I could not. I only looked a few times as the reflection was screwing up my night vision(large moon) I can test in freshwater but I know that will not represent the true nature of the plug
Even with poppers I have had some of my most exciting nighttime bass fishing, well except for eels. There is nothing like a surface hit though