The yr was 1976 and the place was Brenton Reef off Newport, Rhode Island. I used to be fishing with the fiendishly intelligent and fanatically secretive striper ace, Fran Sargent, in his stealthy tin beater boat. By no means heard of Fran Sargent? That was the best way he needed it; he made the Mad Russian (the furtive winner of 4 Winery Derbies) seem to be a socialite. Even should you had heard of Fran, you by no means noticed the place he fished and also you by no means, ever noticed him land a fish, although on the finish of the day, you might need seen his boat sitting a couple of inches deeper within the water. If Fran had been sloppy or exhausted, you might need seen an enormous sq. tail poking out of an overstuffed fish field, however in all of the years I fished with him, I noticed him drop his guard solely as soon as. The fish patrons at Spooner’s in Westport, Massachusetts, knew the rating, however virtually nobody else knew about his unimaginable haul of striped bass.
Anyway, the circumstances appeared promising that day in Newport, with an overcast sky and simple rollers coming in from the southwest; nonetheless, the fishing had been dismal and even Fran, the perfect striper man I ever fished with, couldn’t conjure up a bass. We had been messing round with Atom 40s and related plugs, however couldn’t get them to swim proper. We acquired a couple of swirls, however no hookups.
“Nicely, okay,” sighed Fran. “I suppose I ought to attempt one among these plugs that Charley Soares gave me.”
Fran reached into his canvas sea bag and pulled out a big silver-and-blue plug in a transparent plastic wrapper. This was the legendary, virtually legendary plug turned by the hand of Danny Pichney himself. I had heard rumors of such plugs, however they have been principally unattainable to acquire in my space. No deal with shops that I knew of in New England carried them again then. Robert Vasta informed me that he had to purchase his first Danny plugs within the 70s out of the again of Charlie Kay’s truck at Breezy Level jetty. Steve Campo famous that there have been a couple of retailers in New York Metropolis and Lengthy Island that carried Danny plugs, however I assumed they didn’t final very lengthy on the cabinets. In southern New England, Danny Pichney plugs have been out there solely to some sharpies who had entry to Danny himself. Fortunately, Charley Soares was a kind of sharpies, and he had given us a couple of of the plugs within the hope that he may curry favor with the notoriously tight-lipped Fran Sargent (all for naught, however that could be a totally different story).
Fran unwrapped the plug, and I gawked in marvel at this unique Danny within the “Mullet” coloration. It was essentially the most stunning plug I had ever seen because it shimmered within the faint daylight. It appeared a disgrace to danger sending such an beautiful creation into hurt’s approach, however Fran disregarded my objection, snapped it onto his line, and made an extended forged downwind to a hidden reef, a reef with no white water exhibiting. It betrayed its presence solely as a slight watery hump because the seas rolled over it. It didn’t look very promising or significantly fishy.
None of us have been ready for what occurred subsequent. The plug traveled about two ft on the floor of the water and wiggled a couple of instances, leaving an ideal wake. It then disappeared in a cloud of spray and was the final we noticed of it. It was barely moist when a striper exploded on it and took off. Fran’s Squidder reel whizzed and his heavy, 9-foot blonde Lamiglas rod doubled over. Even with 50-pound Dacron line and the drag screwed down as tight as he dared, Fran couldn’t management the fish; it went to the underside, ran over some barnacle-covered rocks, then his line went slack. Fran, muttering varied unprintable invectives, reeled in his limp line that ended with a frazzled chief of 60-pound monofilament the place the plug had as soon as, ever so briefly, been connected.
Each of us have been shocked. Right here was a plug, contemporary out of the bundle, nonetheless smelling of paint and epoxy. In contrast to the Atom 40s and different plugs we experimented with, we didn’t should fiddle with the attention. This real Danny plug swam completely proper out of the bag, however not for lengthy. I had by no means encountered a lure with such a brief lifespan.
No marvel the unique Danny Pichney plugs had a mystique about them. Not solely have been they well-nigh unattainable to acquire, they have been far and away the perfect floor lures of their period. From that day ahead, I had a fascination with these creations. Finally, I contacted Danny and ordered a couple of shipments. What he despatched me was a grab-bag of assorted fashions and colours (some have been experimental). Some we used, and a few I saved away as collector’s gadgets.
Moreover the floor swimmers, we additionally used a Pichney plug known as the “Conrad,” a big, weighty hardwood subsurface lure that ran deep. When the surf was heavy, we reached for Conrads as a result of they traveled under the white water as a substitute of wiggling round fruitlessly within the suds like a floor swimmer. The Conrad had a gradual, seductive rolling motion that proved irresistible to very large striped bass. In our expertise, Conrads within the blue/pink/white “herring” coloration have been the perfect fish catchers. Probably the most violent strikes I’ve ever skilled have been on these plugs throughout pre- and post-hurricane swells off Sakonnet and Newport. It felt like my arms have been being wrenched out of their sockets.
After our explosive first expertise with the Danny floor swimmer, Fran Sargent and I fished solely with unique Pichney plugs once we may get them. As soon as, we even bumped into Danny himself, who was fishing with Charlie Soares off Cuttyhunk. Danny was utilizing a standard Penn Squidder with a stiff casting rod. He informed us how the fish have been on a “wooden weight loss plan” that day, which we didn’t doubt.
I fished large Danny floor swimmers and Conrads for a decade or so till I used to be fortunate sufficient to get in on the legendary striper blitzes on Block Island within the 80s. Though Danny had reluctantly made a couple of needlefish, it was the Gibbs, Gags, and Tremendous Strike needlefish that dominated Block Island throughout these glory years. The one exception gave the impression to be the stubby, single-hook needlefish Danny made for Tim Coleman. The golden age of enormous picket swimming plugs had began to wind down. After that, curiosity within the unique Dannys waned, and so they light away, aside from lure collectors who prized them above all others, particularly the rarest fashions and colours.
One of many causes that Pichney lures are so valued by collectors right now is that Danny ran a small operation out of his basement and made a restricted variety of plugs. As he defined in an interview with Tim Coleman, when he first began promoting plugs, he tried to maintain his operation underneath wraps so he didn’t get overwhelmed with orders. It took Frank Keating, a fishing author for the Lengthy Island Press, three years to seek out out who was making these amazingly efficient lures. In fact, this secrecy simply enhanced their mystique and desirability.
As we speak, there are numerous plug builders churning out stunning Danny-style plugs, and it’s straightforward to neglect the way it all started. Danny Pichney (1921-1988) was a machinist from Jackson Heights, New York. He labored for Con Edison in Lengthy Island Metropolis; in his spare time, he loved fashioning his personal fishing lures. Moreover, as he defined to Tim Coleman, within the previous days he couldn’t afford commercially out there plugs. Danny was a resourceful scrounger, amassing previous pallets from Con Ed or discarded props from native theaters to make use of as wooden for his lures. If the wooden was not thick sufficient, he glued two slabs collectively to get one thing thick sufficient to activate his lathe after which rigorously place the heaviest wooden on the underside of the plug. In line with Steve Campo, Danny bartered for all types of supplies similar to grommets, hooks, bucktails, stainless lip materials, and plastic packaging materials. Consequently, there was some variability within the supplies utilized in his lures. In contrast to right now’s tremendous glossed, air-brushed plugs, Pichney plugs have small diagnostic marks, streaks, and nicks, however the end is extraordinarily sturdy and lengthy lasting. Nobody is aware of, or is keen to say, what Danny used for his secret paint and epoxy coatings, but it surely was some form of unstable natural compound that’s most likely not authorized right now. Or a minimum of I hope so.
In 1966, Danny teamed up with one other legendary lure builder from that period, Don Musso (who went on to create Tremendous Strike lures). Sadly, this collaboration ended acrimoniously in 1973. One situation was a dispute over the 6-inch floor swimmer. In line with Musso, Danny offered the design to Lupo Lures with out consulting him first. The 6-inch swimmer, a scaled down model of the 7½-inch floor swimmers that Fran Sargent and I used, was supposedly an unique design by Musso. He realized that by tapering each ends of the lure (within the form of a tuna, as he defined), he may make it journey with a greater wiggle and a smaller swim plate than the Atom 40 or different related lures; thus, a legend was born. Sadly for Musso, from then on, this lure was named the Danny when perhaps it ought to have been known as the Donny.
By all accounts, Danny Pichney was a beneficiant and really personable lure builder and fishing companion. I discovered him very partaking within the lengthy cellphone conversations I had with him, and others who knew him higher felt the identical approach. Robert Vasta mentioned this: “He would make any plug you needed. He would at all times work with you. Truly, he appeared for enter from fishermen on a regular basis.” Steve Campo knew Danny very effectively and known as him an “superior” individual.
The Pichney Conrad plug had a special genesis. It was named after Conrad Malicoat (1936–2014), a talented artisan from Provincetown, Massachusetts, who was well-known for his artwork and elaborate brickwork. Malicoat was a resourceful craftsman; he constructed one of many historic dune shacks at P-City from scrap lumber and driftwood. He additionally cherished to fish the Bottom Seaside and Race Level, generally with the crew from the Striper Surf Membership in Brooklyn. Conrad wanted a lure that may run deep within the rips off the Cape, so he created an enormous oak plug for his personal use. In line with a surfcaster from the membership named Timmy “Tuna” Lendino, in about 1972, Joe Caparetta, a fellow membership member, discovered one among these lures on the seashore one night time at Race Level. It was a breezy night and Joe wanted a heavy plug that would lower by means of the wind, so he snapped on the Conrad. He caught an enormous bass (a minimum of 50 kilos, in response to Lendino) on his first forged. Joe introduced the lure dwelling, confirmed it to Danny, and requested him to make one thing comparable. After various enhancements by Danny and Don, one other legendary plug was born. By all accounts, Malicoat had jealously guarded his lure, refusing to point out it to anybody, together with his fishing buddies within the Striper Surf Membership. In line with his niece, Orin Dunigan, Conrad had a “scorching Irish mood,” and when he came upon {that a} industrial model of his plug was being made, he was livid. He gave up striper fishing eternally, snapped all his fishing poles in half, and by no means talked to his associates on the membership once more.
Steve Sylver, a extremely expert cabinetmaker and lure builder from Cape Cod, made a couple of reproductions of the unique Malicoat Conrad for some associates. These replicas bear little resemblance to the Danny Conrad. The Malicoat plugs are large, robust, beastly affairs of oak with huge brass screw eyes to carry the hooks as a substitute of the extra elegant thru-wire building that Danny and Don used for the Pichney Conrad.
There’s a mythology concerning the supplies that went into Pichney Conrads. Everybody assumes that they have been all fabricated from rock maple, however Steve Sylver informed me that Danny used no matter hardwood he may scrounge, not simply maple, however oak and, particularly, ash. The primary handful of Pichney Conrads have been thicker than the later ones. The rumor is that Danny made them from axe or sledgehammer handles, which implies that these early fashions have been fabricated from hickory. In any case, the Malicoat and Danny Conrads share the identical identify and similar deep-diving capability, however the building appears fairly totally different to me.
One other little bit of Pichney mythology includes the one tail hooks on the swimmers. In the course of the heyday of massive plug fishing, the story was that Danny had invented the usage of a single hook on the tail to reinforce the lure’s motion. Steve Campo has a extra prosaic clarification: Danny by no means used a vice to tie the bucktails to his tail hooks, however used his hand to carry the hooks as a substitute. Campo mentioned Danny discovered it a lot simpler to tie them onto a single hook as a substitute of a treble. Steve Sylver famous that this “innnovation” can be utilized up to now Pichney lures for the reason that earliest Danny plugs have treble tail hooks whereas the usual later plugs have single tail hooks.
Moreover the floor swimmers and Conrad plugs, Danny made all kinds of different lures similar to darters, trolling plugs, and needlefish in varied shapes and colours. He revamped 20 fashions and over 90 mannequin/paint combos, a lot of that are fairly uncommon. The most typical Danny plug might be his 6-inch floor swimmer or the 5½-inch Conrad. The rarest and most collectible Pichneys are his needlefish, sandeel, reverse squid, pencil and common poppers, and jointed plugs. There are various totally different fashions between these extremes.
Danny made many metal-lipped swimmers. The floor swimmer got here in a minimum of three commonplace sizes: 7½-inch, 6-inch, and the lovable little 4½-inch swimmer. Steve McKenna additionally has a 5-inch model that Danny known as the Small.
The Conrad additionally got here in varied sizes: 7½-inch, 5½-inch, a small dimension at 4¾ inches, and the Peanut at 4¼ inches. The Conrad Peanut was a skinny, heavy plug and normally had a groove across the head for an eel pores and skin. This was a favourite plug of the Narragansett crowd. Often, Danny lower a pointy angle on the face of the 5½-inch Conrad, lures known as Slope-heads which can be pretty uncommon.
The so-called Bootleg subsurface plug appears to be like like a floor swimmer that has been on a weight loss plan. Bootlegs are usually not widespread, however Danny made even rarer, thinner plugs known as the Sandeel and Jointed Sandeel that have been his reply to the Insurgent and Redfin plugs fashionable within the 70s with the Cape Cod crowd.
A extra widespread household of lures from Danny is his Trollers, which he made in lots of colours and three sizes, the most important of which is a whopping 8 inches lengthy. A Troller has an extended, progressively sloping head and Pat Abate supplied some background on it: “The troller was influenced by Ronny Lepper, a New York firefighter and constitution captain. The boat sharpies within the New York Bight have been modifying Creek Chub Large Pikies by planing or sawing sloped heads on them and repainting them. Ron went to Danny and requested him to give you a greater model. He did.”
Simply to complicate issues much more, Danny additionally made a swimmer with a rounded head that was form of a picket analogue of the Atom plug. There have been a minimum of 4 sizes starting from 7¼ to 4¾ inches. The size of the mid-sized Junior model seems to have some variability, like so many different Pichney lures.
Danny additionally made darters in varied colours and sizes, together with a 7¼-inch darter with three hooks and a smaller one with two hooks.
Danny’s needlefish are exhausting to come back by however have been made with 1, 2, and three hooks. Danny known as the single-hook model he made for Tim Coleman the Shorty Feathertail, but it surely was nicknamed the Pocket Rocket by the Block Island crowd. Tim additionally known as it his picket Hopkins. Danny was not too eager on needlefish, so there are usually not loads of them on the market. Those in colours beside his stable white or black are like hen’s enamel as of late and extremely prized by collectors.
In my conversations with Danny, he informed me that the lures he actually didn’t wish to make—as a result of they have been so tough—have been giant, jointed plugs. Consequently, these, similar to his large jointed pikie, are among the many rarest and most collectible of the Danny plugs. He did make various smaller jointed plugs known as eelies. One mannequin is the Sloped Headed Eely and one other, rarer lure, is called the Flat-nose Eely, which was one of many deadliest plugs in my surf bag.
The colour schemes that Danny selected to make use of on his plugs significantly impacts their worth and collectability. The white or Mullet sample (royal blue again, silvery sides, and a white stomach) is the most typical. The rarest and most fascinating finishes for a collector is the Cape Cod sandeel coloration (burnt orange over white), the light-green-over-silver coloration, and the mackerel or fish-scale sample.
Of all of the previous saltwater plugs, I think about Pichneys to be essentially the most collectible for varied causes. First, think about the value. Most of right now’s collectors are hardcore surfcasters from the 70s and 80s, and we’re fading out as of late (alas), so the variety of collectors is getting smaller and the costs have dropped. One more reason is that the lures age so effectively. In contrast to previous Atom plugs which have a muddy coloration from light varnish, the Pichneys right now look as contemporary and glowing as they did when first made. Once I take one out of its plastic wrapper, it appears to be like precisely the identical as after I first noticed one some 50 years in the past with Fran Sargent. I suppose the most important cause that I’m intrigued by these lures is that they’re simply so stunning to have a look at and convey again recollections of a bygone period of striper fishing.
The value of unique Danny plugs is at the moment very cheap. You’ll be able to most likely purchase a pristine unique floor swimmer or Conrad in its wrapper, untouched since Danny himself packaged it, for about $50 to $80; barely used variations promote for much less. The rarest Pichneys value over $100 if you’ll find them, however they do come up on the market from time to time.
There’s a small, tight-knit neighborhood of Pichney collectors who talk on-line. A lot of the shopping for, promoting, and buying and selling of those lures is finished by means of the “Purchase/Promote/Commerce” discussion board on the StripersOnline message board. Pichney plugs often present up on eBay, at property gross sales, or in “divorce” gross sales, when a disgruntled partner sells off a group for pennies on the greenback in a yard sale. A fishing pal of mine misplaced all his Pichney and previous picket Atom plugs in simply such a hearth sale.
So, what occurred to Danny Pichney’s jigs, designs, and tools? They went to Bobby Glauda, who apprenticed with Danny as a young person, making plugs and studying his methods. The lures that Bobby makes are referred to as Beachmaster lures, and are just like Danny plugs however with a extra polished look. And like the unique Pichneys, Beachmasters are exhausting to seek out. They often present up in deal with shops, however are shortly devoured up. The arrival of Beachmaster lures within the Nineteen Nineties could have sparked the present resurgence in high-quality, hand-crafted picket plugs.
Study Extra About Pichney Plugs
In case you have questions on Pichney plugs, the perfect place to begin is with the StripersOnline plug collector’s discussion board. Russ “Bassdozer” Comeau created a complete record of the varied Pichney and early Musso fashions and colours at bassdozer.com. One other useful resource is the Saltwater Lure Collectors Membership. They maintain an annual present at White’s of Westport in Westport, Massachusetts. Right here, you’ll get an opportunity to see or purchase some unique Pichney lures.
Associated Content material
The Case for Massive Picket Plugs
Historic Striper Plugs: Atom Lures
Gary Soldati’s Massive Water Pikes
Steel Lip Swimmers for Large Striped Bass
