About
Welcome to 401 Plugworks, your home for custom crafted plugs.
This company was started to fill a niche in the custom plug business. I love fishing BIG plugs, but I found it hard to obtain plugs that were larger than the norm and didn’t weigh a ton and were still fishable. So I decided to start my own business where I would build and design the plugs that I wanted to fish and 401 Plugworks was born. After lots of hours in the surf and feedback from fellow fisherman and friends I also decided to build the same plugs in your everyday sizes, so that everyone could enjoy and fish them. I wanted to carry all the basics such as canal pencils, poppers, metal lipped swimmers, dannys, needlefish etc. But also make available the hard to find specialty plugs like slow sinking gliders, flap tails, big spooks and replica vintage plugs, you know the stuff you’d love to fish if you could find it. I also build custom plugs to order, so if there is something you liked to see please let me know.
What sets my plugs apart from the others is their construction. All of my plugs are constructed out of laminated PVC, not wood. I use “open cell” PVC which is much lighter and less dense than the “closed cell” PVC. Closed cell PVC is used to manufacture rigid PVC pipe that is used in the construction industry, like the water pipes in your basement. Both types of PVC are basically the same chemical make up.
PVC is 100% waterproof and resists many chemicals and outside factors. It is very stable, meaning it will not expand or contract when subject to various temperature changes or humidity. It is also slightly flexible which means mean a vicious strike by a large fish will somewhat be absorbed by the plug itself.
PVC’s density and buoyancy closely resembles that of Poplar wood, but because it is made of chemicals that make it waterproof, it will hold a screw eye superbly without worry of softer wood fibers failing and causing thread pull out. Because PVC does not vary in density or weight like wood, all finished plugs will always act the same, provided they are outfitted with identical hardware and weights.
All of my plugs use the highest grade materials, hardware, paints and epoxy to ensure the plugs stand the abuse you can dish out. They are constructed using 1.5” or 2” stainless steel screw eyes, Wolverine triple split rings and VMC 4x or 6x treble hooks. All plugs are top coated with a industrial strength epoxy to help protect the plug and finish coat.
Tight Lines,
Chris Blouin