surfcaster's journal issue 8

I have been in a few swaps in the past couple years and they have been great because I only build plugs that I have never made before. Since most of my plug building is production work, these swaps help force me to think about different types of plugs and what makes them work. It’s a great change of pace and has taught me a lot. So far I have done a copy of a 5” Buz Fuz swimmer, a straight and jointed pike and in my next swap I am going to put my spin on a Beachmaster Cowboy. I am really looking forward to it.

Where did the “Choopy” name come from? Inquiring minds want to know.

The nickname Choopy was given to me by a couple of friends. I had taken a trip down to Indian River Inlet in Delaware to catch a tide. I left after work on a Thursday and got down there a bit before 10 PM and fished till 8 or so in the morning and drove 3 hours back home. When I got home, I was a bit tired to say the least and wrote up a quick report to a couple of friends before crashing for a few hours. I wrote how the conditions were tough because there was a building swell with a chop on top of it from the wind being against the tide. However, I did not write "choppy". I wrote "choopy".