You might consider doing a search for this topic as it has been raised in the recent past in other postings. I personally think it all has to do with the depth of the river you are running as well as the hole you are fishing. If it is under 15 foot I simply run smaller plugs like hotshots and wiggle warts. I think that the standard wiggle wart in blue pirate is one of the best all time plugs to run for springers. Since kwikfish don't dive deeply on their own (except for K13s) you can flat line these if you prefer their action or want to put the sardine stinky on a plug you are working.
When you get in deeper stuff go to a sliding jet diver in front of your kwikfish or backbounce them into a hole with lead. I also like to run magnum wiggles in a flatline in deeper stuff. On the Sandy last year I sat and watched 4 different boats pound the big bend hole while I waited above throwing jigs and running small plugs through the run that leads down to the big bend. I noticed that they were all running bait and had not touched a fish. After letting things settle a little (no one was behind me) I opted for running a magnum wiggle in blue pirate through the hole flatlined. Whamo bamo we hooked up with a nice chinook and followed with another in the guage hole just below that. I think so many people overlook plugs when they are focused on using bait. I say if what you are doing isn't working change what you are doing. Plugs are great. Easy to run, you don't have to worry about the condition of the bait and you don't get your fingers messy. Oh yeah, they catch fish too.
drift boat plugs
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