[trev]

Just wondered what you all do with lures when they start to show signs of wear and tear,especially those of you who are spending £15 -£20 +on a single lure. Here is a picture of a t chad chug bug which was brand new in the middle of october when i started lure fishing for bass.

This lure has been used for four sessions of about 2hrs each and caught two bass. Ok they only cost £4.49 at the time, although this one isnt even mine(thanks Dazdecs wil get you a new one) Is that amount of wear normal,does it also happen to megga bucks lures and what do you do if anything to repair the paint loss (its also lost one of its eyes) Have read of some people who do nothing at all and are still catching on lures which have virtually no paint left on them at all !!!

 

[Keith White]

We tend to leave ours alone.

It's classed as mojo. eaten lures are that way for a reason.

Most of that on your lure is hook swing though.

 

[Dr.Thomas k]

just let my kiddies do the repaint and the eye repair, nicht wahr Thomas?

The Patchinko with only one eye looks great now with his by my daughter rebuild eye...
Had this photo in the wsf...

Cheers
TOm

 

[Alex Jordan]

Some of mine are battered and bruised to the point of near retirement - I have a one eyed Patchinko too

 

[Tim Griffin]

That Chug Bug has loads of life left in it - the action will still be fine. You might want to keep an eye on the rust on the split rings and hooks but otherwise it will be with you for a while yet! I have used a Feed Shallow+ to virtual destruction this year and it has caught around 30 fish. It has some cracks in the body and the action is impaired so it is due for retirement. That said, it doesn't owe me anything!

 

[Nick Phillips]

Just wondered what you all do with lures when they start to show signs of wear and tear,especially those of you who are spending £15 -£20 +on a single lure. Here is a picture of a t chad chug bug which was brand new in the middle of october when i started lure fishing for bass.

This lure has been used for four sessions of about 2hrs each and caught two bass. Ok they only cost £4.49 at the time, although this one isnt even mine(thanks Dazdecs wil get you a new one) Is that amount of wear normal,does it also happen to megga bucks lures and what do you do if anything to repair the paint loss (its also lost one of its eyes) Have read of some people who do nothing at all and are still catching on lures which have virtually no paint left on them at all !!!

I would change the split rings and hooks on the Chugger and then leave well alone.
I love battered plugs and I think they are more attractive with all their scrapes etc especially in that split micro second of inspection before the 'chomp'.

 

[Mark Sleep]

'Tis true. I love my battered plugs, it adds a bit of life. After all, you are trying to imitate a weak, sick or wounded fish, an easy target, so some scale damage on the Bass' natural prey would be expected.

 

[Mick Ward]

Using hook bonnets does stop that treble chafing quite a bit, and so will those very cool sakura trays that Simon Lewis introduced to this country!! I personally dont like my lures too scratched up, well I dont mind wear, but I dont like semi circles from scratching hooks.

 

[Nick Phillips]

'Tis true. I love my battered plugs, it adds a bit of life. After all, you are trying to imitate a weak, sick or wounded fish, an easy target, so some scale damage on the Bass' natural prey would be expected.

Yeh,,,spot on there.
I think the ultimate presentation has to be:
Wounded
Sick
Dissoriantated
On their own
Knackered.

 

[trev]

The rust on the rings and trebbles is pretty light and cosmetic at the moment so what i will probably do is get the "cu-rust" out and give them a dab , it kills the rust instantly and turns it a blackish purple colour,then as long as the barbs are ok just a quick sharpen up of the hooks and off we go (in the spring). Just seems a pitty that a £30 lure looking like a work of art when it arrives(not that i would know lol) can get so messed up quite quickly ,then again as we know its more the action than how pretty it looks that gets the hits !! If by the end of the season its got hardly any paint left but is otherwise sound i may do a custom job on it ,all black maybe? Excuse my ignorance but what is a hook bonnet? is it just something used for storage/transportation, or actually whilst fishing?

 

[Nick Phillips]

The rust on the rings and trebbles is pretty light and cosmetic at the moment so what i will probably do is get the "cu-rust" out and give them a dab , it kills the rust instantly and turns it a blackish purple colour,then as long as the barbs are ok just a quick sharpen up of the hooks and off we go (in the spring). Just seems a pitty that a £30 lure looking like a work of art when it arrives(not that i would know lol) can get so messed up quite quickly ,then again as we know its more the action than how pretty it looks that gets the hits !! If by the end of the season its got hardly any paint left but is otherwise sound i may do a custom job on it ,all black maybe? Excuse my ignorance but what is a hook bonnet? is it just something used for storage/transportation, or actually whilst fishing?

Hook bonets are a kind of 'shroud' that fits over the top of a treble hook,they are made of injection moulded plastic and have a very thin wall section so as they are flexible.
I got myself hundreds years ago from the old Harris Angling Company

 

[Nick Phillips]

Using hook bonnets does stop that treble chafing quite a bit, and so will those very cool sakura trays that Simon Lewis introduced to this country!! I personally dont like my lures too scratched up, well I dont mind wear, but I dont like semi circles from scratching hooks.

Do you do those Sakura boxes ?
I remember looking at the pics on the forum but cant find it now

 

[trev]

The rust on the rings and trebbles is pretty light and cosmetic at the moment so what i will probably do is get the "cu-rust" out and give them a dab , it kills the rust instantly and turns it a blackish purple colour,then as long as the barbs are ok just a quick sharpen up of the hooks and off we go (in the spring). Just seems a pitty that a £30 lure looking like a work of art when it arrives(not that i would know lol) can get so messed up quite quickly ,then again as we know its more the action than how pretty it looks that gets the hits !! If by the end of the season its got hardly any paint left but is otherwise sound i may do a custom job on it ,all black maybe? Excuse my ignorance but what is a hook bonnet? is it just something used for storage/transportation, or actually whilst fishing?

Hook bonets are a kind of 'shroud' that fits over the top of a treble hook,they are made of injection moulded plastic and have a very thin wall section so as they are flexible.
I got myself hundreds years ago from the old Harris Angling Company

ah you mean like the little plastic jobbies that are already covering the trebles of some new lures/spinners inside the packaging ? know what you mean,although i reckon a high proportion of the curve shaped hook scratches occurs when casting/fishing ? or maybe im wrong.

 

[Simon L]

Do you do those Sakura boxes ?
I remember looking at the pics on the forum but cant find it now

Thar she blows . . . . .

Love em', got about 5 & counting . . .

 

[Gary A]

I've got 1 of those, it fits perfectly in a Rapala sling bag and effectively doubles the amount of lures per box

 

[Tom H 2]

just let my kiddies do the repaint and the eye repair, nicht wahr Thomas?

The Patchinko with only one eye looks great now with his by my daughter rebuild eye...
Had this photo in the wsf...

Cheers
TOm

I use stick on eyes from Dealande these days (your daughter is a great eye surgeon though )

 

[Mick Ward]

I do have in stock the small Sakura tray, and loads of hook bonnets, either does seem to solve the scratching problem. I have found another company that sells those nice trays too, but they seem the same and the same price so I will just get a few in to see if they are in any way better.