To Refinish or Not to Refinish used modern lures???

[bigbill]

Since i been having my new mister twister super top props refinished by Tclark Custom lures i been thinking :.

Since i really don't see anything new in cranks that interests me but what does is way out of wack price wise I been tossing around the idea of little by little sending Terry all my older crankbaits to get his custom paint job on them.  Them i'm recycling my good fish catching older lures with a 2010 look to them plus i'm saving $$ in the process. In fishing the same places everyday, every year the fish do learn our baits each year so we need to stay ahead of them to out smart them. I have noticed when the bite isn't as good a it once was its my lures not the fish because there still there.

What do you think? 

[rboat]

I think it is kind of a toss up. They may get used to your lures no matter what fancy paint is put on them. Sometimes a new lure or an old lure they have not seen can get a bite. If you can save money, fix up some lures that you have confidence in, that may also be just what you need.

[.dsaavedra.]

action and presentation are more important than color, but if it makes you happy then go for it.

[Raul]

Well, haven 't you ever thought about it in detail ?

An all beat up up lure is telling you something and it 's particularily true with crankbaits, that lure is one of those one in a million cranks that no matter how it 's painted will catch fish like no other. It 's got the "magic touch" and those magic touch lures are not easy to find.

Let me put you an example, I 've got this very old Rapala Shad Rap I purchased 20 years ago or more, it 's all beat up, scratched, chewed, the lip is no longer clear but amber, I 've changed the hooks on it several times, I owe to that crank hundreds of fish including my PB.

Some by looking at it would have trashed it away long time ago ( Shad Raps are not exactly hard to find ) for a new one, but not me, I know that lure is one of those "magic touch" lures.

So think it twice when you are about to trash a lure and change it for a new "identical" one, I 've purchased over 50 new Shad Raps and none of them which in theory are identical catches fish like the oldie does.

If you got a pretty beat up lure a refinish is worth every penny, so far I 've clear coated that lure 5-6 times.

[MALTESE FALCON]

For $8.00 per lure, it's not a bad idea. Especially, if it's a lure you have alot of confidence in. Terry has some nice baits, and I like the fact that he will personalize them with your name.

Go for it.

Falcon

[bigbill]

When i first got into bass fishing i picked up a Combo "C" Lector which tells me what color patten or a choice of lure colors to use at that time with the currect water conditions so the fish can see it. I found out in testing it that lure color or picking the correct lure color will land more fish on a tough day too. My hottest cranks have been in crawdad brown, crawdad green, redapple craw, baby bass & firetiger. There have been times were only one color worked and other times when all the colors worked.

With presentations we are like a baseball pitcher with no catcher we do change ups all the time to increae our chances of figuring out what mood the fish are in. Once we have the speed or pause down it spells success.

Its like playing with a cat sometimes it will grab the toy right away and sometimes it takes more teasing and more passes to get it to strike its the same with bass.

I believe i need an assortment of different colored lures and natural colored lures too.

I once picked up a "producers" orange spook and had success right away with it. Its the orange that did it. I just threw it out and walked the dog. I was shocked to see it work for a few bass too.

I just want to expand my choices of lure colors so my success will continue.

[Munkin]

I would say that unless the worn off finish is causing problems like the lure taking on water to leave them alone. Yes those nice new custom finishes look good but like Raul was saying my best baits are trashed. Without telling me I can look into any tacklebox and tell what you best baits are? They are going to be the ones missing eyes, paint, faded but have new hooks. I have 2 plastics baits that for some reason out perform identical baits? One is a Mann's baby 1- and the other is a RC 1.5 that I would not sell for $100 each. The Mann's bait hunts and will outfish the other 12 I carry combined. The RC I have no idea why it works better all I know is that it does?

Allen

[SirSnookalot]

Xraps are my mainstay and mine get beat up and chipped very fast.  One that looks like it's ready for the trash catches as many as a brand new one.

[Raul]

I The RC I have no idea why it works better all I know is that it does?

Allen

In theory baits are identical, in the practice they are not, those fish magnets move in a different fashion that makes them more appealing to the fish in more circumstances than other "identical" baits, the Shad Rap example I gave is one, I do have a small bunch of baits ( of course if you purchase in bulk sooner or later you 'll be lucky to get some ) that have that magic touch, even in expensive baits ( that show the most consistent action between baits ) you 'll find one that stands above the others, I 've got a LC Moonassault 100 that catches fish like no other of the several I purchased, the rest are good but this one is special, originally it was painted Aurora Craw but now the finish is finished ( kaputt ).

[angler1]

I agree with Raul.

[Primus]

I agree with the others about those fish magnet lures, the old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it. That said I have sent a few extra cranks such as RC 1.5, Red Eye shad and some others to Baitwerks to have them custom painted in 2 different Bluegill/ Sunfish patterns the G302 & G 330 patterns are the ones I've ordered. If you haven't checked out their website take a look some of their colors they are absolutely sick. I'm anxious to get these back and try them out next year to see if they give me an edge. Unfortuneately for me I'm going to have to wait a few months to see if it's worth the extra coin.