Boiling Crankbaits

[jhoffman]

Ive seen this mentioned and talked about but no one has ever really shared what exactly happens when you do so. Can anyone weigh in on this topic please and give me some insight? Ive adjusted lips on cranks with a lighter or candle but havent tried boiling.... yet!

[BobP]

Heats up the air inside, expanding it, while softening the plastic shell.  Results = expanded crankbait.  Exactly how and where it expands depends on the thickness of the plastic walls on the crankbait.  If they are of unequal thickness, you will get some weird effects and probably not the ones you want - possibly including holes in the crankbait.

[jhoffman]

What is the main effect, does it change the wobble say from tight to wide? Does it cause it to run more shallow? If you boil lets say a 1.5 would it run like a wakebait?

[J Francho]

I don't think you'd get consistent results.One might run shallow, the next run crooked, the next might split open.  Either way, you're undoing whatever R&D and pro staff testing that went into the lure.  That said, boiling some bargain bin baits that you didn't pay much for might be kind of fun.

[jhoffman]

That was my thought J. I have some BPS cranks that I got as a gift that wont tune very well. I might try it just to see exactly what does happen.

[Bass Junkie]

It could prove very interesting. And, I would not call it undoing the research and development, it's more like adding research and development. There are some baits on the market that are much better modified than stock.

[BIG M]

I know one guy that does this to old long A's to make them wake baits. I'm not sure it will work on the new baits due to different plastic used to make the baits. The older plastic seems to have a more rubber type consistancy and allows the baits to expand without splitting. The guy only holds the baits in the boiling water for a few seconds.

[jhoffman]

Ill put one to the test this weekend, we shall see what it does

[J Francho]

Video, pics, sketches....or it didn't happen. 

[jhoffman]

I can do video, ill get out the playsport. Ill take it out and run it in the creek in front of my parents before and after. Im going to do this on a bait I really dont care about so lets not expect world changing results

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I've boiled swimbait tail before but never heard of boiling a crankbait. Should be interesting to see.

[J Francho]

I just want to see a bandit 'splode!!!!

[jhoffman]

Im going to do a BPS crank

[BobP]

The baits I heard about boiling are Rattle Traps, to get them to run a bit shallower but mostly to get a different sound from them.  I think a lipped crankbait would also become a little more buoyant and its rattles would sound different.  But unless you changed the angle of the lip, it should run at about the same depth as an original - that is, if the lip didn't end up askew and ruin the bait.  If it's a bait you don't like to fish, no harm, no foul.  But I wouldn't experiment on anything I liked.  

[jhoffman]

Ok guys, so I made video incase something infact happened.

 

I tested two cranks I didnt care about, newer ones, I am certain this tactic only works on certain baits.

 

The cheap Matzuo crank the only thing that happened was it lost its finish, the bps crank, did absolutely nothing. I even pushed the time limits. Starting with ten seconds, going to 30, then a minute then a full on five minute boil.

 

These newer baits and or only certain baits must be able to do this. The two I tested did absolutely nothing so I am not going to post the video.