tuning

[JeffHaught]

Hey guys, i'm kinda a new guy, been fishing serious for about a year.  can you guys tell me about tuning a crankbait?  i have a bunch, but never tuned one.  when do you need to tune one and how do you do it?  thanks in advance for the help.

                      Jeff Haught

[Cephkiller]

If, when you pull the bait through the water, it rolls to one side, you need to tune it.  To do so, slightly bend the front eye in the opposite direction until the bait tracks straight.

[Chris]

Rapala has a pair of pliers that have a tuning slot on it that works great. What you want to do is cast the bait out and reel it back and watch your lure to see if it runs right or left. If the bait is running right you need to twist the line eye slightly to the left. Bend it a little at a time and make a new cast each time you bend it to make sure that its not bent to much. If the bait is running left bend right. If the bait is tunned correct the bait on a straight cast will run almost under the boat before it turns to the surface. The bait should run flat not tilted to one side or the other.

[Raul]

Before you start bending and twisting the eye be shure you 're not reeling in the bait too fast, not all baits tolerate high speeds and roll on it 's side.

[Glenn]

Actually, before you start bending the eye, check to see that the hook hangers line up straight.  Often times that's the culprit, and bending the eye merely compensates for it (while weakening the eye!).

[crankbait]

Scrap the lure and keep buying lures until you find one that runs true.....

Just kidding.......Chris has the right info he's on the money. I have the tool he's talking about from Rapala and it works great. They even have instructions on what to do.

[Chris]

Every year I go through my whole box tuning baits and a few days ago was my day. If you get one that runs in a circle and tunning don't work add a few suspend dots on its belly then start the process over with tunning until it tracks straight. Also look at the bait hook loops for any paint that might be on it and chip it away. If the hook loops are bent in the wrong direction it will act as a keel and throw the bait off. If the split ring is in the position where when the bait pivots and catches on the split part of the split ring it will throw it off too. Check the line tie loop and see if its loose this will cause it to get thrown off. Some crankbaits are made with two sections glued together. Sometimes they don't match up and you need to file down the difference on the tip of the lip. You will have one half longer than the other. Some baits the lip is wider on one side than the other which will throw it off or the tie eye is glued in an off position which tilts the bait to one side or the other. Sometimes the lip is not glued in right and shifts before it drys.(Under extreme cases)Make sure you look and make sure that this is the case before you do this~>Take a knife and shave the side of the lip. If the bait is running right shave the left side of the lip. If its running left shave the right side. Be careful because if you over do it you need to shave the other side to straighten it out. Do it a little at a time.