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| I have a couple of Big Game and Crane balsa baits that have caught multiple fish but are in need of repair due to hook & muskie rash. Anyone out there with some suggestions?
I know lure replacement is always an option but these baits always seem to produce when nothing else works. |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | go into the basement bait makers section and see if there is anyone on there that is willing to do some custom/restoration work for you. If the baits in question have "it" I would not replace them with "newer" baits either. Go to the guys in the basement and see what you can find. |
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Posts: 173
Location: Probably Minnesota that time... | Hollow plastic or wood, as soon as there is a groove showing up where it is through the clear coat, I use 2 part 5 min. epoxy from Ace hardware. Just fill it in, this should prolong the life of your baits. When it wears through, just put it on again. It has worked well for me. It will prevent the exposed wood from taking in water which can wreck your clear coat & alter the action of your lure. With hollow plastic baits, you'll want to do this before you break through. Just apply where needed with a toothpick, keep those lures sealed up!
-Chris |
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Posts: 76
| Chris's method is what I use. One more step I add is to run masking tape over the area after the epoxy is added. It will smooth it out and epoxy doesn't stick to the tape. You can just pull it off after it dries. Don't use alot of epoxy just enough to fill in the groove.
Don |
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| T'ing your hooks would help minimize hook wear aleo |
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| Thanks guys for the suggestions. This is exactly what I was hoping for and will use your ideas. |
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Posts: 340
Location: Lake County Illinois | I love my Crane baits and some are pretty beat up but still run great,but I have noticed on a few custom painted cranes and a few repaints that they don't run quite as good as my originals and I think its due to the thick clearcoat that was applied to these making them slightly heavier.They are more durable with the thick clearcoat for sure but don't run quite like an original crane,so if you find a painter or restorer ask about going light on the clearcoat |
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| I bought some 5 minute epoxy and applied it to both my wood and plastic muskie baits with severe hook rash. It worked amazing well and the painters masking tape placed over the epoxy helps keep it smooth and not so lumpy. Suggestion: Mix small batches of epoxy if you plan to repair multiple lures, as it starts to set fast.
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Lure hook & fish rash restoration