Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) > Tackle & Techniques

Teeth Marks

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Ben Rivers:

--- Quote from: Mark Harris on May 06, 2012, 11:03:13 AM ---I think it is worth trying to extend the life of expensive wooden lures and I routinely do this with my favourite Carpenter, Craftbait, Shell Shaping etc.
The results will be mixed but I think you can have some success.

For small pin prick teeth-marks, I like to put a tiny blob of basic household super glue onto the mark. This can definitely prolong the life of the finish.

For larger holes and chunks bitten out of a lure, then epoxy is the way to go. A thin layer will help.

--- End quote ---

Thanks Mark - That's what I was after. A few of my expensive lures have pin prick marks, so thought there might be some repair options, so to still get good use out of them and prolong the damage getting worse.

Nathan Tsao:
Agreed with Mark, a little epoxy really helps. I like to hit the area with a little 100grit sandpaper first to give the epoxy some bite; or i'll sand the entire plug if it needs a full coat. Remember to wipe a little cleaner on the plug right before you epoxy it. A tiny bit of acetone or paint thinner will remove any gunk or oils from your hands so the epoxy holds better.

When my friends and i used to build plugs for striped bass fishing, we would soak the blank plugs in a mixture of Linseed Oil and Mineral spirits for three days. The mixture would soak through the wood, and make it impervious to any water penetration. They could be fished right down to the bare wood through the finish for years without the plug swelling. I would hope that the top end lure makers would have a similar system to seal the wood on their plugs also.   

Malcolm Crane:
There is a really effective way of plugging holes in wooden lures that I picked up from the guys making wooden lures for muskies in the USA. Muskies are pretty toothy!

What you do is collect very fine sawdust, fairly easy if you have a fine toothed saw and a piece of wood. Pack the sawdust in the hole, being careful not to overfill the hole. Then a couple of drops of liquid superglue and you're good to go! (It is important to use liquid superglue, not the gooey variety). You may need a piece of coarse sandpaper, or even a file to smooth over your repair. It will be rock hard in seconds.

I've done this many times on those favourite lures you're just not quite ready to get rid of.

Mark Harris:
Good stuff from Nathan there.

I do think that most high end lures are quite well waterproofed. Rather than water-logging, it is wholesale deterioration of the finish which I try to prevent. It is amazing how quickly a few bite marks or some hook rash can spread and cause foil and/or tape to peel.

I would say that for small hook pricks or tooth marks a tiny blob of super glue is the way to go. Just use epoxy for larger damage.

Malcolm, that sounds like very good advice indeed and I will try that!

Andrew Susani:
I am in the process of making some lures up and I use multiple layers of Envirotex Lite for the varnish - it is incredible stuff, not sure if you can get it in small amounts though. 

On the down side, it also has a quite long cure time - best left overnight.  I use a rotisserie to ensure the coating is even around a whole lure - but I did some repair work on a Realbait and the result was excellent.  It will never yellow either. 

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