Teeth Marks

[Ben Rivers]

Hi Guys,

Will teeth marks (holes) in your wooden lures affect the lure (ie water logging etc)?

If so - what do people do after their lures have been hit a few times?

Thanks Ben

[Brandon Khoo]

Uh ....... buy new ones

[Dmitrii Novgorodtcev]

Will varnishing help? Anybody tried?

[Ben Rivers]

Uh ....... buy new ones

When they are screwed, no $hit - But like the comment suggested, does anyone repair as you go, to prolong the death of any expensive lure?

[Mark Harris]

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, slow down the spread of serious hook rash etc.

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

[Ben Rivers]

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.

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. 

[Nathan Tsao]

That Envirotex is nice to work with isn't it; no bubbles, easy to brush on, etc... In the past we've had problems with it peeling though. Have you noticed this at all? We've found this to be the case in two separate curing environments; both in the dry winters of New England, and lately here in Hawaii on a friend's lures. It doesnt laminate as well as some of the other marine resins. It's interesting to know if you experience the same thing under your specific curing conditions
. Some of the 3:1 marine epoxy systems seem to cure harder and laminate better. Post some pics of your plugs, always love to see the homemade stuff!

[Sean Costello]

Envirotex lite has a great finish, but it is too soft and tends to peel off the lure rather than fracture after a couple of fish

[Sam Morrison]

Hi Guys,

Will teeth marks (holes) in your wooden lures affect the lure (ie water logging etc)?

If so - what do people do after their lures have been hit a few times?

Thanks Ben

Hey Ben,

Remember that your lures spend more time out of the water than in it, so water logging is not really an issue. All wood is hygroscopic and will adjust to atmospheric conditions, so when your finished fishing wash your lure and hang it up somewhere warm and dry (Hot water cylinder cupboard is an ideal environment). Leave them be, and then put away when you want.

There has been some good tips for fixing up damage, just remember epoxy's add extra weight when re-coating a lure, multiple coats can add 5,10,15g.

Brandon is a marketing guru's dream I like it!

[Chris Webster]

Uh ....... buy new ones

When they are screwed, no $hit - But like the comment suggested, does anyone repair as you go, to prolong the death of any expensive lure?

Ha ha ha ha - funny.

[Nathan Tsao]

Does anyone else feel that a lure is just starting to get good after it looses half its paint. I especially like the ones that are shredded to hell. A few times a little JB Weld epoxy has fixed a busted lure and gone out and slammed one the next day.
These poor cheap plugs become magic once they suffer a broken rib or two!!!


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