cleaning lures question

[hungry hunter]

I am wondering if polishing fishing lures with brasso or other similar products will leave some sort of residue that the fish would be able to detect and make them not bite, I have several brass and copper lures that are tarnished and would like to clean them up but worry about the scent issue any input?

[alex-v]

Some days our favorite lures will not work at all on any type of fish. The next day we catch anything and everything which is why the lure is our favorite. Keeping that in mind the only way to tell is to clean the lure with your concoction and then go fishing every day until the end of time. If that lure does not catch any fish then we know that something was left behind and it kept the fish from biting:lol: .

People have sprayed WC-40 on lures and live bait and swore it worked. Some people have cleaned lures with lava soap and say the lure still worked. Some have used Fast Orange and the lure still worked.

Then there is the nagging thought that it is the tarnish that makes the lure work so well.

[QuickStrike]

I don't put much faith in scent or color. None at all really, especially for warm-water species. Most of the people that do are probably selling products for a sponsor.

Case in point: I heard of a very famous angler who once was among a group of anglers listening to a shoreside seminar on some kind of scent product. At the end of the seminar and in front of a bunch of the listeners, this very famous angler said to his friend, "So what kind of scent are you going to try on your lure?" The friend (not Fred Trost) said, "Maybe I'll trying urinating on my lure today!" The very famous angler (Not George Bush) said, "Good. I think I'll dip mine in gasoline!" They went out with some media members and proceeded to catch a whole pile of big bass with the respective "magic" scents on their lures.

I heard of another guy, slightly crazed, who liked to put little pieces of old underwear on his treble hook so that the fish could see the lure better, and thus eat it more easily. I do not know if his underwear was clean or soiled. Either way it must have had some sort of offensive smell to it. He still caught fish.

There are far too many other more important variables to juggle in the whole fishing equation. Keep it simple. And polish away.

[QuickStrike]

Oh, yeah. I just remembered another story.

When I was at the Lake of the Ozarks crappie fishing this past spring, I spoke to some locals who spent a lot of time fishing for catfish. You would think that their preferred bait for these animals would be worms or cutbait, like herring or shad, or even some of that nose-hair-curling dip bait stuff.

Nope.

The consensus among the anglers I spoke with was that hotdogs were among the best baits. Yes, that's right, assorted unmentionable pig parts fused into one happy semi-solid and threaded onto a giant circle hook became catfish bliss. But that's not all. For the proverbial cherry on top, they hosed the whole thing down with a liberal splashing of WD-40. Some guys even went so far as to marinate the tube steaks in a can full of this popular universal lubricant. Mmmm-mmm.

It's really a wonder product. You can use it to quiet those rusty door hinges, free up a seized Briggs and Stratton, or play a dangerous but attention-commanding stunt on the Fourth of July. And don't forget, you can use it to dupe your supper too.

WD-40: It's the UNIVERSAL solvent!

Honestly, just the thought of that southern catfish concoction made me want to barf. Now I think twice before making my lunch selection at the ballpark, but those Missouri cat men were dead serious.

[ALLEYES]

Try tooth paste.

[gregsiesz]

I second the toothpaste comment. It rinses off clean and has just enough abrasive to get the grime off your lures with out ruining them. Did this last year with all my old lures and never had a problem with the fish biting.

[Priority1]

What flavor toothpaste?? LMAO

[walleyeman2006]

brasso or rubbing compound works great on metal lures....far as bad sent ive seen wd 40 sprayed on hot n tots and watched those lures catch more fish then none sprayed hooks........toothpaist works on plastic and wooden baits...fish oils can allso be used with a dremel and a buffing wheel

[Oldgrandman]

I don't put much faith in scent or color. None at all really, especially for warm-water species.

I kind of agree about the scent thing. I coat jigs with clear nail polish and use them within hours and get fish on them. Used car wax on spoons that work immediately as well.
For color I also agree, pretty much. But there's been certain conditions that seem to dictate lure color does matter. I really hate to admit that but I cannot deny it.

[sea nympho]

Oh,... But that's not all. For the proverbial cherry on top, they hosed the whole thing down with a liberal splashing of WD-40. Some guys even went so far as to marinate the tube steaks in a can full of this popular universal lubricant. Mmmm-mmm.

It's really a wonder product. You can use it to quiet those rusty door hinges, free up a seized Briggs and Stratton, or play a dangerous but attention-commanding stunt on the Fourth of July. And don't forget, you can use it to dupe your supper too.

WD-40: It's the UNIVERSAL solvent!

.

When I was a kid in the '80's, my dad brought a friend of his to canada fishing with us on one of our semi-annual fishing trips.
He soaked every lure he used in WD-40 every 10 minutes, no joke. We thought this was absurd, but he pretty much kept up with our catch rates.

[Robert Hoover]

When I was a kid in the '80's, my dad brought a friend of his to canada fishing with us on one of our semi-annual fishing trips.
He soaked every lure he used in WD-40 every 10 minutes, no joke. We thought this was absurd, but he pretty much kept up with our catch rates.

maybe you were all equally as bad!
any how believe what you want but you will never know if you dont try!I use mothers metal polish on my spoons then rinse in wd .Best thing to do is if youre worried about smell after cleaning the lures go catch a bucket of perch and throw the lures in with them for a few the fish smell should take care of it all!

[sea nympho]

maybe you were all equally as bad!


We never found true trophy water (20#+. and still haven't) but we do hook a fish every 15 minutes all day long. Do people do much better than this trolling in Ontario? If so, please let me know. Let me know exactly where, when, amd on what:lol: :lol: :lol: !

[Flash]

Before my Canada tirp to McTeir last year I cleaned my spoons with metal polish. Removed some old paint with paint thinner and washed them down with tap water. My soft plastics I sprinkled with garlic salt. My new Mepps musky spinners I left fresh and new.

I caught just as many fish as I always do. None. (actually I had a couple of small pike swim into my lures so I did boat a couple and one baby bass chomped down on a spoon twice his size).

The bottom line to me is knowing how to fish. I'm learning and having a solid good time doing it. I think that some guys/gals just have a natural scent that attracts fish - plus they really know how to "twitch" that pole. The rest of us, plod along and catch what runs into our lures, then we think we are onto something.

I read recently that 90% of all water contains no fish. If you fish in that 90% of the water, it doesn't matter what you do to your lures. If you fish the 10% of the water that has fish, then I think it is the presentation that matters most for many anglers.

[shogun]

I took the bench grinding wheels off my grinder and put cloth wheels on it, and use it for everything from cleaning jewelry, stainless steel, plastics, etc. I even use these cloth wheels to sharpen knifes to a razor, you just need to use different rouges depending on the material in question. Blue or green rouge is good for hard plastics, and the wheels themselves do nothing but rather the rouge is what does the cleaning.