I have some baits that are a little tweaked from being stored in Plano boxes. I have heard that you can boil them but would like to get some insight first so I do not mess them up. Any information would be greatly appreciated, so how do you boil a bait right?
Thanks Rich

Any softbait that is not impregnated with salt can be boiled. The plastic will revert to its original shape. I always boil my saltwater baits after they have been in a box for a while.
the key to straightening a bait is to make sure its in the right postion as it cools. I always recomend boiling the back 3/4 of my baits to starighten them The reason I dont boil the entire bait is because the eyes can fall off. Other than that its ok to just throw the whole bait in the water for a couple minutes. After the bait is straight from being boiled put it in cold water in a straight position for about 5 minutes than hang it. Most swimbait should be hung from the hook eyes. your bait will cool down completly and be perfectly straight.

www.mattlures.com

So do you bring the water to a boil and keep it boiling and then put the bait in for 5 min?

Ummm, and use a pot your wife/girl won't make your spaghetti in next week, or use it to 'clean your clock' when she finds out what you used one of her wedding presents for..... (if you bump the side of the hot pot with the bait, It'll melt and then burn, so the pot s/b a "junky" one, I bought the one I used a tag/yard sale for a buck) -- Oh yeah "WATCH OUT for the steam, it'll burn yer @$$ !, I wear a barbecue glove and use tongs, METAL skewers, and old braided line for tools... also, don't walk away, the boiling water will "melt" the softer baits....

I'm not sure what happened to italicise the font halfway through post......

I much prefer it when a woman leaves me, for then I know the mistake is hers. - Charles Bukowski

Thanks guys

Umm I completly disagree with Alvo69. The baits will absolutly not melt in the boiling water nor will the pan melt them. In other words your not going to melt the baits. I have put aprox 100 saltwater swimbaits in a big pot and let them boil for over 10 minutes and they never melted or even came close to it. Over the years I have boiled thes same types of swimbaits many many times, probably at least 30 diferent times and I have never done anything to any of the pots nor have I damaged any baits. I have no idea what Alvo is doing?
Bring the water to a boil place the bait in the water. I hold it by a large paperclip atatched to the hook eye. Submerge the bait up to the eyes, unless its a Hudd, then just put the whole bait in.I then wave it back in forth untill the bait is straight. this usualy takes no more than two or three minutes. Then cool the bait in a staright position in cold water and then hang it stright. Tis will fix 99% of all soft baits that are nnot salt impregnated. It is realy easy to do. For those of you who use Big Hammers and Fish Traps this is a must. I would dump a bunch in a pot and boil them and then put them in a sink with cold water. after that I would strain them like spagetti and place them flat side down on a board. They would all be perfectly straight. Now maybe if you boiled them for a long time you could have problems but there is no need to do that.

www.mattlures.com

nothing personal Alvo69 but you were scareing me..:)
i was thinking i needed to borrow offdutys turnout coat...:7

i have a bunch of hammers that really need this, im going to give it a shot.

Nicco
If you will hike up the hill behind my house with the coat a breather and 50' of 2 1/2 like I do I will give you a coat for free.
Oh well I guess they aint payin me to hangout on Calfishing.
Peace Rich

hahaha...i done 2 seasons with the usfs ive done plenty of hose lays without the breather tho...

Interesting stuff. I have a question for all the bait boilers in the house. I've heard that boiling softbaits makes them softer. A veteran bass Angler once told me that when plastic worms (Cream)first became available a lot guys would boil their worms to soften them up. So do baits soften after boiling? or is it just a myth?? Also with painted baits such as the huddleston does the paint get affected at all by the boiling process?

JerryG