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

I just got done boiling Hudd's and Rago Real Trouts and the paint was not affected. I had not heard that they get softer but the baits feel fine. They may be a little softer and I think the ambient temp around the bait affects the lures flexibility on a very small level.
Peace Rich

In the water,they won't burn, but the edge of the pan ABOVE the water,I have/use a gas stove, and if you BUMP the bait on the EXPOSED side of the HOT pan, it will and does melt, and then BURN the plastic (not the lure's plastic, but the melted on the side /rim plastic...) I did not mean to construe that the bait would melt into a pile of goo, nor burn IN the water. It won't. Some of the smaller ,softer plastics I have experimented with DID thin out after "overboiling" (better to experiment with a 50 cent piece of plastic ,than a 25 dollar...) ... I didn't mean to scare anyone or confuse, just trying to help, and I have never RUINED a bait, but only a couple of pots. --- I ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES.... HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Alex

Alex, thanks for clarifying. I can see how that can happen.

Happy New Year!

Has anyone here ever boiled the tail of a swimbait and actually gotten it to swim straight afterward? I've tried it more than once, and there was no change in the lure.

What would be really cool would be if someone could post some before and after pics of a lure that was successfully fixed using this method.

Rob I have never not had it fix the bait. They always swim perfect afterwards. Here are the keys to success.
#1 you have to boil it long enough to get straight. If its not striaght when you take it out of the boiling water than you didnt boil it long enough. PUT IT BACK IN!.The plastisol will naturaly revert back to its original shape. This might take a few minutes. When I biol up a big batch of saltwater baits that sat in my box for 6 months I might let them sit in there for 10-15 minutes. They get all cloudy looking. One bait wont take that long but I was just giving an example. Also just because the tail looks straight doesnt mean the rest of the body is straight. It could be arched, thats why you boil the whole bait except the eyes.
#2 once the bait is heated up and straight it will keep what ever form/possition you leave it in. If its my gills I just throw them in a sink full of cold water because they situpright and will cure perfectly straigh. I also do this with the saltwater baits because they are small. A bigger bait like a Hudd I would hang. Remember they will stay in that cured possition.
The only thing that boiling wont fix is crease marks. It will help but it wont illiminate them. I am referring to when your bait jets caught in the lid of your box and has the indention from the lid.
I will tell you what Rob, send me the crookedest bait you got and I will srtaighten it and it will run tru as long as bait poured correctly, meaning the harness inside is straight.
#3 boiling will straighten ALL soft baits with the exception of salted impregnated baits. It will straighten them but it will disolve all the salt. You can also alter or customize baits when they are still warm. You can stretch them if your carfull or change the angle of the tails,etc.
So far every customer that did as I instructed them later informed me that The baits ran true and perfect just as I said they would.
My guess is you didnt boil them long enough.

www.mattlures.com

I'll give it a try :) When I've read people's opinions on how to do this in the past, they usually suggest a minute or two to boil it. So I am guessing I did not boil long enough.

Tell you what I will do also... I'm going to photograph the process next week when I do it. And if it works out well, maybe we can work up a little article based on your instructions for the site. This is something that has always frustrated me, and I'll be happy if it works as you describe :)

Once you do it, you will be very happy. You probably have 1000 baits that are crooked. It doesnt take much to make one crooked either. Anytime a softbait gets warm enough and cools down it will retain what ever possition it was in while it was cooling down in.
DONT BE AFRAID of boiling your baits. they will not melt. Even if they touch the outside of the pan for a second or two they will be fine. Inside the pan it doesnt matter at all if they touch the sides if they are under water. Plastisol melts at around 325-350 degrees.
Once you do this you will see how fast and easy it is.
then maybe you can write nicer reviews for me :7 :7 :+ :+(just messin with ya)
If you have a bait that you cant fix, no matter what brand send it to me as a challenge. I have been doing this WAY BEFORE I ever made my own baits. Back when my hand poured worms would get all messed up.

www.mattlures.com