Winter is a great time to tune up last years spinnerbaits and get them ready for spring. One of the things we do here at Wired2Fish is give our spinnerbaits a little clean up. Sitting in the shop/garage or while watching a football or basketball game in the den is a great time to attack this job. We use Nevr-Dull, a polishing wad for metal, that doesn’t cause a mess and cleans metal spinnerbait blades to like new shape again. It’s simple.
Pull a small portion of Nevr-Dull from the can and start with the underside of the blades. Make sure to get the edges as well and they too may have some build up or a bit of rust. Some may have tarnished or rusted a bit since last use so a little elbow grease and patience is important. NverDull will also protects the finish but on dirtier blades a little finish may come off. If it does use a a silicone gun and reel cloth, like the one from Lawson Products, and gently wipe each blade. Do the same process to the top of the blades. It is also important to wipe down the spinnerbait arm and free it from grit or grime with Nevr-Dull at the same time. Complete the job with a quick wipe with the silicone cloth on the arm as well.
This is a great opportunity to check skirts, heads and hook points. We use a small magnifying glass to check the point. If it needs a point use a Luhr Jenson hook file. Be sure to check the angle of the point before touching the point. A couple of quick strokes on both sides and the hook will be as good as new. From a skirt perspective many of the new skirts from Strike King or Terminator have a quick collar. They are great if a skirt needs replacing. For those skirts that use the rubber band ring check them for weather cranks or wear. Instead of cutting them off or replacing them we will many times take a light 32-34 gauge stainless steel wire and overwrap the rubber band. Even if the rubber band breaks the skirt will stay in place and will not slide down on a fish. Be sure to check the spinnerbait head at this time too. Make sure the wire is still tight in the lead and they are not twisted. This is a perfect time to touch them up with a little enamel hobby paint too. If the skirts are still attached use a small piece of Scotch or painters masking tape to hold them down. The tape can be removed once the paint is dry very easily. Note: do not store baits with tape still attached.
We always store our spinnerbaits by size, blade type and color in 3504 slotted spinnerbait boxes by Plano. We keep silica sand pouches from Christmas or other purchase and use them in the bottom of the boxes to wick unwanted moisture. We store additional blades, again by size, and replacement skirts in the bottom of the same boxes. We use the Plano 3503 as a trip box. It cuts down carrying too many boxes and has a smaller profile. After each trip we reposition the spinnerbaits back to the 3504’s. Another great box for a trip box is a Falcon FTO 401 Spinnerbait box. Depending on space the Falcon FTO 701 is a flatter box and may store more easily.
Plano 3504
Falcon FTO 701
This tip can be used on both spinnerbaits and buzz baits equally effectively and gets those baits ready for spring fishing. It can save a ton of money and actually is a fun process.
