* Hot Rodding Your Lures – Colour it, Scent it…. Worth it?

* Hot Rodding Your Lures – Colour it, Scent it…. Worth it?

Hot Rodding Lures!

No cars on show here! No, we look at the trend for sprucing and touching up lures all in the name of triggering a bite!

I first heard the term emanating from the States. Simply anglers are using various markers, paints and additives in order to give their lure that personal touch that might trigger a take faster than a lure that is in standard trim.

Is it completely daft? Could it make the difference for you and your catch rate? Here are some of the options:

In its simplest format I have often take a permanent marker to some of my soft lures. I used mark mackerel stripes on red Fishtek shads when fishing some wrecks. I have often used a red marker to paint a bit of red on or close to the head of soft lures. In more recent times I have experimented with lure additive – a dip here and a spray here.

I remember meeting a chap who explained his habit of sticking a cod liver oil capsule to one of his trebles when lure fishing. He reckoned that the oil from the capsule leeches out over a few casts and leaves a trail in the water and this attracts more bites than an untreated hook. Would you go for it? It is not something I have ever tried!

What I have done from time to time is painted plain jig heads and I have used permanent markers to add mackerel stripes to plain shads and I have used red permanent to colour an area around the “head” or front of a lure. Did it make a difference? It did in my mind and I certainly caught fish! Would I have caught these fish in any case? I do not know. While I attacked my lures with standard permanent markers there is a range of markers that are specifically designed for the lure angler. Spikeit lures carry a huge range of markers, dips and sprays for “Spiking” your soft lures. Check out their website at: www.ispikeit.com

I would think that there is some element of science to  touching up or hot rodding lures. Without doubt eyes on lures are advantageous. Adding mackerel stripes on lures create contrasts where there was none. A touch of red is well known to be a help in clear waters. In terms of Jig Heads and painting I think that the addition of paint just completes the “look” of the lure/head combination. I would not think it a necessity, in fact in many of the places I fish it would be downright foolish to be wasting   painted heads in areas where tackle losses can be high.

Lure additives are not a new thing. Bait anglers have used oils and additives for donkeys years. In most cases additives are banned from competitive angling and some additives can be very complex in their construction. Many of the soft lures we use are wet in their package and are sold as having an additive and scent. Most of us can identify with the aniseed smell from some lures. French lure manufacturers Illex have a range of “nitro” soft lures all which are impregnated with additive of a “crustacean” flavour. Illex have had an additional additive for years – Nitro Booster.

How seriously are they taking this market? Well it would appear to be very seriously indeed. They have a range of additive with six different variations of spray. Not only that but they have six varieties of booster cream too! So you can even choose your method of application as well as the flavour.

In 2015 you can see the latest addition to the Fiiish range – some lure cream additive. Again here the company offers a range of different flavours and scents and colours. Without fail the marketers have seen a niche for this sort of thing and have decided to bring something to market.

The whole idea of hot rodding, spkiing, customising (Call it what you will) is not a new one. Certainly the Americans have been at it for a long time. Some will say it give them an edge some will say that it is pure bunkum. Have a quick look at this short clip from Boats.net and US angler/author Shawn Kimbro (Shawn is a Striped Bass afficienado)

[embedyt] http://youtu.be/zO1cWrsPPgY [/embedyt]

I suppose the only way to check out these additives is to try them out. I did try an additive from Strike Pro a few years back. It was sold as companion to some soft lures in their range – Reaction lures and Reaction Juice was the additive. I tried is simply by pouring some additive into the bag the lures came in. It made the lures difficult to glue to my jig heads and I could not discern any greater catching rate so I just stopped using. I will have to try out the latest crop. Already I have secured some of the Nitro Boost in Sardine flavour. The cream is bleu with some glitter running through the spray is brown and look to be straight forward sardine oil. It remains to be seen!

Make you mind up about hot rodding and scenting of your lures. It may just be the thing that set your lure apart from the group, especially in heavily fished waters. In the interests of experimentation I will try out the couple of different additives I have. Hopefully I’ll have the patience! It would be great to be able to report back on some revolutionary tool that could help increase all our catches and not to feel as I have sold my soul to the marketeers that know less about fishing and more about trend setting.