gofish
2012-03-24 16:39:49
I have been starting to accumulate flashers that have lost their mylar shine, I have purchased the replacements, but they do not seem to stay on very well and start to peel with only one or two uses. I do make sure they are clean before applying the new mylar, but have not used any solvent. Any ideas to help these stick better or any other ideas would be appreciated?
I am also getting quite the collection of spoons that that would required industrial polishing to get them back to a like new shine required for catching the big fish:). What are others doing with these. I thought a making a dress for the wearable arts show, but that has already been done:). Has anyone sent these out to be re-plated or painted?
yak2you2
2012-03-24 18:01:48
I to, have rehabbed some of my worn out flashers. I've never bought the factory replacements. I buy 3" rolls of mylar reflect in diferent colors, or Mother of pearl glow from Cabelas. I trace out a copy then cut out the piece I need. I remove the old sticker as best I can, clean it with WD-40, which will take the stickers off of brand new flashers, never get it on them by the way. Dry it off good, stick the new tape down then comes the part that i think you might be missing. I run a hair dryer over it gently, and rub it down with a straight edge to work the kinks out. Mostly this will last quite a while. if it doesn't, then I paste it on with Gorilla glue, and it does not come off, ever.
With spoons it depends on the level of wear. Some times you can clean them up and get them shining again with Red bear, glitz, etc. My favorite is Mr. Metal, it cleans them up, but isn't so abrasive as to take away the finish and dull them as other cleaners tend to. But this will only work so many times, eventually you will lose the shine, then it's time to do something with them. If they're not pitted or scratched up to bad, you can strip them and send them out for repainting, but here's what i think about that. By this point in a spoon's life, it's seen some serious abuse. Lingcod beatings, and or a few king salmon. Sometimes they have bends in them that you can't even see. The swivels and rings are shot. So your going to pay out darn near new price to have this done, for a spoon that still won't be near new. This is where I turn them into experimentals. Strip them down, buy some model paint, and put on your own designs. I have even rattle canned them. Couple of coats of white on one half, couple of coats of gloss black on the other half, boom! you have a cop car. Green and white half and half. Yeah, it's not baked on for hardness like factory, and it will scratch up easily after just a few fish. So you strip them down and paint them again. Gives you a fun project for the long boring winter nights, and it's very satisfying to catch a fish on a lure you made.
gofish
2012-03-25 01:31:11
Sounds like I will have to work on cleaning the flashers better before putting on the new mylar. Thanks for the tip on Cabelas. As for the spoons, the ones I have are past trying to polish, but my daughter did show some interest in painting some spoons. They will probably end up lime green with turquoise peace signs. Who knows maybe that will be the hot pattern this year.
Thanks Again!
Abundance
2012-03-25 06:46:00
My Dad likes to spend some time each winter taking that mylar reflective tape and putting it on his spoons. I can't say that it's a wonder cure for for turning old spoons into fish killers,but they do seem to work well enough. Something to keep in mind is that, sometimes, a black tarnished spoon is the thing. I can remember a time in the early spring a few years back where a sea lion or something stripped most of my gear. All that i had left was a pile of ancient salmon spoons left over from the previous owner of the boat. These things were solid black and rusty as can be. I stuck them on the gear while i was going to try to figure out what to do. Immediately I had twenty kings on, only on those tarnished spoons. Of course, the orcas had to move in at that moment and kill the bite, but I have always given the tarnished spoons a fair chance to catch a fish after that. I've never had that kind of success on them since, but they don't seem to fish much worse that shiny spoons most of the time. Some people swear by black hootchies, so there must be something to it.
Salty
2012-03-26 17:02:26
A couple of additions to the good ideas posted here.
1. I only use chrome and gold brite spoons anymore. Used to love copper and brass, and esp. gold bronze but they got the finish so thin it came off too fast.
2. Chrome and painted spoon, both chartreuse and turquoise work well, have become a standby's for me.
3. My wife washes the old flashers after I remove all the old finish and then runs them through the dishwasher to get them thoroughly dry. Then she pastes the custom made mylar for that brand of flasher on making sure to remove all the air bubbles with her thumbs. Part of the key is using scissors to cut the back partially off for the initial stick on and then carefully peeling the rest off as you stick the mylar finish onto the flasher. Yak to yAK's idea with the WD 40 and super glue with the hair dryer sound promising.
The mylar replacements aren't perfect and some peel off, particularly on some brands of flashers, but they are way cheaper than buying new every time the finish dulls on a $12.00 flasher. The real cost though is if the finish is costing you bites.
I use fiberglass stain remover on some of my spoons. It is great stuff for cleaning your hull, fiberglass or painted.
Good luck, there is nothing like finding a hot spoon and turning bites into clatters.
rookie
2012-03-26 19:33:09
I let my 3 year old grandaughter pick the paint and let her paint six spoons they are wild but i will use them when she on board. Good luck keep them hooks sharp and fresh bait. craig
yak2you2
2012-03-26 23:38:17
I was thinking about painting up an old spoon with British flag colors. It makes me laugh to think about spreading a rumor that they're biting like crazy on it, then imagining a bunch of guys calling all the gear peddlers trying to buy spoons with a british paint job on them.
John Murray
2012-03-27 04:58:36
"Got any bone lures man?They were really working but I ran out"Well that was a conversation picked on the radio a while back when people used the radio.Anyway the word was out that bone lures were workin so people dug thru their gear trying to find some.Then some guys hit Murray's up for some."Ha, got any of those bone lures we heard guys had um working""I never heard of that lure,don't think we got any"
I could have used a few on my last trip out to the Cape.Livin in hope,guess I better see if Murray's got um in yet.