Lures keep going out of tune

The past few times that we hve been out trolling both lead core and braid we seem to be continuely have to tune and retune our lures. Is it because of the banging on the bottom, inferior tackle, or maybe we are just paying more attention to detail ? Anyone got a good method for tuning? Seems I have to use the pliers on the eye of the lure 4 times before I can get it right, and I have some lures that are brand new that no matter what I do they will not run true.

I’ve had lures straight out of the box before that were not true as well. All you can do is keep adjusting until you are satisfied. Just tie them on a rod not lined with your lead core and walk it up and down the side of the boat first before you tie it on your lead core rig. Or if you have access to a pool, you can try them out before you get to the water. Good Luck!

yeah if your cranks are hitting the bottom, they will easily come out of tune. a lot of times, just a fish hitting it will knock it out of tune.

I would not use pilers to tune as they do more damage as you would think. Bass pro shops makes a good tuner i use, as well as reef runners “tune a fish”. you can be a lot more precise with these tools.

A and T

Lots of good info so far. One thing I’d like to add is that lures that you’ve fished with for awhile that have required tuning will be easier to knock out of tune. The wire eyelets get a little loose or the plastic the eyelet is encased in begins to show wear around the wire where it goes into the bill. Each subsequent tune things get subtly yet progressively worse.

I have quite a few baits that I can tune to perfection at the side of the boat but all it takes is one fish or solid bottom strike and things go all kiddy-whompus. I really love fishing with those old war horse lures that show where they’ve been by the teeth holes spread over the body but at some point they need to be retired… nothing lasts forever.

We ordered a few of the tuning tools from reef runner. They are much easier for me to use than plires. Seems like i get it right with fewer adjustments now.

I understand that sometimes, and some bodies of water, you have to use reef runners, wally divers, hot n tots etc, but I can bounce #5 n #7 rapala shad raps off the bottom for days and still be able to burn it true at 3mph+. I will even paint patterns to not have to use the other lures. I have had glass raps that have needed to be tuned, but that’s it, and only a couple needed tuning.

A little super glue gel on the base of the wire works to take up the slop and make the old lures last a little longer

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A little super glue gel on the base of the wire works to take up the slop and make the old lures last a little longer

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Great tip! I will have to give that a try. I assume this is done after tuning? Or can it be done before and tuned later?

I had the same deal this weekend also. Purchased 6 Flicker Shads Saturday,had to tune 4 of the 6 before evening putting them out. I check by boat side to see if running true or not, then adjust with reef runner tuner. I have went back to my older shad raps and repainted them.

you can do it any time , just needs to be dry.
and the Gel seems to work better than the liquid

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I had the same deal this weekend also. Purchased 6 Flicker Shads Saturday,had to tune 4 of the 6 before evening putting them out. I check by boat side to see if running true or not, then adjust with reef runner tuner. I have went back to my older shad raps and repainted them.

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Very common with flicker shads to be out of tune. Try running them about 5mph along side the boat with about 6′ of line out to see if they are running straight. Tuning tools work great for the slight little adjustments some of these baits need. Many times if you can see the eyelet move its been tuned to far. Its good to have a few spare tuned lures handy before the start of the trip so you dont have to stop and spend time retuning while you should be fishing.