I own and fish an extensive collection of plugs, ranging in weight from inch-long swimmers to pencil poppers and trolling plugs that exceed a foot in length. While I replenish my supply with new plugs, I keep the oldies in service with these basic maintenance tips.
1. Replace rusty or bent hooks. Make sure to use the same size and style so as not to affect the lure’s action.
2. The factory paint job looked realistic, yet a simplified palette of a dark top and a light belly still catches fish, so refresh tired colors with spray paint.
3. Craft stores sell stick-on eye decals in various sizes. Applying these can turn so-so catchers into highliners.
Bonus! Dip the heads of bucktail jigs into liquid rubber to restore color. Star brite’s Dip-it Whip-it comes in four colors. $9.95; starbrite.com
