I have mention before about how a 3/4 Trap keeps getting better and better as it looses most of the Chrome/Hologram on the sides. We have a very good audience of Bass on our Mexico trips and it is a perfect testing ground. Here are the numbers on this ONE On The BOTTOM.
- First day it caught 10 Bass with the hooks scraping tracks.
- Second day it averaged 20 with a couple of spots to the bone base.
- Third day it caught 25 and now is loosing lots of shine and the spots are larger.
- Took the knife blade to it and made the spots larger. It caught 40 Bass the next morning and was still getting better by day 6.
- Now most of the Chrome is gone; but just enough to flash that ghost image that they seem to like. By the 6th morning it was catching over 40 each morning and would have done better than that; but my arm couldn't take it any more. Prediction is that one that is very worn will almost double my catch over a new bait.


I would like to have a couple of new traps finished out like the bottom one in the picture. I will take the two new traps and sand them off like I want them, if I could get one of our excellent painters to finish the job so no more of the chrome will come off so easily. I am guessing that would be a sealer then the top coat?

Any thoughts or takers??

I'm sold if it were "like it is" new on a store shelf. Come to think about it, if they marketed that color, it would be a guaranteed top seller

it used to be a secret back in the late 80's to early 90's that a "BONE" colored trap was best. And what many of us did to get that look was to scrape the chrome and or paint off of the bait!! The plastic was a different color under the chrome baits especially the black and chrome and blue and chrome. They did produce more bass but I believe we just used the baits more. If you scrape off the chrome I wouldn't suggest that a topcoat be put on the bait as it will change the way the trap sounds and fishes! Take a little clear finger nail polish(Hard As Nails) and go around the edges and "seal the edges" I've been doing this for 30 years and it has worked all those years!! I'm going on 15 years building crankbaits out of balsa and modifying plastic baits and I don't think the is a better way to do it. I learned from some of the best crankbait builders and crankbait fisherman in North Carolina.

Jeff

be sure to post the after pictures when u get back so we can see the results.