TOOT Paste

Adventure Location: Rockport, TX
Estimated Rolling Date: Feb. 12, 2012

Of course there were no fish to bite the dirty old spoon that was getting tossed into the water.  The flash was gone and it needs flash to fool fish.  It must be time for some lure maintenance to get the spoons back to usable status.  Check out this grungy excuse for a lure.

What to clean it with was the question!  A look around and my eyes found the whitening TOOT paste.  A good rub down with TOOT paste ought to blow the debris away. At least that was my hopes for the lure.  The polishing compounds in the TOOT paste should brighten the gold finish without removing too much of the finish.

 A little dab on the sink cover provided the grinding compound.  An old TOOT brush provided the mechanical application of the TOOT paste.  Scrubbing was easy on the back of the lure.  On the front side where the hook is located taught the need to be careful immediately.  At first nothing seemed to be happening but shortly things started to look brighter. Here we are in progress.

 After a few minutes of scrubbing the back side was looking good. There are still corroded spots so it is known that this lure in into the last half of its useful lifespan.  Maybe a few more redfish will attack it before it goes to the big trash can in the sky.

The hook side was a lot more trouble with all the nooks and crannies to scrub, but even it started looking decent in short order.  This is the model with the grass guard on the hook.  It definitely works, not perfectly, but pretty well. Both types of spoons work well. This type with the hook soldered to the spoon and the alternate type with the hook attached to the rear of the spoon with a split ring.  So far neither style has proven better in my fishing experiences.

 Now it is time to tackle the difficult and potentially painful part of the maintenance.  The hook needs sharpening.  My hook stone was put to work and soon the hook proved sharp enough to grab a finger none to gently to prove it.  For those who do not know factory hooks are frequently not very sharp.  After using a hook for a trip or two it is wise to give the point a touch up.  A sharp hook will try to dig into a fingernail.  A dull hook lust slides along the finger nail.  My hooks are always sharpened from inside the throat of the hook toward the point.

Both spoons were given the “treatment” and then placed in their home.  This is my entire tackle box that is carried when I am out fishing.  Big tackle boxes just get in my way.  Normally two of each lure is all that is carried for my usual fishing event.

There is another tackle box that lives in the Truck that carries the spare items, but this little box is all that goes with me for pier, jetty, wade or yak fishing.  So far it has been plenty.

Maintaining your fishing equipment and dreaming of the fish yet to be caught is a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.