Best Way To Clean Fishing Lures

So many fishermen dispose of their lures after usage. Generally, water most particularly seawater can rust them steadily making them useless. But when you put some certain management practice in place, you can extend the durability of your lures. Ensure they are kept dry every time and get rid of seawater as fast as possible.

Are you planning to go fishing at the closest water body? Does your tackle box contain clean and polished fishing lures? Whenever you are considering the kind of lures or the species of fish you are catching, it is highly significant to regularly utilize clean and neat lures. You should not expect to capture a big catch when you are making use of a dirty and filthy lure.

It does not really matter; if your intention is to capture freshwater fish or a seawater fish, it is however important to fish with an appropriately cleaned lure. As a passionate fisherman, my fishing lures are always neat and ever ready for use at any point in time. All anglers should take up the responsibility of cleaning their fishing lures after each everyday catch.

Over the years, I have discovered that inappropriate or unreliable cleaning of you fishing lures have the tendency to destroy your lures beyond repair. 

Process Of Cleaning Your Fishing Lures

Step 1 

Whenever you are on a fishing tour, you must take into consideration this step. You are required to wash away the saltwater with freshwater as you fish. You should be in charge of the removal of the lure from the seawater and dip it or clean it with any available freshwater when on tour.

This is needed to be done in order to reduce the destructive impact of the seawater. Then you can make use of a paper towel wipe and dry it off. As a passionate fisherman, it is highly expected of you to follow relevant steps of taking good care of your lures when on a fishing tour.

Step 2 

Distinctly storing damp lures is extremely significant. Freshwater will do your gearbox little damage when compared with saltwater. Nonetheless, you do not have any reason for storing your damp lures with the rest of the fishing equipment in the tackle box.

It is expected of you to keep them separately while returning home from your fishing tour. Saltwater-used lures should not be placed back inside the gear box until they are cleaned and dried.

Step 3 

Immediately you get home, you have to do this particular step. You will be needing a mild soap and a toothbrush to perform this step. Carefully make use of these two items to thoroughly wash and clean the lure. Normal hand soap or any all-purpose soap will work perfectly.

You have to ensure that your toothbrush is wet enough with reasonable amount of soap in order to clean areas that are difficult to reach. During this process of cleaning these hidden spots, you need to be very careful so as not to damage the lure. This lures are known to be fragile as they can be easily destroyed if you are not carful enough.

You can buy which is the bestselling lure cleaner on Amazon. This cleaner is regarded as all-purpose soap, light in weigh,t and quite handy. It is produced for thorough cleaning.

Step 4 

This concluding step is relatively simple. You are expected to have a dry towel to wipe your lure. You can conveniently use the towel to dry all spots that are somehow difficult to reach inside the lure. Patiently ensure that every part of the lure are appropriately cleaned. Then, you can go ahead to store the lure back into the gear box.

A lot of tackle boxes are available for your grab but I will recommend the . This is an outstanding selection for your perfect lures. This tackle box will be suitable for you as it is built with a very large storage area and comes with three brass-bailed latches that are being created for heavy-duty. It is built using constituents that is of the best quality.


The remaining steps mentioned below are meant for advanced maintenance. These steps are very crucial and necessary to protect and maintain your lures.

Step 1 

Look for a container and fill it up with both the vinegar and salt. You will however need to place the rusty hooks of your lure inside the solution prepared earlier and allow to be there for about 12 hours. You then remove it from the solution and scrub out the remaining rust on the hooks with steel wool. 

The next is to soak a towel in ethyl alcohol or ethanol. You will now use the towel to wipe the lure down in order to disallow the development of the corrosion again. Ensure you use the right amount of measurement while preparing your solution. Use 1-cup of salt for a gallon of vinegar.

Step 2 

Naturally, hooks are not strong and they can easily become rusty with time. Corrosion is known to put the standard of a hook on the line. At this point, it is highly significant to remove and replace the hook. You only need an O-ring plier to remove any rusted hook. 

You are required to change the rusty hook with another with similar mass and size. You must ensure that you prevent any form of future effect on the lure. You can easily find the best hook that will fit your lure online. 

Step 3  

You are expected to store any feathered type lure in an airtight container. Certain lures are bought with the feathers and they should be kept in such a way to protect it from being damaged. The function of the feather is to protect the lures from some kind of bugs that try to destroy it. Always ensure you keep them in their pack and only bring them out when you only want to use them.

Step 4 

Soft plastic lures require the application of tail dips. Anytime you suspect any signs of damage to the soft plastic lures, you have to use the tail dip often for recoloring and to bring it back to life. Almost all fisherman are fond of experimenting with numerous paint color in order to study that attract the fish.

The tail dip is the paint type that is created specially for plastic fishing lures. You can however dip the lure directly into the paint and this can be perform frequently. Also, you can decide to spray the lure with the tail dip.

Step 9 

You can also try the usage of sandpaper to manage your lures. If you find out that your lures have been scratched, you can then use this type called to sand down and polish up your lures. You can smooth out the scratches with the sandpaper. After the application of the sandpaper, you can utilize enamel or lacquer to cover it up. Finally, you can then make use of a small paintbrush with some paints to fill up the painting.  

Do Freshwater Lures Work In Saltwater

Absolutely yes; you can utilize bigger freshwater lures in saltwater. I have successfully used the following freshwater lures such as Johnson’s original Sprite spoon in gold, Rebel jumping minnows, Zara Spooks, Berkeley saltwater soft baits and husky jerks in saltwater. Always ensure to wash lures with clean freshwater after fishing in seawater. 

How Do You Clean Vintage Lures?

Always start the cleaning with warm water to remove grime and dirt. During this period of cleaning, make sure you do not rub the lure to prevent scratching the body with coarse sand or grime which can wear out the paint or protective coat of the lure. Once you are done with rinsing, softly scrub the lure with soap on a paper towel.

Last update on 2024-04-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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