Modify Your Plastics!

[Ron Redington]

This idea has been the biggest innovation that anyone has ever provided to the fishing scene.

WOW! Coming from you my friend...well...that's quite a compliment! Your knowledge of lures and their history never ceases to amaze me! If you say my method of modifying plastic lures is an "innovation"...well, I'm not gonna argue with ya

The Redingfin solved so many problems that we were having with many lures.

This coming from a guy who blows up more Redfins then the law allows

I'm still waiting on the Muskie field test report

Thanks again, Ron.

No need to thank me Dave! The truth is, I should be thanking you! As I mentioned in my original post, it's because of you, Pop Pop and Sam that I was given the opportunity to come up with the idea. If it wasn't for the three of you, there would be no "innovation."

Thanx Dave!

[Ron Redington]

Ron------------All I can say is WOW. I would never have thought of that modification in my wildest dreams.

I probably wouldn't have either if it wasn't for Dave, Pop Pop and Sam. These guys took me under their wing and taught me the fine art of fishing lures.

Their problem was that some of the lures they fished were...well...let's just say they didn't hold up too well. They got the fish to eat, but the hookup ratio stunk (thanx to the illogical hook placement - 1 belly hook & 1 tail hook on a 7" lure). Not only that, the hangers would twist & pull until the lure split and filled with water. It was annoying to say the least. Thankfully none of us have to worry about that anymore

I have a couple beaters that have been sitting on the shelf for years waiting to be refurbished, now I have a project. Any idea if older ( 25-35 years ) 7 " rebels are thru-wired ?

One way to tell is to look at the hangers. Typically round hangers indicate the lure is not through-wired. While horseshoe shaped hangers tend to be wired (see photos).



This is a 7" Redfin that is NOT through-wired. Notice the round shape of the hanger.



This is a 7" Spro that's fully through-wired. Notice the horseshoe shape on the hanger.



Same thing with the nose. Notice the difference in shapes.

Thanks for passing this along. I'm sure it took alot of trial and error to perfect.

My pleasure! Good luck with your lures!

BTW, don't forget to let us see how they turn out. I haven't done any Rebles...yet

[SRF]

Ron, it was an incredible idea that made a great deal of sense.

Take some great fish catching lures with a ton of issues that lure manufacturers would not address, and turn them into indestructable, water repelling, castable cow catchers. Who would have ever thought a 40lb class bass could be caught on a 5 inch Mambo or Redfin without concerns of hangers being pulled out or the plug taking on water, which would render the plug useless from that point forward.

There is no doubt that we drop far fewer bass because of the modifications that you have not just thought about doing, but actually followed through with every single improvement and somehow the lures still run true......you are my hero!!!!!

Ron , Im impressed. You really took the time to explain everything in great detail. Anyone who has interest in modifying their lures should know that it is alot easier than it looks if your only planning to do a couple....we just happened to go overboard, which made it alot of work because of the amount of lures that we did ( not all models were mentioned )

Anyway great job Ron and Ill see you at the sweat shop.....

[Ron Redington]

Ron, it was an incredible idea that made a great deal of sense.

After seeing DaveC split so many Redfins down the middle, listening to Dave G complain about why they put a single belly hook on a 7" lure, and living through the agony of watching you drop so many fish, I kinda figured it was the right thing to do

I said "you," what I meant to say was "us."

Take some great fish catching lures with a ton of issues that lure manufacturers would not address, and turn them into indestructable, water repelling, castable cow catchers. Who would have ever thought a 40lb class bass could be caught on a 5 inch Mambo or Redfin without concerns of hangers being pulled out or the plug taking on water, which would render the plug useless from that point forward.

Forget all of that! What really impresses me is the fact that you have to hide them from Pop Pop Ya know you're onto something if Pop Pop tries to slip your lures into his bag.

Sorry Pop Pop...I couldn't resist

There is no doubt that we drop far fewer bass because of the modifications that you have not just thought about doing, but actually followed through with every single improvement and somehow the lures still run true......you are my hero!!!!!

No doubt Sammy! Our hookup ratios improved considerably! I still remember all the experimenting we were doing with hooks & split rings. We could get the fish to eat, but we couldn't keep'em on the hooks Now our biggest problem is remembering to bring the electronics (hehe).

Ron , Im impressed. You really took the time to explain everything in great detail. Anyone who has interest in modifying their lures should know that it is alot easier than it looks if your only planning to do a couple....we just happened to go overboard, which made it alot of work because of the amount of lures that we did ( not all models were mentioned )

Sam's right! It may look like a lot of work, but it's really not. Once you get into it, the process with get easier and easier.

Anyway great job Ron and Ill see you at the sweat shop.....

The sweat shop is open for business! Put them diapers down and get your butt over here!

Thanx for everything Sam! I couldn't have done it without ya!

[RhinoScores]

Nice work Ron!

[SRF]

Now our biggest problem is remembering to bring the electronics (hehe).

As long as we remember the MIO we'll be just finelol

[Ron Redington]

Ron you make good use of your down time,..It's unfortunate that I don't have the uninterupted time to devote to this venture

Trust me Joe...this had nothing to do with spare time. It was the heart of the Spring run when we got frustrated with lackluster hookup ratios & exploding lures. Timing for the idea couldn't have been worse.

It was worth it though! We significantly improved our hookup ratio, and we no longer have to carry a 1/2 dozen spare lures to replace the ones that explode

[Frank Mihalic]

Ron,
This idea was a long time coming. I have changed out hooks and split rings. Even loaded a few, and added a bucktail flag to the tail of some..but you took this thing to a whole new unhealthy level.
Very unhealthy for the fish!
The paint is perfectly functional, you know we like those certain colors that you can't get on some models. But paint does not compare to the durability you've added to the light tackle lures. Even smaller fish have ripped the hangers out of my Mabos and RedFins.
The ability to customize is perfect for those of us who like to improve our tackle. The foam and wire add a perfect balance of weight at flotation.
...and the few I've used swim better than ever!
The RedingFin is a serious weapon.
Thanks for sharing with us!

Dave C, DaveG, Sammy... hope all is well.

I

[Joseph Lamberty]

Watch out Ron , You may start a Manufacturing revolution,...and NOW we'll have to pay more for lures outta the "Box". Thanx Alot!... LOL.....Lets keep this a Bass Barn secret!.... How many manufacturers Snoop on the "Barn" ?. How often do you see an overseas product shipped here and made better by an American ?

"



Live 2 Fish
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Forced 2 Work

[BaitLobber]

Awesome innovation Ron! Thanks for the tutorial, great read

[bassman1966]

nice job

[billc]

Get read Ron some new things to try

[PeteE]

i got dave workin in a few for me when he's bored.

[rjf3]

Ron you can add rattles.

#1 fits in a 7/32" hole 13/16" deep.
Russ

[Sudsy]

Wow, Brilliant !!