keep your bait's hooks from tangling.

[Smallie_Stalker]

We've all done it at one time or another - reached for that crankbait or other lure with trebles only to pull out a wad of baits with their trebles all tangled together. And then we have to deal eith the frustration of trying to seperate the one we need from the pile. For years I used rubber bands to wrap the trebles on a bit together along the body and then run the end up over the bill or the screw eye on topwaters etc. The only problem with this approach was that over time the rubber bands would dry out and crack or melt to the sides of the bait in a hot boat locker. Well I finally found an effective and inexpensive solution to the problem and here it is:

Use the stretchy pony-tail elastics that women use for their hair. Make sure that you get the kind WITHOUT the little metal piece as this can scratch the finish on the bait. Take the bait and turn it upside down. Lay the trebles along the body so the body lies between two of the points leaving the third point sticking straight up. Take the pony-tail elastic and make a few wraps around the two points that stick straight up and the run the end up over the bill or line tie eyelet giving it a twist just before you put it over. If you have a bait with three hooks just use two of them. Now your baits sit all nice and separate in your boxes. 

I have been doing this to all of my baits for the past two seasons and they still have the original hair bands on them that they have had since day one. Now when I take out my boxes at the beginning or end of a season there are no more cracked or melted rubber bands to deal with      I did get a couple of baits where the point from a treble stuck into the elastic on a nearby bait but I was able to pull it right off and it didn't seem to tear the elastic that the point came out of.

The best part is that you can get a 50 pack of these hair elastics for about $2.50, maybe less if you go to some kind of a discount outlet. 

[Bigwrench]

Fantastic idea ! Never would have occurred to me to use hair bands !
I hate when they get all tangled up 
Thanks Jim !

[Pacific NW Ron]

Great tip.  You probably just saved a lot of frustration.  I didn't need to buy any, I just went to my wifes small to dresser drawer.  I'll let her buy them.  Ron

[Smallie_Stalker]

Great tip.  You probably just saved a lot of frustration.  I didn't need to buy any, I just went to my wifes small to dresser drawer.  I'll let her buy them.  Ron

[lrcbass]

Great tip!  Can you post a picture of it? Thanks!

[Smallie_Stalker]

Great tip!  Can you post a picture of it? Thanks!

Been having trouble with photobucket but I am going to give it another try. I will use a crankbait for the example but I do this with any baits that have treble hooks.

First here is a picture of what it looks like when it is all done




Here is a step-by-step guide

First turn the bait upside down and lay the hooks along the bottom so the body lays between two of the hook points and the other two are sticking straight up



Next place the hair elastic over the two points that are standing straight up off of the body



Now make several wraps around the standing treble points (3 or 4 should do)



Next twist the elastic over on itself forming an X



now pull the loop up over the bill



If one wrap over the bill is not enough to keep the hooks tightly in place use a second by repeating the previous step again.



If I make more than one wrap over the bill I snug the wraps up together like this


That's it! Back to the finished product




Just a few quick notes: Use enough wraps around the hooks to keep them tight and from sliding around the body. On larger baits like a Norman DD22 etc you may only need to make one wrap over the bill, but again use your judgement and just keep the hooks tight. Very important - Don't make the wraps over the bill too tight. You don't want to put any unnatural downward pressure on the bill.

P.S. Sorry for the blurriness of most of the images. i have a mild neurological condition that causes slight tremors and a lousy camera with no image stabilization. I hope you can get the idea from these.

Jim.

[coldbasser]

Great pics and I use smaller elastic so less wrapping around the crank , sorry I didn't do my home work on the already posted tips
Cheers
Fred