tuning reef runners....

[brad b]

I have been having a lot of trouble tuning the deep little ripper baits made by reef runner. They are good baits that have caught fish consistently for me. This summer I have been trolling rocks a lot and after about a half hour of ticking the bottom on occasion, the baits turn upside down and "surf" behind the board. Once this happens, I have not been able to re-tune the bait.

Are the bills so soft on these baits that I'm doing permenant damage to them that quickly? Is there a trick to tuning a bait that is that badly out of tune?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking at about $50 bucks worth of junk crankbaits if I can't find a way to get them tuned....

[Ed F]

Brad,
I have spent many hours of running Reef Runners into rocks
and have been able to re tune them.
A trick to re-tuning any Crankbait is to move the eye a little at a time and try to turn the Eyelet Flat to the bill, if the Bait runs to the right turn the eye to the left, if it runs to the left turn it to the right. As long as the Eye is still tight in the bill you should be able
to tune them.

Good Luck
Ed Fiore
Xtreme Tackle
A Walleye Central Sponsor

[brad b]

Thanks for the help Ed, but it sounds like I tune baits the same way as you.

Any chance your lakes have zebra mussels like my home town waters do?

[Ed F]

Brad,
I do fish in a lot of waters with Zebra mussels, If you want to send me one of the baits I will try and tune it. If I can’t tune it I will get it replaced and have Reef Runner take a look at the bait.
Send me a email my for contact info.
ed@xtackle.com
Ed Fiore
Xtreme Tackle

[SS2]

RR products are real fussy compared to many other lures. Try very small corrections & use a 9 ft lead. If the line tie eye doesn't have free play (wiggle), you should be ok. Reefrunner markets a tuner. Friend swears by it.

[ETT]

Here's a posting I made http://www.walleyecentral.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=23391&mesg_id=23391&listing_type=search#23393

In it I use the word twist when I should have said bend. Never twist the line tie, simply bend it right or left, keeping the longitudinal axis in line with the body of the lure.

My compliments to Ed for offering to help. This is above and beyond, normal customer relations and I think it's worthy of recognition.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[Walizz1]

The tuning tool from RR is a real handy tool. It works much better than a needle nose.I got mine for free but if I ever lose it I would gladly pay for one.

[bob oh]

I've heard of guys tuning them in swimming pools ????? :-)