Tuning Reef Runners

Posted on Ohio Game Fishing, by Jim Stedke  11/7/08

Reef Runners have a built in horizontal hunting action. That's kinda like saying they are not going to track perfectly straight and true. A slight variation in speed will often cause the lure to dart left or right momentarily. This is a wonderful trigger for any following fish and frankly I believe it is what makes the lure so effective.

So how do we tune a lure that has a built in horizontal hunting action???

You start with the lure beside the boat at trolling speed, with around 10' of line out. Pull the lure and watch to see if wants to hang too far left or too far right. Using needle nose pliers or the Reef Runner lure tuner, bend the line tie in the bill just slightly the opposite way the lure is running. (running left - bend right or the reverse). Keep making tiny adjustments until the lure pulls fairly straight.

Now rip the lure forward with the rod, such as would happen if the board was coming off a wave. The lure will likely kick right or left. Pull it several times and make tiny adjustments untill you get it to kick both left and right about equally.

The secret is to sneak up on the sweet spot, and not rack the line tie back and forth several times.

Once again, I am not at all interested in enflaming those who believe lures should run true out of the box. I simply want to let people know the lures can be tuned, and how I go about accomplishing the task.

Posted on Ohio Game Fishing, by Jim Stedke  11/7/08