I've had this pair of very old Hot Shot fly sized baits laying around forever. They came in a couple old boxes of tackle I bought back when we still had our antique business. They were in tough shape and I finally decided to try and breathe some new life in them since I was doing a pair of ear rings for a daughter's friend.
The Hot Shot lures date back to the early 1950's. The small version shown here are actually quite hard to find and only came in a couple colors. The hooks and split rings were rusted beyond belief so new hardware was in order. I had to sand the old finish down which proved to be a challenge on something this small. I finally scratched off the old off-white/glitter finish, then did the sanding. Lots of pits in the surface of each lure would not come out but hey, they reflect light so all's not lost. lol I had to use the edge of a fine flat file to cut flats where the original eyes were found painted on so new eyes could be attached. Ironically, the old eyes were the toughest part of the original finish.
The color scheme I re-applied is what I call my blue perch and has proven to be a real fish catcher this summer and gives both the old baits and those ear rings a nice polish. Yes, I am going to fish these old lures and hope the hook hangers and tie eyes hold up. Old lures, new finish....what's not to love about them?
