Tuning a Toothache or other Lures
The JLC Toothache has been carefully designed to maximize action without creating a ton of drag - this makes it super easy to reel in while casting and trolling. However, if by happens chance your lure doesn't run straight, or runs too straight without shaking, you may need to 'tune' it. This will be most noticeable as a problem at higher trolling speeds, however it is easy to adjust with a good pair of pliers. Please note that the Toothache was not designed for trolling at excessive speeds.
If you pull the lure through the water and it heads to the port (left) side of the boat, very slightly and lightly, bend the tow loop in the direction you want the bait to go to run straight again; in this case, facing the lure bill, you would bend the tow eye towards the starboard (right side) of the boat. You may also fine tune it by slightly twisting the tow eye while bending it - again a little is a lot here, so do this in slight increments. You may need to tune your baits after a fish, this may be caused by slight bending of the tow eye while the fish is in the net, or during unhooking.
If you cannot get the lure to run properly, some other common mistakes include using too large of snaps/swivels on the tow eye which impedes the proper flow of water over the bill needed for the bait to dive and move properly... The careful positioning of the bill and the tow eye in respect to the lure was done so that any debris (i.e. floating weeds) that may build up on the bait while trolling would cause the bait to pop to the surface so you would easily know that the bait has been fouled and is not moving properly... Nobody wants to deal with any more guessing than they already have to while on the water - so stop second guessing - this feature allows you once again to focus on patterning and building confidence in the tactics you're using, helping make your time on the water a little more enjoyable and productive!
If you pull the lure through the water and it heads to the port (left) side of the boat, very slightly and lightly, bend the tow loop in the direction you want the bait to go to run straight again; in this case, facing the lure bill, you would bend the tow eye towards the starboard (right side) of the boat. You may also fine tune it by slightly twisting the tow eye while bending it - again a little is a lot here, so do this in slight increments. You may need to tune your baits after a fish, this may be caused by slight bending of the tow eye while the fish is in the net, or during unhooking.
If you cannot get the lure to run properly, some other common mistakes include using too large of snaps/swivels on the tow eye which impedes the proper flow of water over the bill needed for the bait to dive and move properly... The careful positioning of the bill and the tow eye in respect to the lure was done so that any debris (i.e. floating weeds) that may build up on the bait while trolling would cause the bait to pop to the surface so you would easily know that the bait has been fouled and is not moving properly... Nobody wants to deal with any more guessing than they already have to while on the water - so stop second guessing - this feature allows you once again to focus on patterning and building confidence in the tactics you're using, helping make your time on the water a little more enjoyable and productive!
