lure finish...flat vs. high gloss

[nscrfrk]

i am planning on some night fishing bass tourneys  this summer and instead of spending $$ on a bunch of new lures (needed black ones)  i took some of which i had multiples of and had my wife paint and cure them at work (they turned out great). she used a paint which is one of the hardest known to man. it is an epoxy/urethane based paint (odorless when cured) that is used in the aerospase / aircraft industry and would probably break teeth on a musky. my question is that they are flat black. should i spray them with a clear coat to make them glossy or is flat ok?...also a quikie while i'm here...pre-fish panfish ice tourney---keep any slabs i may catch or release for next days (tourney) catch? i say release my partner says keep 'cause they won't bite again for at least 24 hrs anyway...input please...thanx to all

[SENKOSAM]

My 2 cents:

I've cast flat finish soft plastic jerk sticks and the bass and picks ate them with gusto.

I can't imagine it makes a difference with hard baits except a gloss will reflect more flashes of light versus absorbing different wave lengths. If you have a pattern painted on, two coats of clear will magnify those patterns nicely and give them a 3-d f/x to a small degree. I like glossy lures, but only as a confidence factor.

The old wive's tail of released fish scaring off the bite

A couple of things that has disproven the theory, at least for panfish:

1. I've rubbed lures on caught fish to pick up scent from the slime coat and caught fish (even more so when the bite was slow).

2. Schoolies are in a frenzy and bite anything, regardless of the release of caught fish into the school

If those released crappies join the school, they might become frenzied again to bite the next day.

I recatch many prespawners again when they are in the shallows.

Our ice has melted.  :'(

[Guest whittler]

If you are night fishing I can see no difference at all, unless you meet a bass with a flashlight. In the daylight there might be an occasion where one may be better than the other under the right conditions.