How To Avoid The Destruction Of Your Soft Plastic Lures
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
Prevent the destruction of your soft plastic lures before it’s too late!!!
I see these same mistakes all the time.
And people wonder why their soft plastics don’t last as long as they should.
Avoid these common storage mistakes to save your soft plastics!
How To Avoid The Destruction Of Your Soft Plastic Lures [VIDEO]
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Depending on the brand of your soft plastic lures, they’re made out of different materials.
If you mix those plastics together, you’ll end up with a melted mess of useless lures.
Direct sunlight, heat, or simply spending too much time together will cause chemical reactions that ruin your soft plastics.
Standard soft plastic lures are made out of PVC/Plastisol material.
Salt Strong lures along with DOA, Zoom, Saltwater Assassin, and a host of other companies use this mix for their lures.
You might have noticed Z-Man and other lure companies use a different plastic for their lures.
They use TPE or Thermoplastic Elastomer which is softer and able to stretch more.
Lots of pre-rigged lures are also TPE because it is a bit dense.
You MUST avoid mixing Plastisol and TPE lures together!
These two plastics will negatively react with each other and ruin your lures.
Another overlooked factor is the plastic container you’re storing your plastic lures.
The wrong plastic can also negatively react with your lures causing more headaches.
I recommend keeping everything in its original packaging to avoid this issue.
If you prefer to store your lures in tackle trays or boxes, be sure to do so SEPARATELY.
Keep TPE lures with TPE lures and Plastisol lures with Plastisol lures.
Also, avoid mixing either type of plastic lure with hard-body baits.
Lastly, let’s address Gulp!
Gulp! lures are in their own class of materials.
Gulp! absorbs liquid so they must be stored in the liquid they are sold in.
Keep them in the liquid they come in or else they will dry out.
You can bring them back to life if they dry out by soaking them back in the liquid they came in.
If you have any additional tips and tricks of your own for storing soft plastic lures, please go ahead and let me know down in the comments section!!
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Thanks for this write-up. Trying to remove a dried-up Gulp bait from a hook id surely an exercise in frustration.
You’re welcome! Yep just let it soak in gulp juice or water and it will soften back up.
Thanks
You’re welcome Bill!
I often carry a 1 qt thermos with fresh water. /i dunk my lures when done with them before storage.
Good tip!
How about SS offering some Tackle Bags that accommodate Soft Package Bags + the other lures you guys offer…. Look at Zmans plastic bag storage offering and add to it for your other products.
We are definitely looking into some tackle storage options!
Awesome video and very well explained and the importance of why you store plastic lures in certain containers…. Tony made it abundantly clear to the importance and anyone who has not follow his advice has learned a very important lesson for sure …. I keep all my plastics in their original packaging and even with making my offshore lures for big game fish the importance of this video is still a must for me and I keep all separated into their own lure specs and classes …. Very good information and video I thought here Tony and job well done …… Thanks
You’re welcome Thomas! Thank you for the awesome feedback!
Tony, great video. I know that Z-Man, when storing them, are very sensitive to other lures and plastic containers but I stumbled on a video on an alternative way to store them. There are containers made by Flambeau that work great. I’ve stored Z-Man lures in them for over a year now and have had no problems. Here are links to these containers: first is a video made by Z-Man explaining it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XkR_pXCYs0 and here is where you can buy them: https://www.flambeaucases.com/k-series . I hope this is helpful to my Salt Strong family.
Thanks for sharing, Roger!
Wow! Didn’t know that but wondered why my plastic lures were melting! I’ve got some rearranging to do!😆
The more ya know!
Hello Tony, I bought the Plano Tackle Bag you advertised, Is Dr. JUICE safe for the containers in my Plano Tackle Bag? I don’t like storing baits in other containers except what I get them in. But sometimes I have a bait that I had previously used, I don’t place it back inside the original packaging, so I place it into my bag to be used again later. Except it has Dr. JUICE scent on it. Will it be ok to leave it in one of the containers supplied with the Tackle Bag?
Hey Timothy! It should be ok. If anything it may stain the plastic container.
Thanks Tony. I keep the baits in the original packaging but have heard that Z-Man lures will melt in heat. I store my baits in a storage unit in Sebastian, Florida. I’ve hauled Z-Man back and forth to Pennsylvania because of the melting rumor. Can anyone confirm that they do melt even in original packaging or if it is safe for me to leave them in Florida. I hear you all are being blasted by Mother Nature, stay safe. We just returned North Monday so I guess we got out just in time.
Ken ,,, they’ll be fine, especially those in clam shell packs. I leave ones I use on the water in my boat’s storage locker and also have left them in direct sunlight for days to test what happens. There’s a video on the Net showing a guy trying to melt them. At 350 deg., they got soft but still didn’t melt into a liquid like plastisol does. These educational videos have been produced for years, and for those who are not convinced should take a pack and store in heat to gain confidence before storing all of their stash.
They should be fine. Keep in mind a lot of lures are stored in hot warehouses. As long as they’re out of direct sunlight (UV rays) and not mixed with other plastics.
Good job, Tony.
Anybody have any tackle storage ideas for carrying around a bunch of soft plastics in their original packages while wading? I’ve been trying different approaches all year and still feel like there’s room for improvement.
Thanks Phillip! You may want to look into a dry bag or waterproof sling.