I opened up the fishing tackle box and seen the horror! All my soft plastics lures had melted into each other. They weren’t fishable, with the curly tail grubs distorted, wrecked paddle tails and all the color’s blended together. I thought the kids had melted the lures together with a blow torch. Then I realized that not all soft plastic lures store together well.
There are plenty of ways to store the soft plastics and carry them, like tackle boxes, hard plastic tubs, zippered cases, wallets and wraps. But not all storage ways are soft plastics safe, especially for lures like the Z-Man soft plastics.
So in this article we are going to look at ways on not only how to store your soft plastics, but how to store them safely, which will protect them from melting together.
Ways To Store Soft Plastic Lures
Here are a few ways to keep them and transport them below.
- Wallet Binder
- Left In Original Packaging
- Suitable Tackle Boxes
- Original Packaging In Tupperware Container
- Zipper Lock Bag
- Clear Tackle Bag Berkley Bait Bag
The majority of the ways use the original packaging to store and separate the soft plastics. But there are some options to also hold the packs and alternatives to store them.
Some of the ways also make it quicker and easier to find a certain size, type or color soft plastic bait.
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Fishing Wallet / Binder
Shimano, Z-Man, Berkley and a host of other lure makers and fishing manufactures have wallet like holders, containers or binders. These are designed to hold a fair few packets together and are easy to search through to find the lure you are after.
This binder can then be thrown into your fishing bag or in the boat.
The binder rings hold the packs in an easy to flick through and choose the lure you are after.
Pictured above is the Z-Man Tackle Wallet Binder that will roughly hold around 10 packs of soft plastics.
Some binders have also enough room to put a small tray of jig heads and some fish attractant scent or leader material as well.
Pictured above is the Shimano Wallet that can hold packets of soft plastics, tray for jig heads. It will also hold a container of Trout Magnets, hooks, set up rigs, braid scissors, fish attractant and assorted tackle like the Mustad Fastach Clips.
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Left In Original Packaging
This is the messy option, but you just leave them in the original packs and throw them in a tackle box, fishing bag, boat, waist bag or backpack.
Storing them in the original packs also help keep the shape of the soft plastic lures from getting distorted and helps keep a nice swimming action to entice the fish.
This is an okay option if you haven’t got too many separate packs.
The trouble with this, on a windy day, the individual packets can blow away. Especially on a boat. Or if you have a dozen packs, it can be annoying sorting through the fishing bag trying to find the color or type of creature bait you want.
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Suitable Tackle Boxes
Unfortunately, the good old Plano fishing tackle boxes and a lot of hard plastic lure boxes / tackle boxes can react to the baits like Z-Man soft plastics. Luckily you can get tackle boxes like – Moncross Tackle Boxes, that are soft plastic safe.
The Moncross range is manufactured in Sweden and are quality tackle boxes. These and come in a wide range of sizes and designs.
ChaseBaits also have TPE Safe Tackle Trays, which are safe for soft plastic lures.
If in doubt and you want to take the lures out of the original packaging and keep it in a container, just try one soft plastic for a while and test to see if it reacts to the container. Don’t throw all your soft plastics in, or you might ruin your whole new pack.
Pictured above: Hard body lures, like suspended minnows, inline spinners, bent minnows and soft plastic lures in a Moncross Tackle Box. Note: The hard body lures should not touch the soft plastics as well.
Be careful with not just the Z-Man soft plastics in tackle boxes, but also mixing other soft plastics brands like Daiwa, Roboworms, Berkley, Senko Lures, etc., together. As the colors can bleed into each other.
Also soft vibes or any hard plastic body lure, may also react to the soft plastic baits if touching each other in the same container.
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Lure Packets In A Tupperware Container
Another way to store the lures is to keep them in the original packs again but place them in a plastic tub or Tupperware container.
For some food containers, the lure packs may fit vertically, so are easy to find the pack you are after.
The plastic containers help protect the shape of the lures and they don’t get squashed, like in a normal soft tackle bag. (Unless you try and put too many packs in a container.)
The good thing about food containers is they come in a wide range of sizes and normally cheap to buy.
You can also write on the tubs with a Sharpie, or label them into categories, like sizes, creature baits, worms, grubs, paddle tails, etc.
The big containers are ideal for a huge amount of storage for the boat.
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Zipper Lock Bag
A good way to see what packets you have, sis to store them in a big clear snap lock or zipper bag.
Just like the Tupperware containers, you can also label the bags with a Sharpie and use different bags, for example, creature baits, curly tail grubs, micro finesse baits or sizes, etc.
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Clear Tackle Bag
A clear tackle bag like the Berkley Bait Bag, or Daiwa Bait Junkie zippered case, helps you see clearly what soft plastics you have, as well as it keeps them organized together.
With the bigger bags, you can store some leader material and jig heads in them as well.
Soft Plastic Lure Storage Tips
A well-organized tackle box or fishing bag makes it not only easier to find the lure you are after, but it also saves time. Meaning you can spend more time fishing rather than sorting through lures.
Don’t leave your soft plastic lures in a hot environment, like in the boot / trunk of the car for long on a hot day.
Even the same brand like Z-man and same type and size bait, the different colors can bleed and transfer the color into each other.
If you are not sure if the container is safe to store the opened baits, just try one, rather than the whole packet.
FAQs
Can You Leave The Jig Heads On?
You can, but it can corrode the jig head if left on the soft plastic if it is damp. Especially in salt water. The best way to store them is to take the soft plastic off the jig head and store them back in the original snap lock bags they come in.
How Do You Rig Z-Man Soft Plastic Grubs?
This article will show you how to easily rig the curly tail grub – How To Rig A Soft Plastic 2.5” Grub
Also this article has several different ways to rig and fish the Z-Man soft plastics – Ways To Rig Z-Man Soft Plastics Grub
Where Can You Buy Moncross Tackle Boxes?
Your local tackle store or eBay may stock the Moncross Tackle Boxes range.
How Do You Keep Plastic Worms From Drying Out?
Soft plastic worms like Zoom Baits, Roboworm, Berkley Powerbait worms, Yamamoto baits, etc., can dry out easy. Leave them in the original bag and make sure the bag is sealed air tight. You can even put the original bag in another air tight bag or snap lock bag to double seal them.
Avoid direct sunlight or stored in a hot car or boat for a long time.
Summary
The correct way to store the soft plastics not only saves you fishing time, but helps keep the lure in good shape, so the action performs better in the water.
Storing the soft plastic lures the right way also saves you money, instead of throwing out the melted ones.
