Has anyone ever had problems with their soft plastics going bad? I have a pack of pumpkin/chart trout killers that turned hard and changed color. I also have a pack of salt and pepper/chart killer flats minnows that seem to be going bad and are becoming stiff and off colored. Both packs are about 2 years old. This is strange.

Also, any tips for storing Berkley Gulp shrimp? This will be my 3rd year in a row having to buy a new pack because the scent leaked out of the bag and the bait hardened. Thankfully I had them in a ziplock this time.

Can't answer for TTF baits as never had that issue. But gulp, I put all mine in a water tight container or add them all in the tub some come in. Don't matter type or color I throw them all in. Never have that issue of drying out

Although I fly fish 99.9% of the time, I have a quiver of 8-10 levelwinds and a half-dozen spinning rigs, which get used once or twice a year. One of my favorite plastic baits is the TTF Hackberry Hustler. I have a bunch of them in several colors that have been in a Plano clear plastic box for several years; I just gave a handful away in several colors to a bud in Rockport on my last trip. They were like new. I can't tell you what your problem is, but it sounds like they were possibly overexposed to UV (sun) light. Mine live in a hatch in the RV, so they don't get much of a tan......... Try shielding them from direct sunlight and see if that helps.

It's no biggie but my friends think I'm crazy for always buying new tackle every summer we take a trip to Rockport. I've had them in my tackle box away from the sunlight completely. They haven't been touched since last July. I just checked my tackle out the other day cause we will be making our trip soon and noticed the baits we're going bad and making a mess.

Yeah I think I'll just try out another shrimp style bait i.e. Doa or the like I think they'll do fine under a popping cork

Do you use sunscreen then touch the plastics, or have let them come in contact with any chemical (reel oil, line conditioner etc.) that could have broken them down? Or has your tackle box been exposed to extreme heat(sitting in the truck all day while the car in a parking lot)? All soft plastics will melt at a certain temperature, TTF baits could have a lower melting point than others and the baits could be reacting to getting close to melting and cooled back down repeatedly.

For Gulp storage, I use the 3600 Plano Waterproof Storage boxes; they haven't leaked on me in 3 years. I use the little waterproof box that fits in my fishing shirt pocket to throw a few in while I'm wading. I have a bottle of recharge that I keep in the garage to keep everything nice and juicy if I spill the juice when out on the water. And you can rehydrate the gulps if they dry out(they will be a tiny bit smaller but still fully useable).

Big THUMPS & Tight Lines!

Gulps catch more fish. Period. Hate to admit it because I cringe going to the store and spending that kinda money on soft plastics, but at the end of the day after spending money on gas, hotel, rod, reel, line, boat what's 3 extra bucks to catch more fish.
We continually win tourney's down there on Gulps when fishing against croaker soakers.. that's gotta say something right?

Big THUMPS & Tight lines!

No I don't believe I ever left them in the heat. I tend to baby my tackle quite a bit. Maybe I handled them a few too many times. They almost seem to have turned completely chart colored or something. Maybe I just got a bad batch? Who knows... Can you suggest any other brand? I liked their size but found them a little more stiff than I would like.

As for the gulp, I might just try a Plano waterproof case.

Very true, the gulp worked very well. I think I'll just suck it up and spend the extra cash. Making the trip in a week and a half.

Do you have other plastics mixed in your box? It may be a chemical reaction from contact. I know that some plastics will melt in your box if they come into contact with other plastics of a different formulation. For instance, if you put a Vudu shrimp in the same tray with other plastic shrimp tails, the Vudu will melt.

No I had them in their package in my box. The box was in my closet at room temperature away from the sun. I hadn't touched them since last summer.

Here is a pic of what I was talking about.

In the first pic, you can easily see the baits are off colored. You can also see that the bait in the middle is the only bait in the package that hasn't hardened of turned a different color. It has begun to "warp" at the head of the bait and you could see that in the picture.

In the second pic, it's harder to tell than the first pic but, the bait on the far left is the original one that hadn't been "warped." I had this one laying in my box outside the plastic bag so it didn't "warp" like the others in the bag. You can see the middle two expanded a little bit and some how their silver flake disappeared. I mixed the color on the far right into the same bag a year ago to save space and none of those appear warped so I'm scratching my head a little bit here.

I store my gulp in a SMALL pickle jar. The glass is thick enough that it is very hard to break. It seals very well.

I like that idea, nice!

You can also store gulp in a ziplock in a refrigerator and it will keep.. just work it out with momma though.

As for the plastics are they stored with other colors?
And sometimes the colors from the tails will change the colors of the bodies over time.
With that said, the small change in color that you are showing won't be enough to stop a fish from eating it.