Texas Fishing Forum

Bent Soft Plastics

Posted By: Spiderman

Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 01:53 AM

Learned this on another Crappie Forum & thought I would pass the idea along.

So I had a package of soft plastics and about 30% of the tails were bent pretty badly when they came out of the package. The baits would spiral in the water.

I brought a small pot of water to a boil and turned the heat off. Added the soft plastics to the hot water for one minute. Took them out with a strainer and laid them straight on a metal cookie sheet and put them in the fridge for 20 minutes.

They are good as New!

Posted By: SenkoSam

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 01:57 AM

I discovered the same tip last year for plastic worms and it works great.
BTW - love straight thin-tail grubs. Stopped using curl tail gtubs a few years ago.
Posted By: hawghoover

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 02:01 AM

good i had this problem too!
Posted By: PlanoPaul

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 02:13 AM

That explains the line twist I had going on last trip. Just so happen to be using bandits also. Love those baits, but yeah the tails can get bent in the packages. Thanks for the pointer!
Posted By: bullcrappie

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 02:14 AM

This works great on the sassy shad type plastics as well especially on shad assassins and 5 and 6 inch sassy shad baits they are 50 cents each..I hate when the tail don't work or when the smaller baits twist your line when your fishing/jigging vertical.
I always repack them in mineral oil after straining them..
When their wasn't so many different sizes of tubes we used to put our tube jigs in small cut up sections of a drinking straw this kept them strait and most important it kept them from fading colors between each other..We pushed them into straw with a small rounded end of wood or a tooth pick. I found a few in a old box that were 15 years or older and still in good shape, this should still work if they haven't changed the plastic formula of the straws. We never had any problem with the bodies reacting in the straws..
Posted By: Bud B

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 01:50 PM

That's a good tip. Thanks.
Posted By: Laner

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 02:28 PM

Hey that's a really good tip! Not something I would've ever thought to have tried, so thank you for the head's up.
Posted By: Stucky76

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 05:30 PM

Great tip!
Posted By: SlabbedSilly

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 06:37 PM

Maybe the best tip/post EVER!!!!
Posted By: larry mays

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 07:01 PM

I don't know if its that big a deal but all plastic has a cure time. Maybe Lane, Todd or Robert will jump in and let us know if there should be one here.
Posted By: Laner

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 07:12 PM

Good question, Larry. Once the baits go into the packaging, they should already be cured and ready for fishing.
Posted By: Spiderman

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 08:27 PM

Lane when you pour a new soft plastic bait, how long do you let it cure before you package them?

Would it be the same amount of time when I reheat them to straighten them out?

Is 24 hours long enough?
Posted By: Laner

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/18/15 09:52 PM

The amount of time it takes depends on a couple of different factors. For me, the temperature is a huge factor because I don't have a climate controlled shop. When it's cold out, the baits cure quickly. When it's warm, it will take a longer period of time. Typically speaking, baits that I make in the morning are ready to be packaged up that same afternoon. Something to consider though is that my jigs are made of a different plastic than most, in that I choose to make a very firm bait, which cures more quickly.

With that being said, I would think 24 hours would be more than enough time to get the results you're looking for.
Posted By: machinist

Re: Bent Soft Plastics - 11/20/15 05:36 PM

Hey Lane did they have a Pouring Plastics 101 at TCU? lol

Johnny
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