How to fix bent tail soft plastic swimbait

[Jcj90]

How can I fix bent tails on reaction innovation skinny dippers?

[MN Fisher]

Standard fix for most plastics is to put them in a pot of hot - not boiling - water for a period of time. Watch them until they 'straighten out', then take them out to cool.

[softwateronly]

I hold the head in my hand and "swim" the tail half in the hot/not boiling water for a few 15-30s rounds.  I haven't run into a situation where this doesn't work yet for the plastics I have.

 

scott

[Jcj90]

Will boiling water melt the plastic?

[roadwarrior]

No

[MN Fisher]

42 minutes ago, Jcj90 said:

Will boiling water melt the plastic?

 

39 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

No

It's more for your safety. Water about the temp of a hot sauna or a bit warmer will be enough to 'fix' the plastic...and this way you don't have the chance to burn yourself.

[MGF]

I boil the water. I hold the plastic in there for a count of 20 or so and check it. When it comes out straight I lay it down flat and let it cool. It's a regular ritual with a new bag of flukes. LOL

[Deleted account]

3 hours ago, Jcj90 said:

How can I fix bent tails on reaction innovation skinny dippers?

The hot water thing works great. I find that skinny dippers are soft enough for bends not to matter. Sometimes bent ones work better.

[basser27]

I always just boiled water and dipped them for 15-20 seconds. The boiling water will make the plastic a bit softer too

[fishwizzard]

With Skinny Dippers specifically I’ve never felt like the tails being bent really hurts them, they have such a quick, frenzied movement that a little deformation isn’t going to make them look any more “unnatural” then they do when they’re performing as designed.

[GreenPig]

Boiling water. I use it to soften my Hudd tails so they'll kick on a super slow retrieve. Before & after.

[ChrisD46]

7 hours ago, softwateronly said:

I hold the head in my hand and "swim" the tail half in the hot/not boiling water for a few 15-30s rounds.  I haven't run into a situation where this doesn't work yet for the plastics I have.

 

scott

^^This^^ I then lay them on a paper towel straight to cool .

[5/0]

16 hours ago, MGF said:

It's a regular ritual with a new bag of flukes. LOL

This is pretty much SOO with Zoom flukes.