Organize Used Baits

[GoneFishingLTN]

I'm currently going through all my tackle and organizing it. The main problem I'm currently having is I have a lot of baits (kietechs with underspin hooks in them, jigs with trailers and on and on) So my question is what do you do when you come across this? Do you just waste the money and rip off the plastics. 

 

Also what do you do when you come across an older bait like this that doesn't really go with your box of new jigs do you just mix it in?

[Bluebasser86]

Cheaper to replace the plastics than have to replace the plastic and jig when the hook corrodes. 

[papajoe222]

Exactly what Bluebasser said.  I go one step further and remove the soft plastics from my jigs and hooks when I cut them off my line.  If the rod stays rigged, I don't, but I fish four or five times a week during the season, so if it stays rigged, it'll get used in the very near future. 

[MN Fisher]

I go a little further than Papa - end of the day, the plastics come off...even if I leave the lure tied on.

[KDW96]

Mendit is your friend with those kietech.

 

[rtwvumtneer6]

2 hours ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

 

Also what do you do when you come across an older bait like this that doesn't really go with your box of new jigs do you just mix it in?

Start another box, and then fill it up ?

 

Seriously though, I store my jigs in the 6 compartment 3600 rustrictor boxes by head style, weight and color.  

 

For example, flippin jigs have a dedicated box (left to right):

3/8 black/blue/purple, 3/8 brown/green pumpkin, 1/2 black/blue/purple, 1/2 brown/green pumpkin, 3/4 black/blue/purple, 3/4 brown/green pumpkin. 

 

Finesse and football heads are the same, by weight and color left to right.  You get the idea.

 

At a minimum, any plastics with salt need to come off.  I also check any banded skirts as they will wear out over time.  Frustrating to thread  on your favorite plastic and then cast off the skirt.

[Cgolf]

I fish with the slider pro heads a lot and since I use snaps I keep the plastics rigged all year in a plastic style shoe box with holes drilled in the bottom to allow the water to drain. This goes for swim jigs too. I have pulled some plastics off these after being rigged up and not used much for 2-3 years with no rust. Gernerally I find that the Nickel plated hooks tend to not rust at all.

 

I know folks say just toss the plastic to save money, but with the price of plastics really going up, IMO tossing the plastics will cost you more than the ocasional hook or Jig rusts. Take a Rage Menace that at the standard price of 6 bucks a pack now is 75 cents a bait. On a slider head I average 12 fish a bait and have even caught over 20 on one or two baits. If I toss it at the end of the day that gets expensive fast. I think many forget that plastic costs can really add up. My other baits, tubes and Kalins single tails I can probably get 20+ fish per bait on average. So yes I am ok with throwing away a jig or hook once in a while. I may through away 5 bucks in jigs and hooks a year due to rust, so it is very small, especially compared to what I lose due to snags.