Worm Storage?

[MSPbass]

I've always kept worms and soft plastics in their original bags or separated them into zip-locks when buying bulk. However, this year I put together a little travel bag that was at the ready for those times when I could sneak home, grab a rod and do some shore fishing for an hour or two. It turned out this was how I've been doing quite a bit of fishing this year. For that tackle bag I put a bunch of plastics, sans bags, in a single, small, plastic storage box and, I have to say, it makes selecting bait so much easier. I think I assumed plastics needed to be kept in zipped bags to stay fresh. But I've seen almost no difference in the, mostly, worms that I've been using in this box. I also seem to change bait more often and try different styles, colors, etc, this way. It's proven to be an easier way for me to organize and is much more efficient when I'm on the water. However, I'm not sure I should do it with a larger number of baits.

Is there a reason I shouldn't do it with more plastics and bigger boxes? Do baits like Senkos or Super Flukes really dry out and, if so, after how long? Do you think it's detrimental to a bait if it's, say, anise scented but was in the same tray as a garlic scented worm? Is there any other reason not to fill a few utility boxes with baits out of their original packages? Thanks

[MALTESE FALCON]

I've got some baits in storage boxes and some in bags, and I've never noticed a difference.

Falcon

[cabullwinkle]

I think you are fine with having them in different containers.  I haven't noticed a difference.  However, with the salted ones, if you put them in a box, you are going to lose a bunch of salt that way.  I like to keep those in their original bags, almost like a salt marinade.

[JacobK]

the only problem is, some plastics don't mix well with other plastics and will melt, such as the strike king 3x line up. also colors tend to bleed between lighter and darker shades no matter what brand. but i see that as a good thing.

[JellyMan]

I keep them in their origional bags and toss em in a big ziplock. Works great.

[DRhodes]

I normally put the different types of worms in different ziploc bags, then put them in the plastic storage containers.

For example my cream worms will go in one bag

Manns Jelly worms in another

and berkley worms in another ziploc

but then i put all of the ziplocs in the plastic container.

It works for me and seems to keep them "Fresh".

Hope this helps.

~D

[tnbassfisher]

I have a couple of both going on. When I will buy a bunch of new lures at once I might take the time to put them all in the box, but if I just go and get one pack of soft baits that I wanted then I probably will just throw that bag in my tackle bag and be done with it.

[NewAngler]

I saw a guy on the flea market section that had a binder full of plastics. I thought that was a good idea. I just keep them all in the originals, takes up some space but doesn't bother me too much, I don't have that much stuff anyways.

[Crappiebasser]

I bought a BPS double worm bag and I love it. I put the original bags inside the zip locks BPS provides and a few hooks, weights, and jigheads in the zip up compartments. This works great when I'm jumping in someone else's boat to go out for the day.

[DINK WHISPERER]

the only problem is, some plastics don't mix well with other plastics and will melt, such as the strike king 3x line up. also colors tend to bleed between lighter and darker shades no matter what brand. but i see that as a good thing.

I learned about the 3X the hard way........................

[90x]

the only problems you might encounter are colors bleeding together and maybe scents combining. Other than that, it should be fine. Quick lure kits are  great to have. Beats having to sort through all your lures.

[MSPbass]

I normally put the different types of worms in different ziploc bags, then put them in the plastic storage containers.

That's a good idea too. Separate the baits by style/brand in freezer bags.

Thanks for all the other responses too. This was helpful. I'm not going to worry about it and will start emptying all the half full bags I have, as well as breaking down the bulging bulk bags, into utility boxes.

[AndyPlaysDrums]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1245692747/0#0

I just posed this question a couple of weeks ago. Everyone was super helpful in answering my question too. I particularly liked bassman31783's advice in reply #10 about keeping the worms horizontal.

[MSPbass]

Thanks for the link AndyPD! I knew this had been discussed before, but I failed to produce any such threads after multiple searches.

Storing them flat or vertical is a good tip. I'm also intrigued by TodedoEF's comment about garlic cooking spray.

[SnowBass23]

One other thing to be concerned with is the oil in the plastics to keep them soft.  If you take worms with that oily coating (say, Culprits, for instance) and put them in a plano tray.  After a few weeks the tray will start to be warped (sometimes faded looking, too) from the oil.  It'll warp the dividers inside and keep the lid from closing properly also.  If they are dry worms I mix them like this, no problem.  For all my others I just use ziplocks.  I have one with a bunch of similar colored senkos in one, similar colored pitching worms in another and so forth.

[MSPbass]

"One other thing to be concerned with is the oil in the plastics to keep them soft."

Thanks for the tip. I think what I have most of will be OK; but I'll keep an eye on that.

[BIG B.]

I do the big freezer bag thing. I have a soft sided bag with nothing but soft plastics in it, and I usually have my freezer bags labeled as to what they contain. This works pretty good, except that I find sometimes the individual containers that get towards the bottom of the freezer bags sometimes don't get used or touched (it gets aggrivating doing all that digging). When I go through my bag sometimes I find worms or soft plastics that I didn't even know I had. But overall, I think it's the best route.

[bigbill]

I leave them in there orginal package until i use them.  After there used they go into a zip lock bag.  Then i can reuse them with some scent later.

I have also learned to keep all the salted stuff out of my tackle box with crankbaits, hooks and sinkers.  The salt will eat at everything sooner or later.  I use a seperate tacklebox for plastics.

When i get home from a fishing trip i leave my tacklbox open so the lures can dry out this prevents rust too.

[tnbassfisher]

One other thing to be concerned with is the oil in the plastics to keep them soft. If you take worms with that oily coating (say, Culprits, for instance) and put them in a plano tray. After a few weeks the tray will start to be warped (sometimes faded looking, too) from the oil. It'll warp the dividers inside and keep the lid from closing properly also. If they are dry worms I mix them like this, no problem. For all my others I just use ziplocks. I have one with a bunch of similar colored senkos in one, similar colored pitching worms in another and so forth.

I have noticed this happening, but I never realized that it was from the oils.