Soft plastic storage

[biggs]

I recently had to upgrade my tackle bag so now I have an extra bag and 5 plano boxes. Wondering if its a good idea to take my soft plastics out of their packaging and put them into plano boxes?
Will the scent vanish?
Is it a bad idea to put different plastics brands together? (i.e coffee tubes beside yum tubes etc....)
Seems like a good idea to me as far as organization goes......just not sure.

Thanks.

[jordancameron]

Just keep in mind that the colours will bleed. Also remember to keep baits organized by their scents (ie. Garlic w/ Garlic & licorice w/ licorice)

[Pike Puncher]

I keep all mine in plastic shoebox-style storage containers. This way they can stay in their original bags. I've tried a few different ways, but this works best for me and my tourny partner. Keeping them in their original bags ensures they keep their proper shap, color and scent. I label the lids with marker (flippin, worms/craws/frogs, grubs/tubes etc.)

It's more efficient too. I keep three of these shoeboxes stuffed with plastics with me (that's about 60pks of plastic bait). If I tried to do all that with tackle boxes, I'd likely need a 22' Ranger to carry it all.

Best of all, you can get these boxes for about $4.

[karma]

If you look on the Plano Q/A page you'll see that Plano doesn't recommend storing plastics in their boxes as the boxes will warp over time. I've witnessed it personally with the dividers. Try the soft plastic wallets from Bass Pro. They come in thre sizes and refills are available. You can even get wallets for spinnerbaits.

[RJ]

I've tried everything and hated it all....

This year I've removed my key plastics from their bags and have them in Plano boxes.....so far so good..

Quality Plastics will not bleed...

What I have been doing while in a tournament is keep a ziploc in my shorts pocket with an assortment of replacement plastics on the rigs I'm using that day....saves loads of time rooting thru stuff....

Another thing I did as well was pare it down alot....sure....we all have 100 bags of plastics..but use how many?...

RJ

[biggs]

Thanks for the info guys!

[curls]

What I have been doing while in a tournament is keep a ziploc in my shorts pocket with an assortment of replacement plastics on the rigs I'm using that day....saves loads of time rooting thru stuff....

Another thing I did as well was pare it down alot....sure....we all have 100 bags of plastics..but use how many?...

RJ

Great tips RJ! What I do for the mostpart is keep my plastics in their original packages (or consolidate into one if I have two packs of a hot type/colour). Then sort by type (tubes, creatures, trailers, worms, swimbaits/grubs) and put each group into their own separate large Ziploc freezer bag with permanent marker labels on the main tab. I like this better than the Plano method because the flexibility/squishability of the ziploc'd soft plastics makes cramming them into the boat bag easier than a stack of plano boxes.

But paring down would be my best bet... if it hasnt seen the water in two years or so, I might retire it. Gotta find the time for that now...

[Bobby Shimano]

I switched to the plano box storage system for my plastics.
I cut back on the numbers and reduced the weight in the boat.
Now all I have is what I need and use.
I sprayed the trays with berkley gulp spray. I only had one bad chemical reaction and quickly cleaned it up and disposed off three swim baits.
I keep all my berkley gulp baits in original packages in a small plastic box.
Things seem to be working out greatly, and if the plano box warps its only five bucks to replace them.
I moved all my spinner baits into a 3700 sreies style tray away from the more square boxes.
You need to find what works best for you, this works for me. I may and most likely will tweak/change it somewhat down the river.

Bobby Shimano