fin

After doing some searching, I see you can buy 'worm oil'. Costs more than a new bag of worms, so that's out of the question. Mineral oil will supposedly harden plastics over time, which is a shame, because I've got a bottle of that.

So do the ones you pour smell like store-bought plastics? I know Berkeley and Big Bite Baits, for example, add scent, but I don't think Zoom adds any scent. Zoom worms are oily when new, some more than others, which led me to believe that maybe they coated them with some kind of oil.

I've got some JJ's Magic, so I tried that, and it helps mask the smell a little, but it's just like two different kinds of stink LOL I've never poured plastics, but I have dipped some soft baits in boiling water to straighten them out, and it's that same kind of smell, only really strong. I wonder if something like mineral oil would work? Seems like I remember reading somewhere mineral oil is bad for soft plastics, but I dunno. I was just wondering what standard procedure was for people who pour their own plastics - if there's some step after pouring?

When you pour soft plastics, how do you kill the smell of the plastisol? Do you coat the bait with some kind of oil or something? The reason I’m asking is because I’ve got a full bag of Zoom trick worms that got left out in the direct sun for several days, 90 degree heat, so they probably got over 150-200 degrees. They stink so bad that you can smell a single worm across the room. They still catch fish, but that smell is bugging me.

However:

I was thinking of it like as in a post-apocalyptic world where you were one of the few survivors, not like one last fishing trip before every single person on the planet dies, because yeah, who would go fishing? I don't think any of us are that hardcore fishermen.

I don't think I fish the same crank long enough to become that familiar with the feel, but I believe it is possible. When throwing soft plastics, right before the bait hits the bottom, you can feel it and even see the line move. Maybe it's the same kind of thing.

What makes you think the world isn't about to end? Haven't you been watching the news? ? Spinning and worms for me too, but you know, you'd run out of worms eventually. You can't run to the bait store, the zombies would get you.

I could see it was balsa since a lot of the paint was gone, so I assumed it was supposed to float. That's why I was surprised when I gave it a try and it sank like a rock. I guess it was waterlogged. The paint/coating on that thing is really thick, like some kind of plastic. I think I'll repaint it and give it a few coats of spar varnish just as a curiosity project.

I found one of these things. I think it's the scatter rap shad. Paint is chipped off and it sinks like a rock. Is it supposed to float?

I've never understood about "detecting strikes" on crankbaits. I either hook them or not. If I'm getting strikes without detecting it, I can't know. It's hard for me to imagine a fish hitting a crankbait with two trebles and not getting hooked. I'm using a MHF rod and braid, I don't think sensitivity is a problem. I still wonder if I'm missing something. I catch fish on crankbaits; lipless, squarebill, deep divers and jerkbaits, (listed in order of success) but I much prefer soft plastics and have much greater success with them. I can see how OP may have never had luck with crankbaits. Also, what do you mean by cadence? Like varying the speed, or doing a start and stop type thing?

Best advice in this thread.

Look up 'dragonfly fly fishing', then look up 'Float-n-fly'. The action of tapping the surface is what's going to trigger the bites, not something that's just shaped like a dragonfly. If they're biting dragonflies, you might get away skipping anything across the surface.

The company that carries more products than their competitors is able to charge more. It's especially true shopping online, where you're combining items for shipping.

You summed up the problem well. I do pretty much the same thing, except I wear a pair of cheap thin cotton utility gloves underneath when it gets really cold. They're like $1/pair, so if one gets wet, I just pull out another one. I can do almost anything but tie a knot with them on. I can't tie a knot with any kind of gloves.

I once tried using a double overhand knot on dropshot sinker, thinking it might give before breaking line. Nope.

The stronger the knot? If you tie to very fine wire, it's more likely to break your line, so tying to larger line would be less likely to break your line, but I don't think it has any effect on the knot itself, does it?

I agree with @WRB. Not all split rings are the same. Some have sharp edges, some don't. If you get one with a sharp edge in the right spot, it's all over. Once you've seen it with your own eyes, you'll never trust them again, but it's not easy to catch one before it catches you. I was having mysterious line breaks and noticed some of the edges were sharp, so I started looking closely at my split rings. I found some that I could tie to and pull on the knot and it cut every time. I use the small size Norman speed clips. I remove most of my split rings.

I agree with most of what you're saying, but nobody is born knowing what those basics are. I think learning the basics is how many of us end up with so much "inventory". I could probably dump 50% or more of my stuff and never miss it. I have accumulated a lot of stuff that doesn't work for me. I buy it, I don't catch anything with it, so it goes in a drawer/box/whatever. On the other hand, I still try new stuff and find new "basics".

We’ve all got a problem, some just worse than others. Is it the wisest investment? No, but it’s not like a gambling or heroin addiction either. If people can afford it, what’s the problem? There are plenty of others wasting my money besides me. Life is short. You sound like you know what lures work for you and you’ve gotten past the point of getting pleasure out of trying the latest thing. There’s still some logic behind stocking up on those things. I just noticed Academy went up 10% on their Zoom worms and 15% on their H2O lures. Neither one of those are perishable. I bought several bags of my favorite colors last time they had a 25% off sale, but now I wish I had bought more. I paid $2.99 for a bag of worms on sale, now I’m out, there’s no sale in the near future, so I’m looking at paying $4.29 a bag. Even when they go on sale, they’ll never be $2.99 again. I was foolish to not buy more back then.

Yeah, I imagine most people don't really want to know how much they've spent. I know I don't. I keep all my fishing stuff receipts, well most of it, in one place, but I've never once considered totaling the receipts.

I'm just curious, when you rig it like that, does the fluke get turned inside-out when you catch one, like in the picture @fishwizzard posted?

I'd kind of like to see how much some of these collections are worth, because it might make me feel better about how much money I don't spend on fishing.

Fluke. Not necessarily just Zoom brand, but that's my go-to. There are many different good manufacturers/styles. With a worm or craw, I have come up with a favorite method and I only fish them one way. I have a favorite method with the fluke too, but I sometimes rig them differently and keep experimenting. I usually work worms and craws the same - bouncing them along the bottom. With flukes, I'm constantly trying different levels in the water column, in addition to bouncing them along the bottom. The worm catches most fish for me though.