When do you change out your old soft plastics? I’ve got  quite a few soft plastics that I haven’t used in a long time and didn’t know if I should either get rid of him or be saving for something else. Or do they not go bad? Found one that had dried up and was nasty inside. 

I have some that are 20 years old that still work so unless there is a problem with storage they should work.

 

Allen

3x Strike King, ZMan and Berkeley Gulp are the only ones I’ve owned which have ever been compromised with age or when exposed to air or high temperatures. But I’ve got bags and bags of Zoom, Culprit, Lake Fork, Yum, Yammamoto, Mister Twister, Gander Mountain, BPS and Northlands which have been in my inventory since the mid 90s. They fish the same now as they did then.

Last summer I caught bass using Flip Tail worms I bought in the late 70s. 

Keep them and fish them. I've got Culprit and Mister Twister plastic worms that are probably 25 yrs old. They will still work

As long as they are stored in a decent temp range and they are kept in a sealed bag, most plastic can last for years.  Like with most things, extreme cold and heat will do them in. 

Well, if you haven't fished them in 5 or 10 years it seems to me they are just wasting

space. Why not give them away or simply throw them away?

 

If you’ve got older Yamamoto baits prior to the formula change, they are like gold.  ?

4 hours ago, TOXIC said:

If you’ve got older Yamamoto baits prior to the formula change, they are like gold.  ?

I never heard about this, when was it? 

Any Yamamoto products that are from last year are shot.

 

I work in the trash disposal industry, send them to me for proper recycling.....especially if they are color numbers 021, 297, 301, 953, and 956. They are double bad.

4 hours ago, TOXIC said:

If you’ve got older Yamamoto baits prior to the formula change, they are like gold.  ?

When did they change the formula?

 

Allen

I’m honestly not sure. I use everything I buy in the spring time sales and usually run out by fall. Try and save as many as I can and reuse what I can. On a slim budget that’s what you’ve gotta do! I pretty much take and use what I can get. It’s good to hear from others that they last a while!

Standard soft plastics that haven't had scent added to them should last for decades.

Like others I have plastic worms that date back into the 60's that I use occasionally that are no longer available. The plastic bags the soft plastics are stored in sometimes deteriorate.

Tom

11 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

Well, if you haven't fished them in 5 or 10 years it seems to me they are just wasting

space. Why not give them away or simply throw them away?

 

Once I've carried baits for a few years and never use them, I figure I probably never will and get rid of them. It's hard to get rid of that "what if?" mentality, but I since I've started doing that, I haven't missed any of the baits I've culled out yet and it cuts way down on clutter in the boat.

Some of my plastics are more than 10 years old.  As long as they are not brittle, and dried out, I fish them.

For those asking when the Yamamoto formula changed, I'm not exactly sure.  It was a "quiet" change.  On a Senko, you can tell because the baits poured with the new formula have lettering on the "egg sack" of the Senko.  The old ones do not.  If you are ever at a garage sale or flea market where these are sold, nab them up!!  The other way to tell is that the old packaging is much different than the new glossy packs.  The old packages were thicker plastic with green box style lettering that usually wears off.  Anything packaged in Yellow bags was initially meant for the overseas market and are pretty rare to find.  

13 hours ago, ww2farmer said:

Any Yamamoto products that are from last year are shot.

 

I work in the trash disposal industry, send them to me for proper recycling.....especially if they are color numbers 021, 297, 301, 953, and 956. They are double bad.

hmm... that explains quite a bit

 

oe

I just read that the worms that Rick Clunn used to help him win last weekend were poured 30 years ago. So plastics will still be very fishable at least that long.

I never just throw them out. But I have given some to a local kid and I've given some to the local charity thrift shop. I just would never have used them. 

 

This thread has encouraged me to try to fish with one of every lure I have in bags that I never use.