Do you leave your soft plastic trailer on or take it off? Like If you were fishing a chatter bait or a jig that day where you had a plastic trailer on both when you are packing up to go home do you just leave it on for next time? If you may not fish again for a few days does it damage the hook or rod and you should take it off or what? Just curious for other opinions out there.

Leave it on. I have never had any issues. 

I typically leave mine on.  I have some baits that the trailer has been on for, literally, years without issue.  I only had an issue once, it was a Keitech on a screw-lock 7/0 hook and it did rust the hook.  Not sure if theres just extra salt content in the keitech or what???

1 minute ago, gilkeybr said:

I typically leave mine on.  I have some baits that the trailer has been on for, literally, years without issue.  I only had an issue once, it was a Keitech on a screw-lock 7/0 hook and it did rust the hook.  Not sure if theres just extra salt content in the keitech or what???

It's definitely the keitech. They rust hooks way worse than any other plastic I have experience with. 

Leave it on.  Unless its tore up there is no sense in wasting it.  Might cause cheap hooks to rust but won't bother any of the name brand companies that quickly.

I seldom feel like I'm going to have to save plastic trailers, so I take them off and throw them in the used plastic bag.  Every so often a guy I know collects the bags of used plastics strewn around my boat, fishing truck & fishing shed he seperatres them out and melts some down.  I think power baits get throw away, as they don't play well with others.  Mixing all the leftover colors together, he gets a good brownish/greenish/blackish color that when mixed with multicolor glitter gives a decent imitation of the Zoom color South Africa Special - which works as a decent clearer water color.  I have had hooks get seriously rested by leaving trailers on hooks, so lesson learned.   It is probably true that some plastics rust hooks less than others and other plastics don't rust hooks at all but I don't feel the need to find out.

1 hour ago, pauldconyers said:

 may not fish again for a few days...

Can someone please translate...  

Since I use slider heads or similar styled heads I keep them on the hooks and store them in open containers on the boat deck to stay dry. This works well and saves me time rigging up baits when I am on the water. 

 

Since I am budget minded I don’t waste any baits either this way. If I had to waste a bait to change colors or styles I would be less likely to change it out. 

I keep them on, unless they're really chewed up.

Do more harm taking it off

If they are salted plastics, they come off for sure. 

If I am going fishing the next day I keep the trailer on but I cut the chatterbait or jig off. I retie it on the next time I go fishing.

 

Any more than a day and the trailer is coming off.

 

 

Very short term - like put on in the afternoon, sit over night & fish the next morning; I'll usually leave them on.

ANYTHING longer than that - they come off and go into the pre-fished bag.

I have to make a concerted effort to use the baits in the pre-fished bag first (when they are the deal) otherwise I just end up with a big bag of baits that just sit there.   

Z-man baits stay on longer,  just because I can't get them off . . . . 

A-Jay

I’m going to just throw this out there.....

 

......the best way to keep plastics out of the digestive tract of aquatic wildlife and out of the noses of turtles, is to put it on a fishing hook....

I usually keep my plastics on unless it’s going to be days that I don’t fish.. which doesn’t happen once I start haha 

   Off. Definitely off. You never know what tomorrow brings.    jj

Berkeley powerbait max scent dries up and is super hard to get off the hook. I like the 5" general PB max scent. They are basically a really stinky senko. Dont leave them on a hook though.

4 hours ago, J Francho said:

If they are salted plastics, they come off for sure. 

This, I've had hooks rust badly keeping them on for long periods of time. 

When I finish fishing for the day the trailers come off. 

You definitely want to remove heavily salted plastics as they do rust your hook, and much more so if kept in a box where it doesn't get to dry.

I just leave 'em on unless I'm done for the year.

5 minutes ago, keagbassr said:

I just leave 'em on unless I'm done for the year.

Same here.

I got home this afternoon and cut off a couple of jigs and  a chatterbait, removed the trailers, and rinsed them off with fresh water. They are drying out now and will be back on before I hit the sack. Got to beat a cold front coming through tomorrow.

leave them on

I leave them on. I've only had one rusting issue. It was a Z-Man Original Chatterbait with a Cabela's brand paddle tail trailer. 

 

I've even left Senkos on Gammy EWG hooks in-between seasons without issues, but those are good hooks, although the Senko is very salty.