I went to grab two Z Man Chatterbaits I had as back stock and found the skirts undone and the bands were dried up like an earth worm laying on a hot sidewalk.  Be prepared.

That’s disappointing. Which chatterbait model? The original?

How long did they sit ?

Skirts are fairly inexpensive.

Had it happen on some originals I had in stock as well. I wire tied them and good to go.

Customs.  Never out of the package and 19 or so months old.  Skirts? Yup, Siebert collared at two for a buck. It does not speak of quality though. 

That stinks, the new Z man chatterbaits are wired tied I believe, at least some of them.  

 

Were they the EZ change skirts?  I had one of them rip after taking it on and off a couple times.  

Happened several times with the customs I've gotten from TW over the years. Now, I always wiretie next to the rubberband before using the lure.

It's not a Z-Man thing, it's a collar material and storage span thing. 

10 minutes ago, Bird said:

How long did they sit ?

Skirts are fairly inexpensive.

I have some old glamour Shad spinnerbaits I bought new in package, it seems like everything I could find about them was atleast 10 years old and you couldn’t find a negative word written about them. All the skirts instantly fell off when I took them out of the package so I guess it’s just a normal occurrence for skirt collars that old, I just bought some awesome new skirts for them and went on with my day.

Definitely a happens to most baits that use a rubber collar.  Buy wire tied baits from Siebert Outdoors, and this problem goes away.  

It has happened to me before.  I think I have mentioned it when people ask "Why are Jackhammers So Expensive? "  My only gripe with the original Chatterbaits is how cheaply they are made but they are an effective bait.

 

Wire ties are the way to go.

I have had the same issue with the Customs. I normally buy EZ Skirts to replace them if I order any customs. Their rubber band skirts are junk.

I also just wire tie them myself right when I get them and never have a problem.  It takes maybe 30 seconds and about $3.00 for a life time supply of wire.