Salt Or Oil For Storing / Packaging?

[Painter1]

Looking for a discussion related to pros & cons of using salt in lieu of oil for packaging and storing soft plastic baits.

 

I made some plastics for a guy that makes a good living fishing bass tournaments.  He asked me to makes some more, with his recommended modifications.  

 

He is, himself, an experienced soft plastic maker and during high school worked in a shop hand pouring open mold baits. 

 

One of the things he recommended is to put the warm baits in fine salt, shake to coat, and then lay them out straight to cure.  Bag them the next day.  His position is that the surface of the bait will absorb and maintain a salty taste for "a while".  He prefers this to a light scented oil coating.

 

Of course the salt masks the true colors of the bait, initially, so they aren't very attractive until they hit the water.  

 

Has anyone had a problem with surface salt adversely discoloring or changing the softness of the plastic over time?

 

Thanks.

 

Mike K.

Edited September 1, 2013 by Painter1

[carolinamike]

One thing for sure, if you store the baits with alot of salt they will draw moisture. I used to make a reaper type worm that was an open pour and while the plastic was still hot I would add salt to the bottom of the bait. If you have salt in the plastic I really see no need to store them in any substance, over time you will have a natural leeching of the plastisizer that after a while will give the worms an oily coat. I use gusseted bags to line my boxes when storing baits. I guess it all just comes down to a personal preferance, if you use a plastisizer at the very beginning the baits will naturaly absorb it for the first little bit but I dont know if salt will break down in plastisizer.

[smallmouthaholic]

One thing for sure, if you store the baits with alot of salt they will draw moisture.

 

 

Absolutely. Tube tails have to be salted or they stick together like glue was impregnated in them

I've used powdered salt which really makes them slide into packaging quite easily. THE CAVEAT- POWDERED SALT DULLS THE BAITS   Now ,if they are used shortly after packaging, the powdered salt washes off and a bright finished reappears.

 

I'm using Bear's Ultra fine salt sparingly for the best results w/ tubes. Other baits get a very small amount of powdered salt which is applied in a container then shaken w/ a close lid for equal  distribution and effortless packaging.

 

One needs to experiment since one size does not fit all!

[Painter1]

I washed the salt off some of the plastic I made the other day, dried them and then shook them in the usual container with worm oil.  I think the salt did dull the sheen a little bit but they still absorbed plenty of the scented oil.  

 

After washing and before oiling I bit the head off of a worm, as we typically do to shorten a bait.  I could taste the salt, although it was not nearly as strong as a true salt infused bait.  

[Baitjunkys]

I think plastic is gonna draw in some of whatever you put on it. My theory is if you did the same with sugar the end result would be the same, except sweet.

[Painter1]

I think plastic is gonna draw in some of whatever you put on it. My theory is if you did the same with sugar the end result would be the same, except sweet.

That makes sense and I think you are right.  I wonder if bass have a sweet tooth LOL

[Baitjunkys]

My cappucino scent smells really sweet. I havent tasted it but guys been getting bit. Maybe the next big thing is sugar. Lol.

[fishbayte]

then, in theory...icing sugar should work...hmmm

[alsworms]

As mentioned, this is another personal preference thing, but I always went by the theory:

 

Salt to catch fish / Oil to catch fishermen

 

Fishing with my own plastics, I never considered coating them with oil.  It's much easier to treat with salt and not nearly as messy.  If you are shipping to a customer who ordered off your website, salt should be just fine.  However, if you're shipping several bags to a tackle shop knowing that your baits will be displayed on a wall, you might consider oil. 

 

Oh.....and sugar will melt in hot plastic in a heartbeat, so scratch that idea.  LOL

[Curt - NC]

On a personal preference note, I think too much of either, salt or oil, is a bad thing. A little goes a long way!

 

Two things I can't stand when rigging soft plastics is 1 - a ton of salt falling all over the place and getting on my hands and everything else and 2 - massive amounts of oil on a bait that makes it hard to handle due to it being slippery, not to mention having to wipe my hands off pretty thoroughly after handling the bait.

 

I know that some people use oil to make bagging easier, but it can still be done lightly.

 

Again, just my opinions based on personal experiences and preferences!

[alsworms]

Good point, Curt.  There is a company here in central, CA called "Keeper Worms".  Their baits NEVER stick to each other, yet I never feel any oil on them either.  I could never figure out how they do it........and they make a darn good product too! 

[Travis]

Yeah I have had some baits that you could pour oil out of the bag.  I avoid salt in most of my personal use baits and use just the bare minimal amount of oil needed if any at all.  I used to bag worms about as soon as they cooled, used a lot more oil then.  Now I am lazy and they sit for a much longer and seams a lot less oil is used if any.