Exposure to sunlight will have them looking good as new
Stuff in boats gets wet — that’s just part of fishing.
But if you keep your soft plastics in the original bags they come in — and they get wet — you’ll likely find some of the translucent lures you purchased have turned into faded, milk-colored lures that no self-respecting bass or speckled trout would give a second look.
But don’t toss the irregularly colored lures out and go buy replacements — it turns out there’s a simple fix to making them look brand spanking new again.
Chas Champagne, owner of Matrix Shad soft plastic lures, said his lures that are mostly translucent — like holy joely, magneto, ultraviolet and shrimp creole — are particularly susceptible to turning milky white when wet in the bag.
But they just need a little bright sunlight to get right again.
“Just get them out of the bag. I don’t think it matters if they’ve been wet in there forever,” Champagne said. “Arrange them so they’re not laying on top of each other, and just let them sit in the sun for a couple of hours.
“The color comes back like it’s brand new — it’s pretty crazy.”
Solid colors, like Matrix Shad’s lemonhead, typically don’t fade when they get wet. But sunlight, and a little bit of time, dries them out and restores the original appearance for many different manufacturers’ translucent lures.
“If you keep lures in a boat in the bag they come in, it’s going to get condensation over time,” Champagne said. “Water just finds its way into those bags.”
