1) Provide spare tails
A simple bite from a pike or a box closed on the soft tail of a lure can quickly get the better of it. Without it, the lure immediately loses its realism and interest.
As soon as possible, you should stock up on spare tails to extend the life of the lure. They are often more complicated to obtain than the lure itself, with stocks disappearing quickly. Once the lure is no longer on the market, they also disappear from the shelves, so as soon as you have the opportunity to get your hands on them, a good advice, take some!
Finding out if the lure is sold with a spare tail or if it can be purchased separately can be something to consider before purchasing.
It is possible to repair a tail with the same glue used to repair lures, such as Savage Gear's fix-it or Mend-it.
If it is too damaged to be repaired, it must be replaced. To glue a new one, use a glue that is made for plastic and that resists water well, such as glue or epoxy.
2) Avoid mixtures
Not all plastics are compatible with each other and they can melt. To avoid this inconvenience, lures of different plastics should be stored in separate boxes and certainly not mixed with soft lures!
To limit the number of boxes, it is possible to store some lures in one direction, and others in another direction, so that the tails of different materials do not come into contact with each other.
Another way to avoid this inconvenience is to use protectors. Unfortunately, not all brands provide these pads, but if they do, keep them and use them.
3) Don't take models that are too fragile
A more radical solution, to remove this concern, is to turn to lures that do not have a plastic tail. In this case, often, we will lose in realism and fluidity of swimming, it would be a shame to deprive ourselves.
An intermediate solution is to take only the models with tails made with a dense and hard plastic, which are more resistant.
On the other hand, they are less mobile than those made with a flexible plastic, such as elastomer, but the latter have the defect of melting and deforming too easily.
However, even if this soft tail gives realism to the lure, if it is ever completely torn and irreplaceable, you should not prevent yourself from fishing with it, because depending on the model, it can still remain effective.
On this third point, I would say that you should think twice before investing a lot of money in a lure that can quickly degrade and become inoperative. You have to weigh the pros and cons, ask yourself the question of the durability of the tail and its impact on the performance of the lure, if it is ever removed.
4) Store them well
The last point concerns the storage of lures. You must always put the boxes flat so that the lure does not rest on its tail, and that it takes a bad fold.
When you close the box, you must be careful not to catch the tail with the lid, because it is not forgiving.
Hard swimbaits are hard lures, which, because of their soft plastic parts, require some care to keep them honest for as long as possible. These few precautions will help limit unpleasant surprises.
