plastics getting hot in the sun and leaving on some weeds?

[Big Rick KFOG]

2 simple questions:

1) Do you guys ever worry about putting on a really hot plastic that has been sitting in the sun in a bag on you boat for a few hours? Those worms get pretty hot to the touch by mid day. Do the fish think that as well? If you think that is a problem how do you solve it? Is just keeping it in the shade enough?

My saltwater sense says that it is a problem.

2) When you are working in some grass and weeds and you get that stringy stuff back on your rig do you ever leave just a little on? Do you think it might make a more natural look to your bait as you work it on the bottom?

just askin...

[StockOption]

Put the plastics you're going to use in your cooler. (Cooch posted that tip a while back and it works great. My cooler is typically have filled with plastics during the summer )

I'm pretty obsessive about cleaning my baits, I will not toss a bait with grass or weeds on it, I clean it first.

[mark poulson]

I've often wondered, especially in winter, if a warmer plastic bait might not be attractive.
I haven't noticed a warm bait, first cast correlation, but, since I fish alone a lot, I leave a bag of whatever I'm using on the deck near me, and they do get hot in the summer.
What did Cooch say about hot plastics?

[Whoopbass]

Are you talking about burning the fishes mouth?

Wouldn't dunking the plastic in the water cool it down to water temperature within one or two dunks?

I've never worried about that and doubt if I ever will.

Rigging plastics might be more difficult if their hot so it might be a good idea to keep them in the cooler.


A small piece of grass may or may not hurt the bait but I like to keep my lures clean if only for mental reasons.

[Joe W.]

The bait will cool down as soon as it's in the water and personally, I think a warm bait just has better action anyway.

I never leave grass or anything on my bait, I clean it every time.

[Gator]

I don't do it intentionally but inevitably the bag of worms I am using gets left on the deck. They will get warmer but will cool off once in the water. I also try to keep my bait as clean as possible, probably more of a mental thing than anything else.

[Big Rick KFOG]

Are you talking about burning the fishes mouth?

Har!

I am just thinking of the most natural presentation. I think a worm that came from the deepest water and the ground down there would be much cooler than one from the bag on your boat in the sun on a 100 degree day. Those are -really- hot. I even wonder if it might smell different as the plastic changes. Even cooling down a little after a few casts might not get it the same temp as a natural bait would be. We all know how just a few degrees of water temp are felt by fish.

And even if it does cool off after a few casts, there are a few casts where you lessen you chances. Does the cooling off of the bait affect the water you fish in right around the plastic. I mean when you fish really slow or deadstick. Something sitting there cooling off, say a Senko that passes right in front of the fish, say it is waaaay hotter than anything the fish ever sees or feels or eats, does he eat the Senko or does he think wtf is this? Is that weird to the fish?

I gotta think at least a little. Maybe this is just a holdover from fishing for sturgeon and salmon. I always keep my bait cooled.

In the cooler they go! (good tip StockOption via Cooch!)

As for the grass thing. I have always cleaned it off, but was wondering if anybody leaves a little on, just a little, to give a natural look and action to something that has maybe just crawled around in the grass.

[Whoopbass]

I don't know how much a degree or two would change the natural presentation of the bait but I think it wouldn't be that much.
If the fish are that picky your probably not going to catch them anyways.
The heat could change the action or the smell of the bait so it might be a good idea to keep them out of the sun but on the other hand the heat will make it more pliable so that may give it an even more natural appearance.

If your fishing some type of structure or cover alot of your bites will be ambush or reaction type bites so the bass is not going to give a hoot whether the baits action is totally natural, warmer then it should be, or whether there's a piece of grass on it.

I wouldn't worry about the temp of the bait because I think the water would cool it down to water temperature very fast. Look how fast red hot steel cools down when its dunked in water.

[mark poulson]

Since water stratifies by temp., with the warmer water on top, wouldn't a crawdad, dislodged by wave action, be warmer than the surrounding water as it falls? Same with worms, or baitfish that are dropping from shallow to deep.
I guess we could really think this to death.
I only worry about worm plastics if they are too soft to rig, or too hot to hold. That happened Sunday at Castaic, but the fish didn't seem to mind.

[Cooch]

was a tip for Yamamoto grubs when used in the heat of the summer. It has absolutely nothing really ta do with what happens after they hit the water. I believe the guy's problem was, as I've experienced a lot, when ya pitch em out, the tail whacks the trolling motor, the gunnel or say a tulle, and the tail sticks and comes flyin off first cast. Put em in the cooler, that's less likely ta happen.

As fer my baits, most of the time I keep em clean prior to the next cast, unless I git flashed on as I'm pulling the bait out of the water, then I git it back in there as fast as I can, slop and all!

[Andy Giannini]

I only worry that hot plastics might take a set and get bent. Bent or crooked soft plastics don't fish the same as true straight ones. Those lures have a built in designed action, whether its a curl tail worm, lizard, etc. I just keep them out of the sun, unless the jig bite is on fire and the whole bag of twin tails is needed on deck.

Grass tends to gain more grass. Grass on the baits can inhibit the action of the lure, and deaden it. And then it picks up more grass. I pick grass off, a partner swatting his bait on the water tends to drive me nuts. Whacking the baits repeatedly, almost always ends up being negative. The other guy is cursing the grass, (scaring the fish.) trying to swat it off, not fishing, and might just destroy the bait. Which brings on more expletives, and negativity. Its kinda funny thinking about it.

A.G.