Z-Man soft plastic lures melting

[zeebyrd]

This is he first time I ever experienced melted fishing lures. I have and do use different soft plastic lures over the years. I have never had any melt like the ones I bought this year from Z-Man.

Admittedly, we had some pretty hot days earlier last week. However, none of my other soft plastics melted like the Z-Man. They melted while in the kayak. I did not leave them in the truck to be roasted by internal temps.

Has anyone experienced this with any of their soft plastics - Z-Man or other brands? I plan on contacting Z-Man to inform them of this issue, as I have had a lot of melted lures, which cannot be used. Their movement in the water would be greatly changed and appear unnatural since they melted.

I can't store my soft plastics in the hull as my transducer and battery now take up that once reachable space in my Tarpon 120. It would be pretty warm in there too. The only other option I could think of would be to keep them in the cooler, but not directly on the ice.

[Memory Maker]

....... That must have gotten REALLY hot ....... Never heard of ZMAN melting from heat ....... Could it have been a chemical reaction to something else in the Yak

[Cowpokey]

I would guess some kind of chemical reaction. Some plastics don't coexist with other plastics. I had some "melt" in my tackle box, no heat involved.

[bignose]

They may be reacting either with the container or if in contact with other types of plastics.

Way back in the day, plasitsol plastic worms would melt in the original plano tackle boxes.

The plastics were not compatible.

I suspect that it is much the same thing.
Keep the Z-man lures in the bag they came in and it shouldn't be an issue.

[hookmeup]

You could also try some worm-proof boxes. I think alot of us have had similar experiences of one kind or another with rubber worms or other soft plastic reacting with tackle boxes or other types of plastic. A worm binder might work as well.

[Redfish12]

Zmans should have a disclaimer on the bag to keep them away from all other plastics! Keep zmans away from all other baits, especially plugs or they will melt!!!

[Yak Fish]

It must be the plastic difference like others are saying. I keep my stuff in my truck all the time and I wondered if the heat bothered them. Looking at them, which are all in their original pouches, not in a tackle box, and they're all fine. So I don't think it's the heat.

[J.A. Veil]

I had a similar problem with two Redfish Magic spinners I bought in April. The spinners come with a soft plastic paddletail. I used them in late April then put them in my tackle box. The box sat in my garage. A month later I went to get them for another trip and found both of the paddletails melted together into a ball. There were other brands of soft plastics in the box -- perhaps the melting was a chemical interaction.

[zeebyrd]

Thank you everyone. I would never have thought putting them in a plastic tackle box would have caused them to melt!

[ZManFishing]

Laura,

Someone directed me towards this thread, and I wanted to take a moment to respond on Z-Man's behalf. Others who have posted are correct that your baits likely melted due to reacting with other types of plastic. Our baits are made of a proprietary thermoplastic that is softer, far more durable, and more buoyant that the PVC used to make most other soft plastic baits. Unlike most PVC baits, out material is also 100% non-toxic (to fish and humans) and contains no phthalates. Because it is a completely different material chemically, it has different properties and will react with most other soft baits as well as most standard tackle storage boxes. For this reason, we recommend storing our plastics in their original packaging and not mixing with other soft baits. Our package contains a warning explaining this on the reverse side, but we obviously could make this more prominent going forward to avoid confusion like this.

Because our material does have a slightly lower melting temperature than most other soft baits, we do recommend storing our ElaZtech products out of the direct sunlight. However, the vast majority of melting issues our customers have encountered have been due to mixing with other materials or improper storage. We're located in South Carolina where it gets pretty hot in the summer, and I personally store my baits in a compartment on my boat outside year-round without any issues.

Here is a video link that explains a bit more about storing and caring for our ElaZtech baits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1wkWQPMcPs

We are sorry for the issues you experienced and will gladly replace your melted baits. Please send us an e-mail at info@zmanfishing.com and we will send replacements. We're confident that once you learn some of the quirks associated with our material, you'll quickly realize the advantage of our 10X Tough, naturally buoyant ElaZtech plastics.

Thanks for using our products, and please let us know if you have any questions.

[Goody]

Only problem I experienced with ZMan was when I left it with included hook on. The hook melted the plastic.

[zeebyrd]

Hello Z-Man rep!

I will be contacting you shortly. Thank you for taking the time to address this issue - that says a lot of good about your company.

As for the warning on the package, I just looked and found it. I might suggest putting it in a brighter color - red, perhaps? It definitely needs something to draw attention to it.

I did check to see where your company was located when I encountered this issue. Since you are further south, I was really puzzled as to why the soft plastics would be melting.

Thank you again. I will be emailing shortly.

[Snakehead Hunter]

Wow this does say a lot about the company.

[Turtle135]

Wow! Can't ask for much better customer service than that.

note: years ago I inadvertently dropped a Z-Man soft plastic into the wrong bag (bunch of plastic worms) and wound up with the most spectacular pile of goo I have ever seen

[Redfish12]

Excellent customer service!!! And looks like I was wrong, there is already a warning on the bag!

Are product suggestions welcome also?