Re-do my SP collection

[ChrisTaylor]

So for mostly freshwater usage - in the darker profile, what colors would you personally go for in a pinch? A completely dark colour like black, or something dark but more natural (green/brown)? Thoughts atm would be to go for a more natural dark, as it can get that silhouette in dirtier water, but in clearer water can better represent natural baitfish and juvenile fish.

brown/green are always my go to natural, then the other is crazy stuff like pink or bright red, orange, pearl white etc.

zman will hold up heaps better to fish, but will also deform if not stored properly and subject to heat

This.

Don't leave your gear in your car (or even a shed, in my experience) on hot days. This probably won't be relevant for a few months yet, but it's easy to end up with more than one packet of useless plastics. I suspect it's possible to salvage them, but I don't know if they'd ever swim straight again.

I had some dried gulps, put into the liquid thing, and they got back in action. But not as elastic as it used to.

I've heard that works for scented plastics. I was referring to Z-Mans. Once the plastic is demented I'd imagine it'd be hard to fix.

[Sebb]

I've heard that works for scented plastics. I was referring to Z-Mans. Once the plastic is demented I'd imagine it'd be hard to fix.

Ah yes, zman isn't good exposed too long under the sun. They can melt too, especially if it's mixed with other plastic/lure. Some sorta chemical reaction.

[Seniorfisho]

For the freshwater species i would have:

I would get some Strike tiger nymphs in 2 inch

Cheers señor - i've got some 1" and 2" black nymphs - but was also thinking on getting a few other ST options as well on top of these 2x 3 pack deals. What colour range do you have and how do you normally go about selecting a color to use on the day?

I have quite a few colors, black when the water was dirty, especially with a jig spinner. Depends on conditions a lot. If it is cloudy, overcast, sunny and also where the shade is, the more you fish a water the more you work out what to use and when, but as you can see, motoroil, black, white, pink is underrated in the right conditions such as skinny water with lots of overhanging trees and shade. Just a few examples

[4liters]

I've heard that works for scented plastics. I was referring to Z-Mans. Once the plastic is demented I'd imagine it'd be hard to fix.

Ah yes, zman isn't good exposed too long under the sun. They can melt too, especially if it's mixed with other plastic/lure. Some sorta chemical reaction.

Zmans are fine if you keep them in a box with *only* other Zmans and don't leave it anywhere they get hot. I've had some for ages that are still fine, just keep them stored in a cool dark place.

There's a plasticiser in other types of SPs that starts to dissolve Zmans, it's not a flaw in the design it's just part of the nature of the rubber that is tough enough to withstand the amount of abuse that Zmans can handle.

[ChrisTaylor]

As a general rule I like to keep plastics in the original packaging. Most of the plastics I buy are scented. The Z-Mans are notorious for not getting along with other brands. I operate under the assumption that other brands would just be happier if I left them packaged as I bought them. I have a couple of wallets that have zip-lock sleeves that are (usually) the right size for storing a pack of plastics.

[mazman]

Thanks all for the replies and input so far!

Where my head was at regarding what to get, brand wise was mostly looking at the Zman and Berkley Powerbait range.

Zman having the toughness and huge range of styles and colors, then Berkley having a decent range of styles and colors as well. Squigies seem a bit more limited in style/color/size options, Savage Gear gives bang for buck but feel like their range is really limited in options when trying to be specific with size, style and color. Gulp I just don't fish salt enough (at least at the moment) to validate them.

Style/size/color was thinking along the lines of:

3x Grub style in 2-3" range - silver/white, red based (bloodworm, motor oil, etc), dark profile (black, dark green, dark brown, etc) - all "all rounders"
2x Paddle tail style in 3" range - silver/white, dark profile (black, olive, etc) - all "all rounders"
1x Flick tail style in 4" - silver/white - probably more limited to estuary/bay

So for mostly freshwater usage - in the darker profile, what colors would you personally go for in a pinch? A completely dark colour like black, or something dark but more natural (green/brown)? Thoughts atm would be to go for a more natural dark, as it can get that silhouette in dirtier water, but in clearer water can better represent natural baitfish and juvenile fish.

That's a nice selection. Personally I don't fish white*/baitfish colours in grubs and stick with greens, browns and blacks for that profile and swap to a paddle tail for anything to represent a baitfish. The other thing I will add is that I've found 2.5" slim profile paddle tails out fish the 3" versions in the majority of scenarios for the species you've listed. If trout is something you want to do a lot of one that I forgot to mention above was berkley ttail in black and gold. Slightly altering what you have above with the grub colour thing in mind I would go.
2 x grub - zman motor oil and one dark colour of your choice
3 x 2.5" paddle tail - slims swims bad shad and motor oil + berkley ttail black and gold
1 x 4" minnow - I really don't fish these a lot so don't have a specific recommendation here

Main reason for more of the 2.5 paddle tails is that I have caught just about every available species on that profile of lure and have found them to out fish a lot of other profiles

*slight condition on that one. I use small pearl grubs sight fishing carp, not because I think its the best colour for it but because it is super easy to see and when they are feeding it doesn't seem to matter. If I struggle to get eats on the white changing to something more natural will usually do the job its just harder to see the eat.

[Charles7]

When looking at the Z-Man range I like to use motor oil and watermelon red. Both have a decent silhouette and look fairly natural. Seems to work well for redfin. Pumpkinseed isn't a bad colour either.

[saph]

I've heard that works for scented plastics. I was referring to Z-Mans. Once the plastic is demented I'd imagine it'd be hard to fix.

Ah yes, zman isn't good exposed too long under the sun. They can melt too, especially if it's mixed with other plastic/lure. Some sorta chemical reaction.

Zmans are fine if you keep them in a box with *only* other Zmans and don't leave it anywhere they get hot. I've had some for ages that are still fine, just keep them stored in a cool dark place.

There's a plasticiser in other types of SPs that starts to dissolve Zmans, it's not a flaw in the design it's just part of the nature of the rubber that is tough enough to withstand the amount of abuse that Zmans can handle.

Actualy its because they use a type of plastic resin that causes them to react.

From the tackle tactics news letter link

"In essence, ElaZtech is a thermoplastic elastomer, made from a non-toxic, food-grade and pharmaceutical-grade resin. Familiar product applications include cosmetics, baby bottles and medical and healthcare products."

http://tackletactics.com.au/Tips-Techni ... uter-Space

When i unpack my bag ill post all the lures ive collected from zman for you over 5 months. also if you use scents with them get pro cure and always store them in the packets (you can buy a big packet holder thats a binder for them here https://www.hookedonline.com.au/deluxe- ... allet-zman they alos sell a big double pack one.

[happyfriggincamper]

That's a nice selection. Personally I don't fish white*/baitfish colours in grubs and stick with greens, browns and blacks for that profile and swap to a paddle tail for anything to represent a baitfish. The other thing I will add is that I've found 2.5" slim profile paddle tails out fish the 3" versions in the majority of scenarios for the species you've listed. If trout is something you want to do a lot of one that I forgot to mention above was berkley ttail in black and gold. Slightly altering what you have above with the grub colour thing in mind I would go.
2 x grub - zman motor oil and one dark colour of your choice
3 x 2.5" paddle tail - slims swims bad shad and motor oil + berkley ttail black and gold
1 x 4" minnow - I really don't fish these a lot so don't have a specific recommendation here

Main reason for more of the 2.5 paddle tails is that I have caught just about every available species on that profile of lure and have found them to out fish a lot of other profiles

Cheers Mazman - some really great insight and advice, thanks for sharing. The Berkley black & gold TTails I've actually got a pack of - seen them mentioned a bit on here. Also one of the few SP's along with ST nymphs I've fished with confidence and caught on.

Have you noticed much difference between the different paddle tail options they have or is it pretty minimal? Can see the PaddlerZ have the extra joints, so assume a bit of a wider back and forth paddle. SlimswimZ, TrickswimZ, MinnowZ, etc all look to be mostly the same just different body sizes and lengths?

[Fishbref]

Haven't had Zman melt on me yet, but I've had Gulp leak and taint everything in the universe - anything it touches stinks for years...