The Ned Rig is super popular right now – and while it is a great presentation, it’s not magic. We’ve already discussed some of the pros and cons of the Ned Rig in a previous video – and a full length article – but there is something else you need to be aware of…
ElaZtech – the material that Z-Man uses for all of their Ned Rig trailers can ruin your other baits, lures… and YOUR LIFE!
Ok that’s a bit too dramatic. It can ruin your other stuff though. Check this video out to see some of the damage that it did to my Daredevle spoons.
Now Jake here had a few thoughts on this and left a comment on the YouTube video. He also warned us, mentioning that ElaZtech can literally melt if they get too hot, spilling out of their package and leaking onto other things.
Now personally I have never experienced this, but living in the Midwest means we get a very wide swing in our temperatures. Well over 100 degrees some days, well under 0 degrees others… if I left a bag of Ned Rig trailers in the sun (nice hot TRDs anyone?) they could get pretty darn hot… but if Jake is in AZ I’m sure he gets even more heat.
This is something we all need to be mindful of. On a recent camping trip to Lake Shelbyville, we sweat through everything and I guarantee ElaZtech left in direct sunlight under those conditions could melt.
(My wife won… and she handled the heat a lot better than we did!)
In my case regarding the damage caused to my spoons, temperature wasn’t a factor. These baits were simply tossed into a Ziploc storage bag after vacation, and brought home in a backpack, then placed in my basement. All things considered, this reaction happened under pretty cool conditions.
As you can see, it turned the paint and finish into muck! I’ve left them out for months and the paint is still liquid, still wet, and it won’t dry and harden back up.
I had some damage to a larger red and white spoon as well – but it was not as dramatic as what you can see on the yellow / diamond pattern spoon.
On the one hand this is cool, because I plan to strip the paint off of this spoon and apply a new finish and some sort of texture using simple items that you can get at Walmart. (That’s the hope anyway – I still need to research what’s possible here. If you guys know of any good techniques or tips please send me a message or leave a comment here or on the video so I can research that too.) On the other hand, it’s NOT cool, because it ruined some perfectly good spoons.
I believe these Daredevles run anywhere between $7 and $10 at this time.
Oh well.
Life goes on.
If the worst thing I have to deal with today is a couple of ruined spoons, well… it’s not terrible. We’re not burying anybody, so I’d say it’s a pretty damn good day!
Stay mindful. Stay grateful. Take nothing for granted.
Now even though you have to be careful with your ElaZtech baits, it’s worth having them. I explain that in the following video – they’re not a magic one-size-fits-all-situations bait that we tie on and leave on all year (remember we’ve talked about how that is not what a minimalist fisherman does), but they are awesome!
If you would like to learn even more about Ned Rigs and how we like to fish them, make sure to check out the article on that very subject, or take a peek at the video we just published for even more info.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Let’s get better!
I dont even bother with elaztec anymore, it’s not worth it. No matter how careful you are, they always end up coming into contact with something and melting rite into it. You definitely dont want to open your tackle box and see a grub has melted rite thru the paint and finish on an expensive swimbait (really any bait, but an expensive swimbait drives the point home)! Also, once you open a package of elaztec, they seem to start to degrade. Check out an open bag from last year, they seem stiff and dried out.
Hey Sean – thanks for the comment – I agree with you they can be tough to work with. The upside though, is that if you can keep them separate from the other baits, they last forever. Once they start to get chewed up by fish and more of the salt comes to the surface they become even more effective. I avoid the plain ones with no salt, so the craws and minnow profile ones… I don’t use those anymore because there are a lot of better options out there. Still – you make a good point and thanks again for adding to the conversation. Hope you get out this weekend and catch some good ones. Tight lines! – AJ