I am sure we have all used soft plastics such as gulps, slams etc. that require them to be kept moist in their sealed packets. And I am sure everyone that has used them has had the experience of a packet leaking the juice through the rest of the tackle box and the lures drying out and going hard. You end up with a mess, and a packet of lures that are now useless. Utilising the new liquabait boxes that are on the market, I have been experimenting with what seems to be a recipe that replicates that of what is in the lure packets. We all know how expensive the replacement juice/scent is for the packet soft plastics.

I have noticed with the brand name scents that mixing juices with different brand lures causes lures to disintegrate or change colour. The experiment I conducted has been for over a six week period and have had all different brands of plastics sitting in the same juice with no variation in lure quality or colour. As a base juice that has no particular scent but keeps the lures intact I mixed equal parts of glycerine and water with a splash of aniseed oil. To obtain glycerine I went to the local pharmacy and obtained a bottle of Glycerol B.P. which is in fact is used as a laxative. Comes in a 100mL bottle and is dirt cheap. Combine this with 100mL of water and 30mL of aniseed oil in a liquabait storage container. At first I mixed it up and the oil separated out and sat on the top. By adding a splash of white vinegar it helped to emulsify the solution. Over a few days the oil slowly separates out but with a quick shake prior to getting your favourite lure out it is all mixed up again. I found that the solution has an aniseed smell on its own but as you add lures to the mix the "Juice" begins to take on the smell of the lures. As more and more lures cycle through the container the "juice" will become more and more potent with the commercial juice smell. I would not recommend adding tuna oil to the mix as this sends the lures all one colour. You end up with a brownny, yellowy mess.

So there you have it, a cheap alternative recipe to keep you soft plastics moist and prevent those leaking packets in the tackle box. I also found that this recipe will rehydrate a dried out soft plastic and bring it back to life. If anyone else has a recipe for soft plastic "juice" I would love to hear about it.

The recipe again - Mixed in the liquabait storage box.

100mL Water
100mL Glycerine
30mL Aniseed oil
Splash of white vinegar

You have way too much spare time MCH
I just bought a big bucket of Gulps, the funny bean shaped jar with a round screw top. But as you say, it might only work on Gulps, I have yet to try another brand of plastic in this jar.

Good on ya for putting the time in and sharing.

Just be careful mate with those bean shaped gulp containers. They have no seal in the top and a prone to leakage when being transported in the car or boat.