Why soft plastics damage other lures
A soft lure does not sit quietly in a box. Plasticiser gradually migrates out of its body and into everything it is pressed against — a neighbouring lure, the lacquer coating of a hard one, the plastic of the box itself.
What actually migrates
It is not the PVC itself that moves but the liquid additive that makes it soft. The dye travels along with it: that is why a light lure pressed against a dark one gets stained, not just stuck. The exchange runs both ways at once: it is not one lure damaging the other but the two damaging each other. This exchange cannot be stopped — only prevented, by keeping the lures from touching.
Why two lures weld together
At the point of contact the surfaces soften on both sides and interlock — after that they can no longer be separated without tearing. This happens fastest between lures of different compositions: a salted one next to an unsalted one, a fluorescent one next to a plain light one.
That is why they are kept in their factory packs or in boxes with dividers, not loose in a pile: lures separated by air do not interact at all.
Fused lures cannot be saved
Two welded lures can only be pulled apart by tearing the surface, and a stretched soft body does not spring back into shape: it stays longer and thinner at the point of tension. So the question is not "how to peel them apart" but "how to prevent it" — keeping lures apart with air costs nothing, while a ruined box is written off entirely.
The box is plastic too
Clear boxes made of brittle plastic go cloudy on contact with a soft lure, soften, and get permanently deformed wherever they are pressed against it. Boxes rated for soft lures are made from a different plastic — this is stated separately, and it is not a marketing detail.
Hard lures suffer first
A hardbait's lacquer coating and a spoon's paint are not resistant to plasticiser: a dull patch appears at the point of contact, and then the coating comes off entirely. Soft lures are not stored in the same compartment as hard ones — it is the most expensive of all storage mistakes.
The factory pack is part of storage too
A pack of lures usually holds a little liquid or oil: it keeps the body soft and slows the loss of plasticiser. Throwing the pack away speeds up drying out, which is why lures are more often kept right in it rather than tipped into a shared box.
Heat speeds up everything at once
A heated car interior and direct sun speed up both the loss of plasticiser and the sticking together: a box forgotten on the dashboard can be ruined in a single day. Lures are stored in the dark at room temperature, with the hooks removed from the body.