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I'm going to convey some of our experiences over the last almost 8 yrs. 1) Customs are a no bueno for a number reasons, a couple being that even club level anglers will ask you not to produce it for anyone else and there's the issue of the amount of time you'll tie up to produce it which in turn this could happen...they don't like it. Of course you can probably sell it to someone else and recoup a little bit but you don't get the time back...losing end game. 2) If you like to fish and you get off work early (assuming you have a day job) and know you have orders to fill and molds to pay for...chances are going fishing goes out the window. 3) Know thy limits based on time to produce, time available and what thy time is worth. IE. $20.00 per hour net is what you set for yourself. In each mold do the math and discover how many of that product you will have to produce in an hour for that net based on a cavity count available. You may discover it's not possible within the criteria of cavity count and process. These are 3 and there are more that are equally important. As mentioned previously the legalities, plus competition and so on all factor in to the equation of profitability, not to mention the intangibles such as materials cost increases and of course the big one that being the economy. Food for thought

I posted some pictures of recent crank baits I have made using this circuit board lip material. Two of the posts are flat sided balsa wood crankbaits, one with my coffin bill style lip and one with the LPO pre formed longer rounded lip that gets me a little deeper. The other bait is modeled similar to the Lucky Craft BDS3 pattern carved out of Basswood. I thru wired the balsa baits but just insert twisted wire into basswood. I haven't fished the basswood bait yet, the flat sided coffin bill and longer rounded circuit board lipped balsa baits are fishing very well. The bass are beating them up though and one of the baits I have patched up 3 times already. I seem to have some give to the balsa even if I use crazy glue, then paint then D2T a couple times. Others I D2T first then paint, then D2T again either way show wear and need some repair so I can keep them going. Not sure if I am going to be able to improve on that. Barry

As its been said before JR. Anything can be used in doing this craft/hobby. Smile and be proud as you sneak thru the line. Sorry but I'm LMAO imaging you nervously easing along thru the cashier area. This just hit me to be funny, Dale

Well thats good to know!.... One more thing to get "those looks" in the check out line

Tulle is a mesh netting that is commonly used in wedding gowns, bridal veils etc. It can be found at a variety of stores and craft shops. Ben

Thule is a meshy fabric that was used in the 50's to puff out poodle skirts. They sell it in fabric stores. You can find a lot of different fabrics that add variety to scale masking patterns. Most are 48" wide and at $2 - $7 per yard, it is pretty cheap by our standards. I use 9 different materials for scale masking or foiling.

@ Pete, I've done some things with baits and have them at the office as a conversation piece. I won't fish with them. A few are a little crazy, painted plastics as of now. So I thought you may have done something like that. I have a paint scheme for the 4th, but it won't be ready. A young gent that I have met, has a great talent in art. I pay him to make stencils for me. He doesn't like what he has created so, I haven't got them from him yet. My fault really I met and asked him to late. The Pro that came out of him and I meeting, I got a young artist that cares about his work. Yep I pay him well for his time, he's good and I want to encourage him. I'm not good at cutting stencils. Eyes shot, hands are not steady as they use to be. Crap just age I guess. Dale

Thanks Mark, I was calling it the wrong thing, so fiberboard, who would have thunk it, thanks again. David J

@ Mark; Where are you getting your circuit board at, and what size, thickness, or any other particulars you could share would be greatly appreciated thanks. David J

Sorry Dale, I called it ''gold leaf'', it's metal leaf (silver or gold color)-- Real ''Gold '' would add $25 to the cost of a lure ---- Pete

Here is an example of some silver leaf scales, nearly as good as chrome BUT much more natural flash than chrome-- IMHO. Pete

Sticky tape works great on flatter lures. For curvier baits I use hd household aluminum foil. Try wrapping the foil in scale netting, thule, or some mesh fabric. A hexagonal fine mesh give a finish like a hammered spoon. Put the foil over that and use craft foam to imbed the pattern while it is on the lure. Remember that the more you handle the foil, the duller it gets, I always use 30 min epoxy to apply it to the lure. Any other adhesive has bubbled up when heat setting paint or even slid underneath on finished lures. Oh, if your breath crinkles aluminum foil, consider a breath mint.

kwikfish were made 1/2 mile from me. just give a fast scuff and primer them. most guys use white. that way you can use florourescents or standard paints.. as for the plastics,rebels hit them with 150lbs of comp air. loose plate will blo off.

Putting scales on foiled baits has had a few posts over the years. I typically use a light spray of 3M adhesive and then put tule on the bait then foil over it. You can also use a file and press the foil onto a file or roll a ratchet handle to get the scale effect. Can also press the scale design in the bait easily in softer lures.

The reason the rebels have the scrapes in the same place is that those little ridges focus the abrasion into a little area. With little to no topcoat protection, the shine quickly wears off. 20 years? I have had them wear off in a few weeks! Personally, unless it is for a customer, I don't mind a few imperfections. Chips of missing paint do not show much at all under a paint job. Scratches show more, but I don't sweat them either. I have caught plenty of bait sized fish - even adult fish - with scrapes, bites, etc. IMO these could even be a trigger signifying weakened prey. Occasionally I put a bite mark or bleeding gills on a bait. When I repaint these I finish with D2T. The ridges do not stick out after that. On that note, I recently found a skinny minnow of unknown origin. I cleaned off thick layers of paint and was left with a chrome blank with about 50% of the scale detail still covered with chips of metalic gold. It looked like crap, but I painted it in a shad pattern anyway. In the end I really liked the extra depth and roughness that it imparted to the lure.

Awesome creative thinking good job. David J

Great work Mark! Bass love them for several reasons. I've watched the little sexually mature 3" bluegill and 5-6" bluegill gobble bass eggs and torment male bass until a male runs them off. Payback is a bit*h. <lol> John

I pour a few jigs and worms for myself..and somehow my pals gets many of them to the point of almost all of them.anyways when I add up cost, these baits, cost me almost what I can buy them on clearance for!!. That's whithout spending hours in my garden properly ventilated. I think without spending many thousands on duplicate large production molds,at least for me in a big city,I can't make as much as minimum wage we now have $15hr for many entry level jobs in service industry.. Making my own is just fun way to put custom touch on my fishing.

use aluminum tape and polish it with aluminum polish. sand the bait smooth to get the best results ( something I didn't do )

i would recommend injection for stick baits that use a lot of salt. otherwise you have to pour at a very cool temperature so the salt doesnt sink to the tail. also, glitter fall inward on vertical sticks. thats why injection side shot molds will produce you the best looking bait. just my opinion, hand pours will work fine if you are just getting started.