dtrs5kprs

Hi-lite powder is definitely the key to cool vein colors. Try a green pumpkin first pour (back, top, whatever), followed by a vein of watermelon with gren hi-lite, then a final pour of green pupmkin, or an opaque brown (depending on what type of bait you are pouring). A good baby bass color uses medium smoke green flake back and tail/green hi-lite vein (in clear plastic) or belly.

Admittedly not up to speed on all of the foamie info, but is anyone pouring these in RTV molds? Have an RTV mold I made for a wiggle wart (for 2-part smooth cast pouring) and am thinking of trying it for some foamies. Also...would the foam hold up if it formed the lip? That would be another issue with my RTV mold as it is built to have the lip and bosdy cast of the same material. Thanks.

Paasche VL or Milennium are the workhorse brushes. Lot of Iwatas out there also. I think that is kind of like comparing curados to chronarchs...a little flashier, but not necessarily any more reliable or durable. I paint virtually every day (aside from last year's little hiatus) with the Paasche brushes. Don't think I would be any better off with an Iwata. Regardless of what you pick, check out Dixie Art for your set-up and parts. They have lots of info and schematics of the various brushes, and good $ on compressors. Remember to pick up extra needles and cones as you will blow thru those at first. Best of luck with it. Let me know if I can be any further help.

Have not been able to access the Okiebug website for months (??). Unfortunate. They were great to deal with.

One of the 6'6" Falcon 4 powers would do most of those chores. I use a Lowrider (4-66 or 4-166? sorry it is in the rod box at the moment) for warts and square bills, also some spinnerbaits, traps, and such. Use essentially the same blank in a spin rod for hulas, mojo rigs, and vertical fishing. Might be a little soft for a fluke/senko. All Star's old WR1 was hard to beat as well...would say the jury is out on the current ones. Either rod would come in well enough under the $150 for you to buy another one. Loomis is a good jig/worm rod, but I think too stiff for cranks. SC rods always seem to soft to me, as do most of the GUSA blanks. Really prefer something lighter, one of the 3 power Falcons or an AS TWS rod for most cranks and rogues. Hard to tear up a Falcon.

Couple of those are much more than "junk" colors. That black with the white in the tails would be hard to beat on a river like the Mississippi.

Another option is lots of regular LC blue and 2 to 3 sizes of LC blue flake. Key to making it work is using lots of color (way more than you think you need) and lots of flake. Have poured thousands of chunks in that color.

Might check with these folks. They run ads in Fishing Tackle Retailer offering casting services. Have not used that service, but have seen their product at the KC sports show. http://www.mineralspringslureco.com/

Would that be bondo filler or resin?

Try this link: http://www.mannsbait.com/storegateway.html Not sure if they are actually available, but looks current.

Sorry to say, but Mexico-made or not, most of the stock tubes fish fine...at least as well as the ones I spent hours dipping over gallons of fuming molten plastic in a $300 melter. Might make me a "bad American", but better their lungs than mine. If there was a big difference in performance I could see it. Also plenty of good US companies (Pheonix) to by from. Just my thoughts. Deep fryers will work. So do big "job-site" type melters (such as those used for roof tar). Biggest problem is finding something with enough depth to allow you to dip the length tube you want, and with temp control.

The unpainted "medium diver" from Stamina is basically a Bandit. By basically...it has recessed spots for stick on eyes. Otherwise it is a Bandit. Good bait.

I think that pic is basically like the "press" I have heard of, except from the description the press has a board/plate/something that allows attachment of MANY blades (and obviously will cut multiple tubes). Excellent pic and info.

Woodsac, don't mind at all. That is why the pics are there. Glad they are useful to people. Have made a couple of different kinds of dippers. Used aluminum rods on some (can buy in the aluminum trim section at most hardware stores), available in a variety of diameters and cut to size. If using it again, I would cut threads in the tops of the rods (by the plate) and use nuts to assemble instead of JB weld. The other ones use large lag bolts (like decking bolts) with the inch or so of threads cut off. Both work. Tube dipping is a PAIN. Be really sure that messing with it is worthwile. Even good flip tubes are pretty cheap.

I do some draw prize donations to my bass club, also to a former club. That is mostly from my back stock of plastic. Harder to part with the painted baits, although I have given a few as Christmas gifts, etc. Corey...maybe the decline in donations is because your fish are too scary Make sure you send out the members who don't catch fish to ask for goodies, meaning the guys who have all their fingers. Shoot, I don't even like the teeth on a Kentucky's tongue.

462VS Ranger, 521VX due in April. Can't wait till it gets here.

T-Ball, You can shoot Createx straight from the bottle, but will enjoy it more and have better results if you "play" with it...add water to thin, extender and plain medium to adjust color, opacifier to decrease transparency, etc. think some of the issues that get posted about C'tex are the result of just hooking up and shooting it. I only use blended and adjusted colors in metal color cups, regardless of the brush or the psi. Try this link for the C'tex product line: http://www.atriceco.com/

The Olfa blades should be in the craft/fabric section at W-mart, Michaels, etc. Have not tried drilling them, but would not expect that to end well. Obviously, depending on what is locally available, you may have to fabricate and adjust some components. $25-30 would be about right, but worth it vs the PITA push cutters. Have heard some rumors of a "press" used by some of the LOZ area pros (should be enough of a clue) to cut tails. Supposed to look something like a t-shirt or unit dose heat sealer (two flat pieces, one fixed, one moving, with a lever to apply force and move the top piece). If so, that would be the best. Here is my bottom line on tubes: If you want to try it, the rotary is the way to go. Just make sure your tubes are so neat & special that all the effort and expense makes it better than buying quality bulk tubes from BPS, Lucky Strike, Mizmo, pheonix, generics...I finally decided it was a waste of time.

That is one of the reasons I switched to Flex Coat. Had problems getting a finish that was consistently good, no problem getting one that was consistently "not right" with Devcon.

You can get lines, dots, spots, etc that are that fine. Have to play with all of the adjustments, the viscosity of the paint, and dial in the right psi. Except for the size 5 VL assembly, you should be able to do it with any tip & needle size. Or you can cheat and get a Paasche V for the itty bitty stuff. Seems to work best with fairly thick (minimally thinned or extended) paint, and lots of psi. Key is lots of psi but not releasing much paint (which is why the thicker paint helps). Also needs to be done in a quick motion, like shooting the stripes on the backs of rogues. Createx is just such a good place to start. Really need to experiment with the various additives.

You can see a pic of one of my rotary cutters and tubes cut with them at the link below: http://photos.yahoo.com/dtrs5kprs Or try searching the posts for rotary cutter. I know I have posted how-to on it a couple of times, and e-mailed a bunch of people the same info. Works basically like a pizza cutter. Trick is to not let your hand slip down into all those 360degree cutting surfaces !!!

I'd offer to get them, with the requirement that they buy the entire lot, loose or built. That price sounds like the Skirts Plus minimum for a special order color. BTDT and still wearing the t-shirt.

Boom . That's what keeps it entertaining. A friend supplies me with 5gal buckets of lead, in the form of used sinkers (mostly catfish and snagging). He has a couple of friends who noodle catfish, and while they wade they pick up any old weights they find. Only problem is, you just can't quite guarantee that all the water is dried out of them. Great lead source otherwise. I should note: picking up old snagging rigs in rivers while trying to grab catfish with your bare hands can only happen south of I-70, in this case down near the KS/OK border. No yankees need apply.

Great. Now I have to learn how to tie-dye baits There's another weekend when I won't get any sleep. Duuude...did the bass have red eyes? Excellent work. Any info on the paints you used to shoot Mad Dad?

Createx works fine. Just need to "tweak" it. Quality of effect will vary greatly with the viscosity, opacity, etc. Can be as basic as adding water, or as complicated as using precise ratios of extender:water:paint, dpending on how you want to go about it. Nothing like practice either. Hey Skeeter...I finally figured out how to add an avatar. Only took two years LMAO. Guess I am getting smarter (or something).