Senkosam

Thanks Camrynekai for the comparison. I too have gotten bubbles and foaming with my last 5 gal. batch of Calhoun's, but it's no different than my first gal. from Del. I thought that was normal. What do I know? I have to agree, LC is the worst for smell, memory and heat sensitivity, though low on bubbles. You need a lot more softner to get it to equal Calhoun. I will order some M-F to compare and see if it produces the nice Beavers someone sent me, which were made with M-F. The lower temp means better reheats and less glitter shrinkage. (Glitter shrinks from the edges inward for every reheat.) With Calhouns, I've never needed heat stabilizer and won't with M-F.

The larger the crystals, the faster the fall. Popcorn salt is a fine crystal, whereas floured salt is a powder. Popcorn salt will allow some light to pass through, popcorn salt- some light, and sugar flakes with a little salt added for weight, more light. Sugar flakes melted and in clear plastic look milky white, so it won't allow the same translucent appearance of using crystal salt and colored plastic. I think the process of adding crystal salt involves an automated mixture as plastic pours in into the mold - a process very difficult for handpours to duplicate and to be able to have the exact amount of salt for every lure.

If I caught dinks like that, I'd have a stroke! Congrats on the superb quality and catchability of your swimbaits.

Foured salt is the way to go and much cheaper than popcorn salt, unless you live close to a major discounter.

Wonder if prices will remain the same and if suggestions and concerns will be addressed. Dave and the lady who answered the phone, seemed to not be interested. I hope he changes plastic, for the good of his company!

Superb quality!! How much are they? What sizes?

True, but more so for the lighter colors. Quick and easy and nice for coloring laminates, tips or tails without the hassle of 2 pours. Color Rite is cheaper and just as good.

Do a search on ebay for Senko - there are a few al molds on auction starting at $42. One is Bob's and there are a few other styles.

Texas - did you happen to notice .... that week was in 2003? LOL Time has sure passed and even I'm impressed with how far I've come in making baits that blow away manufactured stuff. I'd be proud to swap mine with anyone now, even though the baits I sent to the swap back in 2003 were still decent sticks, from 2 part plaster molds. Wish I got input regarding them.

I like controlling color in plastics with flakes versus dye. My fuscia bleeds a little, but it makes a great chameleon STP motor oil. Keep in mind, flakes reflect color internally and externally from inside the plastic and this is pure color in clear plastic vs. a filtered color in dyed plastic. For example, if the only color flakes you use in clear plastic are yellow gold, the plastic will look gold/amber in your hand, but clear with specks when held up to the light. I'm more concerned with the bait's appearance at a fish's eye-level or lower, where I plan to work the lure.

uses of softner: 1/4 cup per cup of plastic (a little less if only used as a fast moving jerk worm) Most definitely! Most definitely! and more so with salt. Crystal salt breaks up a plastic's continuity and cohesion, making it easily torn, but contributes to the fall and fast finesse-flutter of both ends, as long as enough softener is used. Unlike manufactured baits, the handpourer has control over the compromise between action and durablity and therefore the use of salt and softener for different lure functions. This is a personal opinion and theory, so don't hold me to it, but I think bass somehow can sense or feel a bait's density and texture. Maybe by how it moves and how fast it falls with no lead. The primary reason for Senko's magic, may be because a fish senses this before ever mouthing a salted stick. The softness and grainy texture may be what causes a fish to swallow a plastic worm or stick like a kid slurping down 7" spaghetti, after taking the bait off bottom. (By the way, my partner cut open the stomach of a 2 3/4 lb bass and found 3 salted sticks and 2 regular worms!) I use sugar flakes for increased density and easier weighting. A jerkworm is more like a hard jerkbait, so softness doesn't need to be as much as for a horizontal dropper or dropshot finesse worm. Nice lams. Any air pockets? FrankM

The tails aren't the only thing that can have a different color. To make my salted sticks more resilient, I pour the soft, salted body first and then the rest with clear plastic with hardener in it. To get a pure, bright, colored tip, I dip it in Spike It or Color Rite dye. I don't know if it makes much difference since color to me falls into a few basics: opaque/dark; translucent/bright; laminated bright/bright or bright/dark; tipped; florescent colors with black or bright flakes. In the last 2 months, just about every color has caught fish except an oxblood/ cream laminate. Roadkill, florescent green, green pumpkin/ violet-green flakes; watermelon/red-black flake; chartreuse/gold hologram and chartreuse/violet-black string-marigold, are all the colors I need. Bubblegum worked best in clear water, around the spawn.

The florescent orange or chartreuse flakes do the same thing, except the baits are super bright and no dye is needed. (I'll post a pic.) They've done well for the last month in stained water. For the heck of it, I carry .025 also - not sure if it is much different than the .015 in appearance, but I like the milky white it produces. Will soon carry a sugar with gold highlights. Again, for a fast falling bait, you still might need a little floured salt or fine popcorn salt (man is that stuff expensive!). FrankM

Nice job. Practice make perfect when it comes to moldmaking and pouring, especially fine detail lures. It took me three attempts to get a good Beaver mold and to pour thin paddles, but it was worth it.

Looking at his color inventory gave me some good ideas!

Del's colors are better quality and at a better price. His motor oil is like Quaker State, not like LC mud. There aren't too many things I would buy from LC, especially plastic!

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage-RISB.html#

Like Mills said, a partial pour of all cavities may help, though I fill to 3/4 or a little more per cavity. Again, the skewer idea has helped and tapping the mold on the table seems to force more of the side-plastic to settle down. It's the side-plastic that forms the bubble, coming to form a plug at the tapered top of the mold. (note:I always hold my molds with plastic handle spring loaded clamps.)

Thanks Tim. I'm fortunate to have been sent some superb Beavers by another member and blew away prespawn and postspawn bass! So far they've been a good substitute for a J&P - well see if that continues. String (hairy) flakes are cool, I just don't like the way Zoom put them in the Super Fluke. Frank

For larger numbers of lures, I use gallon zip lock freezer bags; for small amounts, I use quart size zip lock freezer bags. I don't like to add oil until the last minute because it seems that if the worms soak too long (3 weeks or more) they smell and feel different after a time. I will add garlic powder to the bag though. I lay the bag flat (not hang it) and stack them flat to maintain their original shape.

Tim's right! You can't beat a quality aluminum mold for detail, finish and over all quality and Bob and Del make the best! Being a one part mold hasn't affected the bite this year, so long as I keep the beaver plastic very soft. My laminates have been coming out great! The one on the left is a laminate body:

Bob and Del have many of the designs you mentioned. Great service and quality products. Del sells the best plastic in America, at the best price, along with glitter and dye. Order a gallon of softener from him - you'll need it for worm baits that need a little extra softness. Though I'm not a big fan of Lurecraft.com molds or service, Dave makes silicone molds that are fair for many designs, though all are one pc. Be careful when ordering dyes from him - a few aren't what they appear to be. I've made quite a few molds (1 and 2 pc.) from plaster, especially Durham's, and have been pleased with the lures. I've thrown out 3/4 of my mold copies of other lures and have started making molds of prototypes that have done well since last year. In fact, most of what Lurecraft sells, you could very well make a better mold youself, especially creature baits. Good luck -you'll be quite proud of your creations and surprised at how cheap and easy they are to make (beyond the initial startup costs). Besides, plastic and old baits can be reheated to pour new lures.

Works of art, but do they catch fish!?

marigold , black, violet and lime

Thanks Mike (sorry Del).