Senkosam

Before I dipped the colored form into clear plastic, I applied dots of superglue (lateral line design) and pressed the sides into glitter. First .090 and then .015. I painted the eye on to the surface of the clear plastic, which slightly magnifies any pattern beneath it. I've dipped Lurecraft sticks in clear/flake and the plumper sticks are totally round and keep their softness and action, plus, the surface it like glass. This nutty crappie thought it was a bass: The stick was originally an LC, 4 1/4" (poor) Senko k/o. Now the mold is at least useful because you want a slim original if dipping is done. I dipped a Zoom 7" SST worm and have created a whip action. It caught bass Tues., jerked in shallow weed beds, the same as the LC dipped stick.

Not something for mass production! The best poured bass color I like, is a laminate using pearl or clear glitter in clear plastic for the belly and clear to light watermelon mixed with gold, emerald green and black flake for the dorsal body.

I use Original Fish Formula and haven't had any problems. Far cheaper than LC's and it smells better.

Jim, it might have been what he was doing to those worms versus the color. My sparkle colors have been kicking a**, especially Zoom's margarita (chart. with chart, k.green and black flakes). I've been pouring Bob's fat 6" Tiki and my own beavers as well as Bob's 4 1/4" sticks and need no other designs to catch fish. Large 13" crappie in a tidal creek, have been mauling my short sticks and occassionally, 3.5" beavers. Blows my mind! Bubblegum is still hot!

Good points Jim, but I think I said the same thing in my reply. The original post a month ago was regarding whether patent infringement was a possibility after Andre threatened a law suit against one of our members. Someone with patent experience shed some light on the consequences of a proper patent, but what was not brought up by the patent expert, was the fact that the Beaver was never patented or even patent pending, thus, case closed. It was insinuated that we always have to look over our shoulders anytime we copy and sell a lure. I think the concern was as much overkill as in this post. The only thing I've seen go to court, having read the court transcripts, was the case of Larew vs. Yamamoto regarding GY's unlicensed use of salt injection. GY had to pay for his patent infringement, even though the reason was related to lure action and weight and not for taste, as was in the original patent. I think GY got screwed, but he did inject salt and his intent was hard to prove (to a nonfishermen jury I'll bet). I reproduced Zoom's margarita color (chart/ chart and black flakes) and caught 3 bass and 2 pickerel today on the same beaver. The last fish broke the line. I also caught 2 more bass on my rootbeer/ green and black flake beaver in heavy cover, taken on the hop. Anyone have the Smallie Beaver they want to sell? I need to make a mold for that one also. Frank

It is a subject that has been brought up before and some have stated their irritability at having Dave from Lurecraft make and sell molds from their ideas. It's unrealistic to believe that a good idea won't eventually be run with by others, regardless of how much r&d went into the original. Poor knockoffs die off, quality knockoffs and originals may last a few years and continue to be sold. Anglers are fickle when it comes to tackle and are always looking for a bargain or unique lure. It's the capitalist way to offer that. Why pay 70 cents for a Senko that lasts for one or two fish, versus any of the knockoffs that last for half a dozen or more fish. Mine do and my conscience is clear because I believe GY is gouging the customer, considering his overhead and flimsy sticks. The Senko design will never die and may outlast most similar sticks well into the future, but it has limited uses as far as the salted stick goes. This is just one example of why there should be less limits placed on lure makers versus a few other product producers and is almost impossible to win in court, considering what was stated concerning lure uniqueness. For Andre to threaten legal action without due diligence, speaks for itself and for the person that has borrowed many previous designs and comes across as holier than thou, I say, 'shame on you'! RI has been around for a while and finally has come up with a winner. Good luck to anyone that offers us anglers something innovative to catch fish, within specialties.

The question is, "is it unethical to copy and then sell another's lure design?" It depends on if a patent exists. If not, any of us has free rein to make as an exact copy as possible and sell it. That's the American way, regardless of whether the original is modified or improved. Lurecraft has copied over 130 soft plastic lures in the form of his silicone molds. Of course, they are one sided and result in a lure that is not completely round or textured on all sides. But the designs are obvious. Is Dave (or Bob or DelW) an acomplice in the reproduction and eventual sale of specific designs by the end user? If one of us wanted to buy the rights to a lure design from the individual or company that designed it, but had no patent, what is it we would be buying, to be ligit? Rights have to be paid for.This applies to scientific discoveries or a new process (i.e. Gene Larew's salt injection). No patent, no exclusive rights of ownership. As was stated, every lure category came from somewhere and every lure type has been copied, at one time or other, by every manufacturer in the business. Most products world wide, have been copied and repackaged. Some have been improved upon, many are duds, but that's part of commercial enterprise. Doing it first, doesn't mean doing it with finality and attempting to copy an original, may not be anything even close to the original (ie. LC's Senko mold, especially the first ones no way produced a stick that acted or looked like a Senko!) Ethics don't have much to do with copying and then selling a lure concept because no lure acts exactly like any other that's very similar in design. A skirted jig can be made in many different ways, but the original design and overall concept, is just the beginning of the creative process that will evolve this lure into it's many changes. It's no different than the way Creme worms branched into a thousand other designs. The Sweet Beaver comes under the creature bait concept. The thin, over-sized, paddle tail was added to a ribbed grub by Riverside baits a few years ago and was called the Beaver Tail grub. They also designed a hula grub with the same oversized thin paddle tail. If Andre modified these baits and added a few appendages, was he unethical for doing so and then making a million from stolen ideas? No, for the simple reason that his bait looks and acts differently, the same as any knockoff on this site looks and acts differently than either lure. I sleep fine knowing that the lures I may sell are still unique, though similar to another.

Del also has the best motor oil I've ever used and at a much better price than MF. He's expanded his color selection and has all the basic colors all of us use. It resembles Quaker State (amber/green irrid.) Soon, he will stock a florescent chartreuse, which also has irridescent qualities, depending on the light. LC's sucks!

Today I poured a thinner beaver with more softener and tilted the mold toward the hook-insert end for a better hook-holding piece of slightly thicker plastic. One fish/one lure may be a problem for sales if the hook insert, end is too thin. The rest was thin and had great action, resulting in 4 bass this pm, on one lure. I don't think I'd be interested in a 2-part mold because the whole idea is for a creature bait that undulates from head to paddle-tail tip and the best way to achieve this action is with a flatter, thinner bait. The reason Mad Man Craws suck is because the realism of a copy-of-nature resulted in a bulky form, killing the action. The Beaver has an action that's the closest thing I've ever seen to the motion of a backward-swimming crawfish and it's pancake design is the main reason. Sticks are probably better, fully round, but not this lure. If I can immediatley catch fish on something I just poured for the first or second time, it's a keeper!, and if it ain't broke ......

You have been busy! No patent, no fuss, no muss. I like the colors. Keeping in line with the naming at Reaction Innovations, my colors are: Clap Green, Lower Unit Black, Puss-Pot Pink, VD yellow and In-flammed Purple. (Got a small bass on my rootbeer/ marigold flake beaver yesterday, but I've got to make the body a little thinner and not add salt. The action-concept is for maximum flapping of the paddle tail and body. The body was too stiff and moved more like your average craw, with only the paddle and arms flapping, as compared to the beaver-creature's entire body motion. And for that, the plastic must be very soft!)

Jim, maybe it was Loudmouth bass that he was interviewed on, but I took away the idea from his statement that it would cost thousands to patent his lure as well as years to do so. By the time he got the patent, sales might have cooled off considerably and the money not well spent, especially if it will cut into the million or so profit from current sales. The flat sided design is a minor modification, but the surface texture and profile are almost exact. The expert on this site could shed some light. Again, salted stick baits are produced by the millions (Stiko a prime example), but I don't know if GY can claim infringement, even if he had ever patented the Senko. I made a reasonable copy this am and was quite pleased. I added garlic salt and more softener and used Durhams for the mold. Not as pretty as the samples I received, but the design works and will catch fish! I'll try them this afternoon.

A member on this site gave me a few of his Beaver lures to try out. I must say that the coloring and surface quality were superb. (Aluminum mold - 1 pc.) I was a little skeptical that a flat sided Beaver could catch fish and didn't get bit the first time out. Maybe that was because of the rigging and areas used. I fused a piece of ribbed worm to the front of the bait to hold the plastic to the hook better. This time, I used a 2/0 wide gap hook with a 1/16 oz bullet wt., and got better action as well as more control at different depths. Working the shallows aroung stick-ups and emerging pads, I caught three legal bass (1-2.5 lbs) and a crappie - all on the same lure. The hits were decisive and all fish swam with the lure in it's mouth before I set the hook. The softness may have had something to do with it. If Del or Bob come out with a 2-part, I'll be the first in line to buy one. Until then, I will probably buy a pack from tacklewarehouse.com and copy the body using Durhams in a 2-part mold. I might even copy the one I have and over-pour to thicken the body. The picture shows the fusion of a worm cut down the middle and fused to the front end. The action was superb and very weedless - a must in my tackle box. Note: Andre Moore stated on BASS Central that going after knockoff companies would take more time and money than it was worth and won't even patent the design considering the cost and time to do so.

It's common for bubbles and foam to form with the first heat/pour. Del says it's from moisture, which cooks out and is reduced by stirring with a metal butter knife. (Wood makes it worse.) Push the bubbles to the sides of the pyrex cup and rezap, after stirring again. Plastic that's kept in a damp basement or outside garage, will experience this more than plastic that's kept at room temperature in a dry climate.

J.O., I just found another advantage to using clear flakes - When you leave a bunch in the boat and it rains like h*ll, they're reusable and won't swell like salty Senkos. I dried them out on my dashboard, in the sun, they softened and were good to go. I've been using them without color, just milk white and the bass and picks having been mauling them! But then again, they've been mauling anything that moves, including Bob's and Del's Tiki Sticks. Heck, it's spring!

You can save the partial pours, put back into the cavites (after cutting them straight across) and repouring the rest. Del has a good tip which is to tilt the mold slightly and pour down the funnel rather than straight down. Hotter plastic keeps bubbles at a minimum and I use a thin wire to poke into the hot plastic at the top of the mold to pop any bubbles. Works 75% of the time.

With good plastic like Calhoun's, heat stabilizer is not needed. With Lure Crafts plastic, it's almost a must to prevent smoking plastic and drab plastic colors. Using a candy thermometer is a great way to see at what consistency the plastic is for pouring and at what minimum temp. is needed to prevent searing and glitter melt-down/bleed. Pouring temps can be as little as 250 or as much as 320, but consideration must taken for the depth of the mold (two-part) and the number of cavities you want to pour in succession without having to reheat. (Reheating degrades plastic to a small degree, especially after 3 times and color may be altered.) Woodsac covered most supplies needed and you will see immediately that metal molds produce superb looking baits the first time you pour. Well worth the money over a silicone one-pc. in the same bait.

Two ays: nose hook with long shank hook or hold one end - dip half way - dip in water to cool 1/4 so as to be able to hold that end and dip the other half. If the lure and coating are soft, the lure will maintain softness and flexibility. I did it this morning to a brush hog and it reminds me of a lizard head, except with a creature body. (I cut off 1/4" from the top and dipped it 3x.)

CD, the ridges are like color - the fish may notice the surface texture, but not necessarily. Remember the Jersey Rig worm? A smooth noodle, wacky rigged? How about tripple dipped tubes? All bulk - little texture (except for salt). I C-rigged a 3" dipped stick (one that you gave me) and it was bit on the first cast. It loses it's flexibility to a degree, but hard jerkbaits aren't flexible or always textured, yet they have that wide yaw that gets bit in the spring. The softer the worm and the coating, the more flex on the jerk and the fast action produces the color flash, reducing the need for surface texture. I will dip the front end of a creature bait (Brush Hog) to give the head of the lure more bulk. I do believe that bass and picks target the head and was one of the reasons the Fliptail worm worked well in it's day. It had a fat rounded head and a flat tapered body, ending in a flat tail.

Exactly!! The bass and picks have been tearing them up. Even this crappie got a peice of it! Kind of like the El Gordo of sticks. Again, great action (any kid can walk this bait subsurface) and a large target that really pisses them off. The nice thing about dipping is the ability to put a transparent color with flakes over a darker or lighter color and have them stand out. This is especially true for salted baits. The hotter the plastic, the thinner the coat.

This last winter, I was playing around with dipping different lures to increase the head size or girth of tubes and sticks. I was using a 4 1/2" stick that I dipped once (the stick was from an LC mold before he improved his Senko copy). This time of year the hard and soft jerkbait bite is guarenteed and as I posted in the sugar post, I tried Bob's Tiki stick with great success, so I thought I'd give the dipped worm a try. One thing I noticed right away, was that being thicker, it wasn't as soft, but acted more like a hard jerk bait. The action was a better walk the dog than I could have imparted to a Sammie along with a nice darting action. I use a wide gap hook and worked shallow cover. Bass and pickerel blasted it as long as it moved. Give it a try with an LC stick or slim plastic worm. Just heat some plastic (ol or new) and dip once- first one end and then the other. Sometimes fish just love to hate fat slugs knocking on their door. Del's slim Tiki worked well also. Sam

Joel - all I can say is fantastic!!! I fished the wetland in my local lake and blew them away! A dozen keeper bass and 5 pickerel (one that was 24"!) Bob's Tiki is slimmer, has nice tapered ends and a chubby middle. I made some roadkill, green pumpkin/ black flake and a few cool laminates. Each bait caught at least two fish per, some even more. One thing I noticed was that though they were super soft out of the mold, I stored them in Garlic BaitMate (walmart scent) and they seemed to be less soft. No problem - the tapered tail and horizontal fall was more than enough for the fish to take the baits either off the bottom or with a topwater jerk technique. Even panfish attacked them! Thank you Bob!! My newest and bestest worm!! Even better than the Tiki. Comparison of the chubby Tiki (in mold cavities) to a Senko copy.

Thanks Jim My proportions are almost the same, except a little more softener for some really bass-chewy baits. I cast Bob's fat Tiki Stick last week using the ratio and the bass and pickerel held on for dear life! Loved the action and love the mold! Frank

Jim, To add surface salt or glitter, I use a candle flame. Nothing can stick to a lure once I remove it from the aluminum mold.

Thanks Jim for the input. Even though the crystal flakes allow for sinking the plastic, I have to use more flakes then you did to get a faster sink rate and add more softener to get better action. I still add a tablespoon of floured salt for taste and weight and have no problems pouring. (It seems that the flakes keep floured salt suspended better.) The colors are truer and the plastic is less opaque, with the white being a cloudy white versus solid white. (I like it as a laminate belly to shad colors.) The only application I see is for weighted jerk sticks or for it's color and little else. I pour at less than 300 degrees (the lowest setting on the Lee's Pot) or nuke until almost all plastic is fluid after stirring. I haven't experienced any smoke or smell. I'm pretty sure it's uncolored poly acetate, the same as the glitter that's colored. It comes in any size and I wonder if .040 or .008 may have advantages (though I only keep .015 on hand). Frank

I think Charlie that the only bait that requires salt is the Senko type worm. It increases the drop rate, which directly effects the rate of tip action. Some still believe that salt is an attractant or promotes a longer bite time, but I only see it as extra weight that may reduce the need for a bullet sinker when Texas rigged in non-Senko baits. (After experimenting with live bait and scent, ice fishing, I think I have to agree with Berkley that desolved protein salts (like Mega Strike), are the only effective scent additives.) A clear translucence can only be achieved with no salt, but a salt laminate may be the answer when you want the best of both worlds. Maybe not so much for the Beaver, but definitely for the Senko. Cloudy translucence from clear-flake weighting, allows some light/color through and is the only other alternative to salt.