Senkosam

Fluker

Last night I got the same kind of scam e-mail that I did from e-bay 4 mos. ago. A link to an official looking Pay Pal site, asked me to verify my Pay Pal account by providing all information, including credit card number and password. I've sent the information to Pay Pal's security dept. Hopefully they can get the feds to catch these clowns. You might want to warn your customers. Sam

Deep ridges (like in a large ring-grub) need some kind of worm release oil or the lure will tear. Mineral oil and baby oil also work, but if I use the latter, I'm not sure fish mind the fresh baby butt scent ! Sam

Your best bet is to look through your soft plastic or at the store and note: plastic color(s) glitter color(s) glitter size(s) plastic opacity (salt or pearl) or translucence If there are combos of the above in specific shapes and sizes, copy them. It's a personal preference, but the archives and the cookbook give the best ideas that others have used successfully. I've been sending sample worms in clear plastic with different glitter combos. Sam

That's what I've discoverd in clear and tinted plastic! I'm glad you noticed it too. Sam

BigZ, it's sound great, but any color will be muted by any plastic color other than clear. Salted baits are the worst for good glitter demonstration unless some glitter in sprinkled in the cavity and in on the surface (similar to hard baits). It works - give it a try. I've given my worms and grubs extra color-flash to the plastic's surface, especially with dark plastic. ex. 1- Black plastic with blue surface and internal blue flake ex. 2- watermelon with surface and internal red and violet flake ex. 3- motor oil grub tails with marigold, red and black flake (.008) Just sprinkle into the cavity and pour the molten plastic. Then, sprinkle on top of the hot plastic (for one part molds) (unless you want only one side to have surface glitter. In this sense, holographic surface glitter will shine better than embedded, especially in salted plastic. Clear worms with glitter is a whole new ball game, as is light plastic tints with glitter. A fish looks up and sees black dots; it looks at a lure from the side, it sees color flashes and glitter colors the worm internally by reflecting off each other and by sending colored light through the clear plastic. (like a fiber optic decoration.) Try it. Sam

I miss that... Polycryl has the least quality control of any supplier I've tried. Their maroon purple folds from .040 to .025 because they sent the wrong type of glitter. (It can be used as .025 embedded or .040 surface.) The other stuff they sent holds up to heat, as long as temps don't go past 300. Three times they've sent 11 lb. bags that were the wrong color because the guy who sent them never checked the color to the color chart. Few colors come in sizes above .015 and the stuff takes forever to special order from Pakistan. (They have few colors in inventory that I need right away). I only deal with American companies now. It may cost more, but at least the product quality is consistent. Sam (vishezfish - e-mail me the size you're interested in, name and address; the medium size and powder give a nice spectral flash. Holo comes in many different color (ie. violet and green holo) but is more expensive than silver holo.)

Eric, I took a medium size Hoo Daddy Grub (Gene Larew), cut the tail off and welded a 5" Kalin grub tail to it. I molded the hybrid in plaster. Because the rings are large and deep, worm oil has to be used as a release agent. I have about 25 hybrid molds and 20 copies. This year I've come up with more than 30 new hybrid designs and will mold them this winter. As Delw increases his dye assortment and at his present pricing, he is my new source for dye. The red worked great and I added a few drops to LC purple to get a true purple versus a grape blue . My violet purple and maroon purple flake look great in it. (pic to be posted tomorrow) Sam

Got Del's motor oil in on Sat. and had very good results. The two smaller sticks are clear plastic with kelly green, marigold and black flake. Sam

I took the advice to stop stirring with wood and used the back end of a meal spoon. Big difference. I wrapped a popsicle stick with aluminum and stirred. No problem. Wood really does contain air and moisture - the two biggest no-no's in pouring plastic. The worm plastic in the 'motor oil' post, were stirred with metal and 2 came from 2 pc. plaster molds (grub and large stick). The other sticks are from an LC mold. Flakes added are kelly green, black and marigold. (I've sent sample worms to a few, but which I'll include with anything I send out.) Sam

Bummer, sounds like a plan. I'll take the metal handle of a fork or spoon and stir using it, instead of wood. It can't hurt to try. (The microbubbles are good for super floatation though!) Sam

Mere coincidence and of no significance. GY doesn't need to copy anything unless it becomes a standard shape or color that has been well publicized or requested by Yammie fans. John just happened to show me how cool light smoke colors looked when he showed me a few, in spring and I agree, coincidences happen all the time in fishing and in tackle crafting. Sam

Thanks Z! Just what the doctor ordered. I just ordered some colors from DelW, who it very reasonable and comparable to LC in price . At least I can count on the service and product integrity. I'm glad I only live a few miles from BearPaw. He can try out most of the colors and show me the results. LOL I refuse to buy anymore of LC dye until I've seen it in plastic first hand. John has also been very innovative when it comes to smoke and flake colors. It's interesting that Yammamoto just came out with new smoke- laminate colors four months after Bear Paw did. Sam

Silly Putty would probably work well as long as you use oil as a release. You can harden the plastic by putting it in the refrig before or after you shape it. It would do well in plaster and maybe in other materials. I tried clay and a toaster oven to harden, but couldn't find a decent coating that kept the clay from the plasters moisture. Once clay gets wet, it dissolves. So, I've been cutting worms and grubs etc., reattaching them together by the flame of a candle to form a hybrid, and then molding them in plaster. Good results and easyier than screwing with clay. Sam

Del has a few very good tips on his site worth reading. http://www.del-mart.com/index.php?module=PostWrap&page=http://www.del-mart.com/htmlfolder/mixing.html I am impressed with the inventory and the quality of products. His prices are good and selection improving for molds, dyes and glitter. Sam

Good idea GaBassNerd, but did ever think of how much glitter you could store in one of those urine sample cups? The only thing I worry about is going to a public urinal and getting stared at if a few flakes happen to be on .... you know. (A few have. It's inevitable.) :oops:

Z, I use my Oreck vac and it does very well. But, because I deal in the stuff, inevitably I wear it in my hair, on my clothes, on my skin and face, and so does the dog! I've tracked a few flakes in every room in the house, as well as in the car. As I write this, I'm looking at a few flakes on the back of my hand! Good thing the wife's tolerant. Sam

Thanks guys. Now that you mention it, I pour plastics in my basement, which was damper than usual in late summer. I've noticed more water vapor lately plus microbubbles. Now I'll store the stuff closer to the furnace where the humidity is less. Thanks Sam

Great comments. As usual, stirring keep the flakes and salt evenly mixed so you don't get too much of either in clumps in the lure. With LC plastic, I have to keep adjusting the temp. from 5-7 to keep it at a steady temp. You waste less plastic with a microwave and quality control seems easier than using a Lee's. The pour spout opening is small and takes much more time to pour a lot of lures at once. Anyone have small bubbles form initially with microwave and less as the plastic cools a little? Sam

Jeff, good to see you're back. e-mail me if you're interested in more glitter samples. The list has grown. Tried to e-mail you but the mail got bounced back. Frank

I expanded the thumbnails of the color combos on GY's site and noticed a few things: 1. he uses different size flake ranging from .015 to .062 2. some color combos have different hues - the greens used are emerald green, kelly green and chartreuse. The purples used are violet, maroon, and blue grape (LC's purple) Marigold is used with copper and black or kelly green and black. Orange isn't used very much unless red is also used. I haven't seen any colors that use different silver colors such as chrome, steel, light blue silver or almond silver (platinum). Light smoke or clear plastic with flakes are also not displayed. A friend who sells plastics made a few in light smoke and clear, and the glitter appeared different than in colored plastic. I imagine that light colors with glitter would stand out since the glitter color isn't filtered and the flakes will contrast against the sky like pepper (black flake). Some of the plastics in the gallery are light colored or clear and veins show up better. I've got a lot of experimenting to do this winter. Sam

Thanks Mojo, I know where I'm buying motor oil next. At least if you use flor pink and white, you get a great bubblegum. Does M-F have purple? Sam

LC purple turned out to be blue; LC motor oil is brownish black; Bubblegum is salmon, etc., etc. Boy I wish we had an alternative supplier. Sam

Same here BigZ. I've come up with a few prototypes that have caught fish from spring to late summer and need 2-part molds for some, single part molds for others. Anything over $30 ea. would be cost prohibitive. I won't deal with LC since he won't protect prototype molds from being added to his knock-off list of molds for sale. Besides, I really want a glossy surface for grubs and silicone can't provide that. Plaster is okay, but doesn't hold up after a few years and as Del said, homemade 2-part molds result in mismatches that have to be trimmed. Sam (I just opened LC purple dye and it was blue, like their glitter. Anyone have the same problem? Anyone find an alternative dealer for dye?)

GBN, once fishing ends for the year, I'm going to show some thumbnail pics of similar color combos using poured plastics. Bear Paw (JohnO) is also working on sending color combos that are usual and unusual. He sells quite a few custom colors to those that request it because of unavailabilty. I remember looking through catologs of crankbaits and soft plastics to discover cool colors that I felt would give me a little more confidence in a lure, especially one I hadn't tried before. Over the years, I've blown hundreds on great looking colors and have done well on many. GY is no fool when it comes to sales. The more variety - the better the chances of selling more. Everyone has different tastes and preferences and it's hard to predict the next 'hot' color or color favorites that people will go out of their way to purchase. Sam