Senkosam

Markel, the guys are right. Many baits have a flat side, including mass produced injection pours (ie. Zoom Trick Worm, Gator Tail, Chunk baits). But note one thing with the first two injection lures mentioned - the tail is rounded. Therefore the designer of the bait wanted a flat side. The Trick worm benefits hydrodynamically from the flat side by allowing more of a whipping side-to-side-action, accentuated by the clubbed tail Are segmented or textured plastics always preferrable? Most tubes made, are smooth, and those that aren't, don't last long (Uncle Josh screen-tube, Ultravibe ribbed tube). LC sticks are smooth, pretty much, and last year they convinced me that pouring was well worth the effort! Textured lures may affect the way a bass sees and feels a soft plastic. Hoo Daddy worms and grubs, Zipper products, disk grubs, ringworms, etc. all have a few things in common that thicker designs don't. The texture is functional. In other words, the ribbing makes the lure look bulky, thicker and larger than it is. But notice the actual core of the bait. It's thin and therefore allows more flexibility in the body. Texture refects light differently, the same way a hammered-blade does versus a smooth blade. Tiny details (ie. molded eyes) are probably not seen in most water colors, but texture that is obvious may sometimes get their attention better, especially if the've never 'felt' it before. Flappers and bent elbows are the lastest design for creature baits. Do they add to the lure's effectiveness? I think that size is not always length, and that it does matter in shallow water. Extra appendages add extra action the same as adding a skirt to a jighead or an Ika and may give the illusion of more mass or meat. I have to agree that many designs are designer-lure creations and may fly off the shelves the first year. But the basic designs have stood the test of time and though not fancy, do the job. If what you pour does the job,, that's all that matters. The rest is just self-illusionment and a sales pitch. Just my thoughts after having poured my own featureless sticks and sticking a bunch of fish last year on them. Sam

Nice job! Do your tails come out thin? Sam

http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=874&highlight= A $15 coffee grinder will give you a fine, floured salt, but colors will be more opaque than when using a finer crystal salt. Sam

Here's a stereo pic of lures in a bowl of water. The one floating seems to be suspended in space. To see the photo in stereo, look at the center of the picture and slightly cross your eyes until the right and left images merge into one. The pearl powder is something I tried from Engelhard Corp. and may sell it along with glitter. The internal colored flash is incredible. http://www.frontiernet.net/~postcard/stereo.jpg Enjoy, Sam

Any questions on the process or sources for materials, feel free to ask. All of us on this forum have spent a lot of time creating lures that are as good as any on the shelves or sold through Bass Pro, Cabela's etc. Welcome to a great site! Sam

Some flakes will curl if the plastic is heated beyond 350 degrees or reheated; some don't. I've been trying to find a source of flakes (similar to LC) that resist higher temps. The only solution I've found is to add flakes when the plastic cools a little, but to cool to pour. The shape will stay the same, at least for the first pours. Sam

According to my bud at Bear Paw Handpours, Calhoun's needs no stabilizer like LC's plastic and the temp to cook at is much less (ie. 2-3 on a Lee Pot). Most important is to stir it very well so the ingredients are uniform, otherwise you'll get a gloppy mess. He poured some for me using a new pearl powder sample I got, and the plastic is superb. Sam

As with any florescent color, add flor. pink before the plastic heats up and then add white. It doesn't take much pink to make a bright, light pink that looks like pink salt water taffy. I prefer light pink versus deep pink and what the fellows suggest adding flor. or. to make sherbert is also a good color. Experience will dictate how much pink you add, depending on how much plastic is heated. Note: flor. colors don't reheat well, even with heat stabilizer and lose brightness. (i.e. pink turns the color of lox) Pink/orange laminates work great! Sam

Just to be safe, I use one in my basement over the melting pot. You never know. Sam

Mike, I think Joh was using too high a temperature in his pot and didnn't stir well enough. He called me after trying out Del's suggestions and won't go back to LC. He loves the stuff! I guess the same temp advice goes for remelts. Sam

I've tested two comany's glitter and found that the flakes curl. Is it that the flakes aren't heat resistant or is my plastic temp. too hot? The flakes look great in the plastics, but size and shape must be maintained. Sam

Bubblegum jerkworms and sticks.

Two important tips told to me by a fishing bud - Bear Paw of Bear Paw Hand pours: 1. Calhoun has a lower melting and set up temp. Do not overheat or you will get a gloppy mess! ie. On a Lee Pot, setting #6 is way too much, were LC plastic requires it to stay liquid. 2. Always stir and mix thoroughly! The hardener must be evenly distributed. A tip you may want to consider if using smaller storage containers. Mix the gallon well and then distribute into a qt. container. You still have to mix the qt., but smaller bottles are easier to manage. I use a plastic 1/2 gal, clear, juice container from Walmart. Bear Paw says the plastic seemed too soft at first, to be durable, but on inspection after the pour, found the durablilty equal to LC. Hardener can be added for saltwater applications and heat stabilizer is not needed like with LC or 3-G. Sam

Unless you mind a flat side to the lure, plaster is quick cheap, easy and non-toxic. Those little fellas should be a cinch! When pouring, be sure the plastic is hot and runny so that the details fill. With any thin appendages, start with the tail first, with the mold tilted toward the body. This way, the plastic flows out of the tail cavity and allows it to be 'finesse' thin. Make sure the leg cavities are a little deeper after they're cast in plaster so that they fill easier. (To do this, take a nail and 'groove' out the legs deeper, and if you chose, longer and with maybe a small curl (bungi) or knob at the ends. Try to do this while the plaster is still semi-hard and not completely dry. You're only limited by your imagination. How do you rig those? Sam

Nice colors. Now it's time to diversify into more shapes with molds you create yourself. Sam

Where do you buy varithene and under what company name?

The only problem would be is getting a college to allow the subject to be taught, especially one that would only take a few days to demonstrate. You would think that fishing, in general, would be taught as an elective considering the depth and range of topics that would have to be included. Denny Brauer is probably the only pro teaching techniques at a university because TNN pays for the classroom. Sam

Nice lures and color. How did you get the glossy surface? There is no such thing as too much glitter or glitter that is to large. At times .062 hex is what the fish ordered! Sam

Will hopefully be a supplier in Jan. Just moved my entire house to another location and the only thing I can think about is my aching body! LOL Everything still has to be put away and organized. Sam The Glitter Guy

The nicest thing about pouring your own is that once you've begun, it becomes an exciting part of fishing. Your creation catches fish! Once you've made your own molds, the possibilities of form are infinite and limited to your imagination or what's already out there. Plaster molding is cheap and easy and a mold can be ready to pour in 40 minutes. But if pre-formed molds are your cup of tea, you've got to figure out how many baits of each color or different forms you might need, especially since your lures will outlast Senkos or other delicate plastics. Go to the gallery on this site to get a feel of unique forms and color combos invented. Plastics can be remelted, within reason, before the colors are mud. So, fresh plastisol is always needed for bright coloration or clear plastic to show off veins, blood lines, laminate combos, metal flakes, etc. Once you know the volume of plastic needed for one year, the choices are clear. The smaller the amount ordered, the far greater unit price you'll pay. If you buy Lurecraft plastic in a qt., it equates to a huge amount per gal. If you buy it buy the gal., it equates to a huge amount up to the next size of 5 gal.s. This being said, Delmart has the best deal on the best plastic available to us - Calhoun's - when ordered in the 5 gal. amount. He has given good and valid reasons why the stuff is better than LC's or 3-G. The only other plastic as good as Calhoun's, is M-F and is comparable in price. Buy a qt., buy a gal. - your choice, but remember to buy heat stabilizer and hardener (and/or softener for super soft baits). Very important! Once you start, you'll want to fill the bathtub just to see how your lures look in the water. Just make sure your wife isn't relaxing with her eyes closed when you throw the bait in or the next water it's thrown into will be the whirlpool of the toilet bowl! Sam

If any of you use plaster for prototype lures or as your basic mold material, Lowes sell it for $6.86 per 25 pound bag! Walmart sells it for around 6$ for 8lb.s Do the math. Sam

The only question you must ask yourself is, Do your baits catch fish and can the average angler catch fish on them when used properly!? Case closed! If you think of all the great soft plastics that did not have any type of impregnated protein, yum, flavor, salt, etc. and that have been successful over the years, you discover that gimmicks don't last because people always come back to favorites that stand the test of time. Senkos will be around for a long time because they work almost 100% of the time in almost 100% of the waters in the world. So do your lures, and people know it! You offer something at a good price that is of good quality, people remember. 3x plastics are a gimmick and as difficult to store as pork. Think they'll be around next year? Maybe, but the price stinks and the selection is poor and their a bitch to get off your hook. The lowly stick has caught more bass for more anglers since Yamamoto invented it, than any other plastic. The major companies are hurt by the numbers of guys willing to spend 60 cents for a worm that beat the pants off all others, including favorites like Berkley Power baits. (No one I know even buys Power Baits anymore.) In fact many people are buying sticks from Al, Merc, Del, Big Bag Baits and the list goes on. 60 cents gets a little old when all you catch is one fish per lure! Gimmicks are like pop music - here today, gone tomorrow! Sam Sam

If you use a cheap coffee bean grinder to make the salt as fine as flour, the suspension is easier, but the color is more opaque. The larger the crystal, the greater the translucent quality, but the harder to keep suspended. I'm going to try a barium suspension which is already powder, but weighs more than NaCl and requires less. The other thing that I will try, is to use a heavier than usual salt- impregnated, laminated half and a clear/flake or colored half. Another other option is to pour a heavier, salt-impregnated half or 1/3 toware the tail and a clear or translucent-colored front half. The hook will most likely weigh down the front and the salt, the back, but the two-tone will be there. Who says salt must be through the entire worm? Sam

LC's 7" Trickworm is adequate. I've also made a 6 3/4" Zoom in plaster. Boy, are fish dumb or what? Sam

It looks like a laminate with dark green opaque/ brown-orange translucent.