Senkosam

Yes Craig, but not into clear. I'll give it a try. If it doesn't come out greenish brown (irridescent) it goes back.

Thought so. Thanks Al

Original Fish Formula I (anise or craw) works as well as any and is much cheaper than LC's oil. I coat my molds just prior to pouring to form a glossy coat, as a worm release, and to bake in a little scent. Sam

For aggressive smallies, just about any of about 2 doz. colors will work in any color water. Colors I don't care for (but can't say they absolutely won't work), are kelly green, blue, red, purple, and methiolate. Most of the following colors work just about any time in grubs or short sticks: Chartreuse (with or without .035 flakes such as chart., gold, silver, pepper, copper or in any combo) Rootbeer (with orange, green, pepper flakes, gold flakes or any combo) small, black double-tail grubs smoke (with or without flakes) in grubs clear (with silver or red flakes) florescent yellow (opaque) florescent white bubblegum (flor. pink) grubs any of the above colors used as body/tail contrasts (grubs) Just to name a few that have worked in many waters I've fished, regardless of water color. Sam

I just opened up a bottle of Lurecraft's motor oil dye and it looks black. It also doesn't look like m.o. when mixed in melted plastic. Does that mean black was put into the bottle by mistake? Sam

One of the 'new' colors I've copied from Zoom is called Margarita, which you guys in the swap will receive in the form of sticks and/or grubs. Chartreuse dye Flor. green dye large chart. and black flakes med. green flakes Outstanding! Sam

Cobra's source sounds economical and detailed except - do they make two-part molds for the same price? Once you've made a completely round bait, you won't want to use Lurecraft one-part molds. Plaster is sooo easy and cheap to use that a bucket from Wal Mart at $5/ 5 lbs. will make you 15 molds that last and last. Go to tacklemaking.com to find out detailed instructions on how to make one or two part molds very easily. Water, cheap aluminum pans (3 or 4/$1), a popsicle stick to stir and some Mod Podge craft glue to coat the surface and you're set to go! **note: Lurecraft Senko molds produce sticks that are slimmer than the original and you have to overpour slightly or one side will have a concave surface. Don't waste money on their creature mold - very poor castings. Sam

The only plastic that I've seen harden, is 3x plastic, especially if it touches plastisol lures. Come to think of it, my lurecraft plastic sticks are a little harder over time, but I've been mixing xtra strength with their regular stuff 1:1. Still, not what you describe. Sam

Kidlizard has given you the same advice I'd have given about using the microwave. When it comes to heating up any plastic, zap in short bursts (20 seconds on high power) until it pours like half & half and stir well with a popsicle stick, otherwise you'll get clumps. Go to a supermarket or a kitchen suppy store (Lechmere's) and pick up the smallest pyrex cup you can find(i.e. 1 cup). It's easier to pour from and keep the plastic hot with. Later you can go larger if you have many molds to pour into. A Lee Production pot is the ultimate device to pour many worms of the same color, but it has it's difficulties. If the plastic you got in the gal. is cheap (Lurecraft or 3-g) be careful about searing the stuff. The smoke and smell is horrendous and the color will be amber tinted rather than pure. Also, small black chunks will form and look like hell, as well as causing inconsistent texture. If it happens, throw it out and start again. Remelting old plastic is fine except all the salt or sand will settle quickly to the bottom for old worms that contain either. There are sooo many lures that contain either substance, that if you pour the remelted plastic without adding a few drops of hardener, the plastic will be 50% softer. It's very difficult to keep the salt suspended, especially if the lure company used coarser salt versus powdered salt.(i.e Zoom) Heat stabilizer works great and really does insure brighter florescent colors at higher temps (you don't need much). (Note: Never use the glitter sold in the craft stores, unless it is metal glitter - it'll melt and the color will streak.) The metal glitter Lurecraft sells is fine for microwaves and of good quality, plus economical versus M-F. Important to remember: the more fluid the heated plastic, the thinner a curly tail or other fine details and the less likely to get air bubbles when pouring a 2-part mold. My Fat Alberts came out great two days ago and caught bass and picks yesterday in Zoom's new color, Margarita. Use them on a long shank jig and hold on! Sam

Finished pouring and packing 105 plastics. You sure these will fit in a PO box? Sam

It might be a good idea to label each pack of 21 telling who they're from. You never know when one of your baits catches bragging-size fish or a decent quantity. All of us would most likely post acolades (and ask for more, please ) The only bags I have are plastic ziplock sandwich bags. Are they okay, even for 5 1/2" sticks? Sam (42 poured, only 63 left. I'm going to start counting these things in my sleep!)

Good point Chirmy. Keep bleeding colors separate such as chartreuse, grape, green and red. White and pearl gets stained easiest. So, for colors that you want to stay pure, use cheap sandwich bags to separate and staple or elastic-band the 'pack' together. Sam

What is the address to Calhoun's site? Sam

Earthworm makes good soft plastics - he gave out samples to a crowd of 50 at a seminar that he and I spoke at this year. Good addition to the swap. I can handle 17x5 but not 17x 12. What styles are everyone pouring? I was thinking 2-part mold senko, Stik-O, Wacky Worm, jelly worm, 8" Trick Worm, and a slim stick (Lurecraft 1- part mold). Sam

Man, that is cheap! Only $20 gal. to try it out and only $15 /gal in 5 gal amount. Plus it's better than LC plastic. Sounds like a good deal! Sam

Sounds good to me, as long as the worms I can swap are not too complicated (i.e.Senko-type, StikO, Mann's Jelly worm, 8" Trick Worm etc.) I haven't practiced making thin-enough action-tails yet, but I have one and 2-part molds that produce fish catching baits. Even my laminates have done well. We could include our recipe for different worms (i.e. % of salt; drops of color/ qty. of plastic; hardener or softener added; floatation or drop rate etc.) Sam

I've found a more effective vent system. I use 2 plastic coffee stirrers when I make the mold - one at 1/4 from top and one at 1/4 from bottom embedded into one side of the mold, perpendicular to the cavity. These can stay in the plaster or removed if greased up before inserting into the wet plaster. I no longer have hollow ended worms. The strirrers are hollow tubes and allow just enough space for air to escape. An alternative way would be to use greased up shish kabob, skewer sticks and insert the same way and then pull them out of the hardended plaster. Of course, you can put as many vent holes as you wish and even put the sticks through both halves of the mold. In fact this is a neat way of making 'legs' (i.e. millipede). (put the sticks all the way through the worm and cast the mold halves.) Sam

I use Original Fish Formula and find it's cheaper than M-F or LC. I'm not too concerned with scent, though anise has been a favorite of mine for the years I thought scent mattered. It's a great and easy way to get maximum gloss from a flat-finish cavity when brushed into the cavity just prior to the pour. Frank

By accident I've found a way to mold a very thin tail regardless of its width. I say by accident because, I found some leftover plastic in the bottom of my pyrex container, which separated into a thin, shiny sheet. It occured to me when pouring Lurecraft sickle-tail worms, that the mold was too deep for the tail section, and pouring a thinness that would give a certain action was difficult to control without overfilling. Overfilling the body is not a big deal with scissors or a blade nearby, but overfilling the tail makes the action crappy. So, now that I had the thinness, I pondered what to do about the shape? If you've got the tail model that you want, put it on a piece of carboard and trace the shape. When making the mold, put the body into the plaster and then make an impression into the plaster with the cardboard tail-shape, but make it very shallow! Remove the cardboard as soon as the super-shallow depression holds. You want the shape to stand out once you've overfilled the tail section. Pour the worm's body and tail, making sure to overflow the sides of the tail. Once cool, pull the worm and mass of thin tail plastic out and cut around the lines of the tail with a blade. Note: The depth of the depression dictates the thickness of the structure, whether it be curly tail, legs, flappers, bungis etc. The pour, depending on the heat-thinness, will not accumulate to an adverse thickness, like with deeper depression molds. Why didn't I think of it sooner? (Of course,this idea may not work for 2 part molds unless you overpour the tail first, slap together the two sides, and then pour the body. After the shape cools, follow the above cutting instructions. Definitely not for mass produced handpours.) Sam

Craig, can you post a picture?

The Jersey bait is shaped like a 3" noodle, contains no salt, is made if a stiffer plastic and is usally only effective wacky rigged. There's really no comparison to Senkos which are tapered at the ends, fat in the center, very soft and and contain a large amount of salt to make them sink faster, horizontally, than any other soft plastic. The Slugo is similar except the action is totally different on the drop. The only similarity is its jerkbait action when t-rigged and worked like a jerkbait. Senkos are specialized to an extent do to their unique hoizontal-fall tip-action and bulk, but they still have multi uses such as c-rig, t-rig, drop shot (in the smaller size), split shot, jerkworm and wacky rig. Most straight worms can be used in the above ways and may do just as well. But none beat the Senkos horizontal drop/action (even with a nail inserted.) Like EW says, it'll be around long after all other designs have gone. If there is any worm design to master, it's the Senko design or some of the good copies. Gary Y stumbled on a goldmine which thousands of anglers and new worm anglers are happy he did. Sam

The second order was never submitted until one week later. Lori blamed it on UPS, but scanners don't lie. The order for glitter and dyes, I called in on Tues. and will be lucky to get next Tues. EW is probably right - not too many sources, competitive prices, the best variety and what you order is what you get. M-F is too expensive but I wonder if they'll match LC's prices. (They have the finest plastisol for almost the same price when ordered in a 5 gal. qty.) Glitterex Corp sells holographic and good mixes of glitter, but at a premium price through craft stores. I need large glitter (.062) in certain colors as well as string glitter. My motto is when the service stinks, as well as the excuses, spread the wealth. One of the sites that has good glitter mixes is creativebeginnings.com. I've used their glitter for many worms with no change in color, but they only come in .015. Sam

Is there another source for glitter other than Lurecraft or M-F. Lurecrafts service stinks. I went to Glitterex corp site, but no sources were available and I'm not sure they would sell retail. Sam

My next mold - a 5" pen with good tapered ends.

If, and only if, you're using plaster molds, coat with epoxy or mod-podge. If the form you used to make the cavity was unsmooth, the shine will only come with a cavity coating. Like was mentioned, use oil to coat any cavity just before pouring and the surface will be much glossier. Craig, how's it going? Thanks for the salt % tip - with softener the worms are coming closer to Senkos in action and fall. FM