Senkosam

Get some Original Fish Formula (sportfish, craw or shad) oil. It works as well as any other and is especially good as a mold release agent. The price is the most economical you'll find of the oils and the anise (sportfish) smells good. Sam

Lurecraft and M-F have almost any color you want, it's just a matter of finding out how many drops for the amount of plastic melted. Opaque florescent colors need white or pearl to brighten them. Watermelon can be drab or almost florescent green, depending on what color green you use. Mixing colors, as suggested, may result in hues that lean toward one color or another. Metal-flake colors affect the mix by reflecting colors internally through translucent color and by appearing like black spots when veiwed against the light source. Chartreuse flakes will appear differently than silver or gold flakes when mixed into chartreuse. An interesting mix that Wacky Worm came out with is earthworm with medium green and purple flakes. Kalin has an interesting color combo - chartreuse/ watermelon laminate with fine flakes of black and gold and black stick-flakes. Rootbeer with green and black flake is a classic combo. Laminates are not hard to pour once you don't over pour the lower half. Great color combos by the defunct Riverside, are possible with practice. Zoom has duplicated their firetiger in a tube I saw at Walmart. Flor. green with a little pearl and black flake; flor. orange or yam with a little pearl as the other part of the laminate. It's on of my best Trickworm colors for topwater. The imagination is the only limitation. I would like to see more pics or ideas for unique colors and color combos. Sam

If it's a Lurecraft mold, remember, the worm will be slimmer. If you're melting old worms, you just need a pyrex container, popsicle sticks (for stirring), and microwave. Check and stir every 30 sec. after all is melted to Karo syrup consistancy. Pour enough to fill the convave surface that will occur due to cooling, plastic contraction. For a glossier finish, put some scented oil into the cavity just begor pouring. For liquid plastisol, you need dye, flakes(optional) and Salt (powder). Sam

One part or two part mold?

Not too impressed with Lurecraft service. Sent some molds back for credit on another order, which was misplaced. Finally recieved the order over 2 wks. later and was told UPS was at fault. I'll still get glitter and dyes from them, but plastic from M-F and molds I'll make myself. Sam

According to Lurecraft, it increases weight. I use fine black sand from a craft store in place of black flake and use a two pour method to get the weighted part in the middle and non weighted tips at both ends for max action. Besides, it looks like a real worm's stomach contents. Sam

One- and two-part mold making is described very well at: http://www.tacklemaking.com/tacklemakers/default.php?content=knowledge/sb_moldmaking A few important tips about using plaster is that : 1. once it begins to harden, you only have a short period of time to set the worm(s) into it 2. For one-part molds, put the form into the plaster so as little of the surface shows. You want the plaster to wrap around the object as much as possible to avoid a totally flat side when pouring. 3. Coat with Modpodge or epoxy when dry to get a glossy finish after removing a new worm.(unless you want a flat finish) 4. make sure the pour spout is carved out larger at the big end for two part molds and that the vent is small. Two part molds are simple and form almost perfect, totally-round shapes with no flat side. Senkos and other straight, thick worms come out great!! Stiko is a different form and it pays to make 2-parts of it and many other brands of the same form (Magic Stik, wacky worm etc.), as well as different sizes. The problem is with curly appendages not coming out. There are ways to do it though which come out adequate. In fact the method allows fusions forms of totally different worm or grub parts in the plaster. Trick worms have a flat side, but you can make a totally round worm by shoving the form worm into the plastic cavity so the round side is up. Now pour the upper half of the mold. Resin and silicone molds are okay and last a long time, but plaster is far cheaper and does fine for the non-commercial pourer. Del-Mart sells the finest aluminum 2 part molds made for the amateur an pro alike, but $90 a mold may be a little steep for some. *note- you can pick up long rectangular Al pans at Walmart 3/$1 which saves on plaster and the space to store the molds!! Use the round ones for multiple curly-tail worms and grubs. Laminate pours are easy with practice. My firetiger copy is great (i.e. Zooms firetiger tube) Sam

As Al stated, buy a few straight and simple molds (i.e. 4" and 5" Senko type, reaper, Zoom trick worm in 6" and 8" and maybe a 5" straight drop shot worm. Stay away from Lurecrafts more detailed molds (creature bait or those with curly legs or tails.)! Until you're familiar with pouring consistancy and added elements (salt, sand, metal flake), the appendages will come out poor. Lurecraft prices for dyes, flakes, oil is cheaper than M-F, but I get glitter from my local craft store far cheaper and with fancy combos already mixed. Lurecraft sizes are the key for glitter. Small, medium, and large flakes as well as string flakes are offered in many colors. Dyes should include chartreuse, florescent green, motor oil, florescent orange, bubblegum, white and any other favorite colors. Flor. colors must be mixed before heating. The catalog gives some helpful instructions. Eventually you'll go to your local Walmart and pick up a 6 lb. bucket of palster of Paris for $6, some aluminum pans, vasoline and Modpodge glue and form your own one part and two part molds or most plastics you already own (except for the finely detailed stuff as mentioned.) Tacklemaking.com has a complete guide to pouring your own and making your own molds. One last thing. The price per gallon for the best plastisol made (M-F or Calhoun) is far cheaper per gallon if you buy the 5 gal. container. Buy it by the qt. and pay big bucks. In fact M-F is almost the same as Lurecraft per gal. but much better plastic for all the reasons stated in other posts. Consider it if you become a pouring fanatic. Also, keep all your old plastics to remelt. Some color change may occur slightly, but just add a few drops of dye and make a new bait out of old. Mine are coming out bitch'n and catch fish as good as any store bought worms!! Sam

Those little electric coffee bean grinders do an amazing job of turning salt crystals into a fine powder. I only use sea salt (noniodized) from the super market. Is tacklemaking.com's forum down? Error message only. Sam

Thanks Chris, gotta try it. Lurecraft's Dave, told me sand is also included in the mix. I bought some black and white sand from AC Moore Crafts and include sand and pulverized salt in my worms a month ago. I added too much hardener but the worms caught fish in spring anyway. Boy do I love to handpour for far cheaper than Senkos. Post some pics. Sam

Al, I use Gamefish Fish Formula and apply it every other pour with a cheap water-color brush to distribute evenly and as a thin film. Any oil would probably do if it was thin enough, even Walmart's Baitmate. FF is cheap, goes a long way and seems to impregnate into the surface of the hot plastic. It coats the Mod Podge gloss on my plaster molds also. All my pours are stored in the stuff in plastic bags to keep them oily. Sam

Has anyone been able to duplicate the mix of components of the Senko? Is it necessary to keep the bait super soft for the same successful action as the original? The handpours I produce are definitely somewhat stiffer than Senkos, but hold up far longer on the hook and still catch fish. I haven't figured out the proper mix of sand and salt to exactly duplicate the Senko, but as soon as the wife has to work and I don't, I'm going to experiment with the microwave. One question - if I don't mix 3G or lurecraft plastic, will the product be softer? Sam

I've had the same problem with all Lurecraft molds. To solve the problem, I brush on an oily fish formula just before the pour (or you could spray the cavity with garlic Pam) and the lures come out much slicker. I wonder if Devcon epoxy would adhere to the silicone? Anyone try it? Sam

Got a picture of the set up? Frank M

Does it help having fish standup off the bottom? These floaters have caught fish on top, but I haven't tried Texas or Carolina rigs with them. These were cast from plaster, 2-part molds. Sam

Try tapping the bottom of the plater container on a flat surface to bring bubbles to the surface and then move them to the side with a flat object (spatula). Learned this in arts & crafts years ago.

Anyone ever use tandem blade in-lines? or in-lines for weed fishing? Absolutely no one uses them in my area. (Thank God!) Sam

Thanks Red, I already got the plaster and Mod Podge and will attempt my first 2 part mold later this week. Sam

Is the melting point for latex too low for making worm molds? A local craft store sells a 16 oz. bottle of liquid latex for $10. Sam

Just started pouring a week ago. Still having problems making flor. colors bright. Here's a few sticks I poured - new colors ordered. Also pictured are 'fusion' baits that have done very well. (kalin crappie grub/berkley 2" power tube (clearance at Dick's for .97); 2.5" doubletail grubs from Cabela's. I like the site - my first time posting here. Great info and idea exchange.

When I recycle old plastics, I alway add hardener. The action is still good but the plastic is durable. Sam

You may have to eventually invest in a Lee Production pot for $52. The pot automatically heats to 325 regardless of the setting (low or 7) and is put lower with less plastic in the pot. A thin layer of plastic will scorch (like when the pot is first plugged in, but a 1/2" layer or greater, will staty liquid and not scorch. Stirring is still necessary, but not as often. My small coffe grinder does great making salt the consistancy of fine flour. Got to try it with metal flake from Walmart. Sam