Mattlures

That was a Cabelas brand bait they came out with about 5 years ago. I searched thier site and couldnt find it so they must not be making them any more

The ove glove used to be my goto glove but they are expencive and they dont last. once you get too much plastic on the glove it gets too hot. I have since gone to these gloves - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices And I double them up. They work great and only the top glove gets plastic on it. Throw it away and put on another one. They are cheap and work VERY well.

Basstrix made thier baits hollow for dipping. They did this because they could creat their awsome finishes. Everybody else in the world made Basstrix knockoffs so they just followed suit. A solid bait with a hook slot will work just as good. The colapsability of a Basstrix is a slight advantage but I dont think its enough to matter.

Ha ha I havent taken roids since my early 20's Lol. I put bills on my baits becuase thats EXACTLY how I want them to swim. I also have non billied baits that swim exactly how I want them to. There is no guessing. I used to guess, but after many very controlled experiments and proto types I pretty much know what they will do before I see them swim. I dont get too many suprises. Just takes working out the bugs

Depends on how good you are and what your making. if you are making on of the best lures in the world you can charge alot for it and people will pay for it. If your making something thats similar to many other baits then you will probably have to charge what they are charging. My point is you can build a nice balsa bait but why would I buy it over a Rapala?. If it costs less, maybe I would. If its a better design then I probably would. if its a proven producer and not too expencive then I certainly would. However if it doesnt look any better and doesnt perform any better why would I spend more money on it? You have to think like a consumer. What makes you buy a lure? for most it is simply not worth the time they put into it to sell a lure at comparable market value. So you have to make your bait more desirable or cheaper.

oooooooowww that swims good

Thanks guys. Snax your baits look great. I will give you a little advise though. It is much easier to get a detailed master by carving it then by trying to use a taxidermy blank. Even if you find the perfect size and its straight a lot of the detail bearly shows up on the actual finished bait. This is why I carve them. I can make my own taxidermy replicas and I still preferr to carve them. Thanks for the kind word fellas

Thanks for the kind words fellas. I apreciate it, ecpecialy coming from the talent on here

Mattlures Hard Bluegill Series Swimbaits

Combining two ideas into one is not patentable. You best bet is to just figure out the best way to produce the bait yourself or contract somebody to build it for you and still keep it under your name.

Thanks fellas

Does anybody have any good sources for heavy duty 2x or musky grade splitrings in bulk. Besides barlows, stamina, Jans, Lakeland, worth, ???? Thanks in advance

The faom would make it less bouyant. By filling in the empty space with foam you are replacing air with foam. Foam is heavier then air. If you wanted to add weight then you would be better of sealing the hole back up with a small peice of plastic and PVC glue.

I buy direct from Owner in bulk and thier prices are much better then thier resale packages. I suggest you call them and find out for yourself. The worst thing that can happen is they wont sell you to you or they are to costly.

Ok its so simple I am sure many of you already do this but I havent seen it discussed. If it has oh well. You can take your old molds that you dont use or that didnt come out as well as you liked or exta silicone from when you mixed too much and reuse it. The next time you pour a mold only fill it 3/4 of the way with new fresh liquid silicone. Then cut up you old silicone into chunks and push them down into the fresh silicone. As long as you are using the smae type of silicone it will bond to itsself. I go throgh my molds and cut up old ones and temps etc, and I precut it. I have a box of chunks in assorted sizes that I use every time I make new molds. I have saved me alot of money. Just dont mix platinum with tin cures.

It depends. I use a lot of different things. Oomoo is the easiest molding material that I have used. However it tears easily and it distorts easily if the mold is not stored flat. oomoo also cures agaisnt almost anything. Platinum silicone is much stronger but it wont cure against a lot of the materials os coatings I use. So if I want to use a platinum mold I will make a master mold from my original proto using oomoo. Then I will make several castings to use as masters in the Platimun. You can use the platinum for lead and its tear strenght is much stronger then oomoo. I use steel molds for mass production and many other types of molds for different aplications. Each type of molding material has its posatives.

Longhorn the green part will settle and get real thick on the bottom. I use the mixer part from a kitchen mixer in my drill. The blue part will separate but its easier to mix just mix both parts real good before using them. I dont know how long I have had some sit but its been a while at times. The only time I have had it go bad was when I only had a little left in the bucket and I had it for a long time. You should be fine. I like the oomo because its cheao and fast and easy to use. I use it for prototyping.

first start by mixing the epoxy with something non pourus. Mix together slowly without whipping it. This way you start with less bubbles. You can also mix it in the bottom of an unopened cold soda can. This gives you more working time and gives the bubbles more time to rise and pop. Thinning it a tiny bit also helps. When applying it you can brush the bubbles out by running your brush over them, and lastlly you can apply heat to pop the bubles once your bait is coated. You can use a torch or BBQ lighter or a heat gun. Also once the bait is painted I suggest not touching it with bare skin. The oils from your hand can make the epoxy bead up. Use some disposable latex gloves to handle your baits.

if your paint is not totaly dried up it can be restored. If its like jelly your still good. Add a little MEK and a ball berring and shake. Keep adding MEK as the paint absorbs it. The thicker it is the longer this will take. You may need to let it set for a few days to a week. It all depends on how much it has evaporated.

nothing directed at you. it was a general statement. I see so many questions that just require a little thought to figure them out. If your way is easier then its better. Also you can use the cheap silicon adhesive to make your silicon bond to the metal. Rough up your molding silicon for a better bond

Your lure master should have the oposite of a slot. It should have a piece of metal the same size as the metal inserts coming out of the belly. That way when you pour your mold over your masters there is a slot in the mold. Now you have several pieces of metal( I used thin sheet metel from home depot) that will fit into the slot in the mold. You can remove them for a solid bellied bait or put them in for a sloted bait. I made a master metal piece and then traced all the reast using that master. I cut them on a band saw and smoothed the edges with a belt sander. The whole process is fast and easy. My bait master was hard so I used silicon for my molds. It just takes a little thinking. This is how I made my original minnows which are a slotted bait

Alginate works good for cheap fast prototyping

Those guys are good. Tony is a monster carver

Thanks again fellas

Dealers always pay the shipping.