Jig Man

I messed around with them for several years until I used a Bobby Garland baby shad. It out produced the slab buster so bad that I have quit making them. I did buy a mold from Jacob's called a stinger which I now make and use when crappie fishing.

My next issue was getting the plastisol to pour. It was a long process. No matter what I did they wouldn't pour. The tails never got any plastisol no matter what I did. I took some cattle catheters and converted them to injectors and still did not get what I needed as I couldn't get consistent pressure. I added compression fittings to the catheter tubes and my problems were solved. I am not recommending this to you as the injectors that I made have a very short life and can come apart without warning and cause serious injury. I only posted this to give you some ideas as to how you might come up with something for yourself.

A few years ago I wanted the same thing. I couldn't find anything that would cost less then $400 at a machine shop so I made my own. It was labor intensive but I got the job done. I bought an aluminum rod the same size as a slab buster. I cut off a piece and filed it down until it was the exact same shape as a slab buster. Then I bought some brass rods that the aluminum would fit into. I cut them into about 4" pieces. I took the aluminum piece and put it into an (oiled) brass tube and poured molten lead into it. That gave me a plug that was the reverse of the baits I wanted to make. I did 20 some of them so I could make several baits at a time.

Yep I used mine this morning. It smelled like the stuff my plumber friend uses. It worked like a charm. I'll bet I could have gotten a gallon of his stuff for my $14.

Yep I bought a $14 bottle yesterday at Sportsman's Outlet.

Simple idea that solved a problem. Congrats.

I think I did a no no. I just remembered something about posting pics now. I have tried to remove it but don't have the skills. Sorry Curt.

to be a ready fire aim guy. I should have done more experimenting before I asked the fuse question. Most of my injection molds swirl when I try to double inject so I figured that a laminate plate would be necessary on the one also. This morning I decided to shoot some "swirl craws" to see just how they could come out. They laminated perfectly. So all I had to do is inject a pincer color, cut them off and double inject the other colors. No glue needed. Sorry to have bothered you guys.

Thanks Mark. I'll try to find it locally. I'm afraid that USPS won't ship it. They wouldn't ship Franfort Arsenol drop out. I had to have it Fedexed and that cost more than the spray.

Let me explain a bit more. When the final version of the craw comes out of the mold the claw is fused to the back of the craw as it was in the mold when the back was injected. However the belly was put into the mold and layed next to the claw so the belly part of the leg is not attached to the claw, only the back. So far I haven't found any glue that I have on hand that will cement them together. I haven't fished them yet but I can't imagine the claw staying intact even for one fish the way it is. This is such a small area that I don't thing I can fuse them with heat without hurting the already fused part. The area that needs to be fused is about the size of a Q tip stick. I am planning to go to Bass Pro tomorrow and see if they have any plastic glue.

I just got a good looking craw mold. The belly features are incredible. I have made a laminate plate for it and want to do a 3 colored craw, (back, belly, and claws). I plan to shoot claws, then shoot bellies and remove their claws. I'll put the original claws in with the belly and shoot the back. I know the back will fuse to the claw but it is going to be weak where it doesn't attach to the arm part of the belly. In your opinion, what is the best way to fuse this open spot? Is there a glue that will work on plastisol and give a good bond?

Thanks guys. I knew someone had it figured out.

I have read on here about bending the "chatter bait" blades and which way for which application. My question is does it matter where you put the bend, middle/ upper portion/ or where?

I have printer's lead that I sometimes use. It just takes a hotter setting. The ladle should do a good job for you.

Thanks for all of the info guys. I guess I did not do a very good job with my searching.

The Bass Tackle 5" is the one I had and was too long.

I bought one from Bass Tackle because of the way it is made. When I got it and poured some up they were way too long for my needs. Bass Tackle graciously allowed me to trade it for a different mold. I looked for a 4" and couldn't find anyone who offered one. Anyone have a mold that they like? I am wanting to use the as jig, chatter and spinner bait trailers.

I have used lots of things to heat plastisol and wound up with a microwave. I don't like pyrex type containers so I switched to Nor Por silicone cups a few years ago. I have found that short reheats of 20-30 seconds between pours keeps the plastisol workable.

I'd use a stainless steel wire larger than the largest line I'd use. I'd coat them with oil each pour instead of dropout as I don't think it would last but one pour and soon get expensive.

It all depends on how you plan to use them. I've run 3/4 and 3/5 combinations quite a bit but I also use a 5/7 if I want to make a wake.

I only heat the head enough for the paint to stick and have a dull finish. I use a heat gun and keep the heat away from the hook eye. Most of mine don't fill with paint but occasionally one will. When that happens, I use a wooden kabob skewer to clean the paint out of the eye before baking. I also have some Pop Snaggers handy if I should miss one and bake the eye closed.

Cut the air flow down if you can. It might even take a double thickness of your filter.

Use a heat gun and count seconds then dip. Add or subtract seconds until you get the right count for the second coat to go on. Once you do that then you have a repeatable formula.

Thank you I'll give it a try.

Of all the heads that I have tried in the last month I like this one the best. It really has a good vibration. However, it wants to run shallow. A couple of days ago I was fishing a rocky 45° bank parallel. The fish were around cover in 7-9 fow. I was using 1/2 oz baits with a 2 tab living rubber skirt and a split tail trailer. My baits on the old Hilts spinner bait would stay down and bounce off the cover. When I would use the Trokar bait it would rise up in the water column and not hit the cover like I wanted it to do. Should I bend the blade on this bait to help keep it down? If so, what direction?