GB GONE

On the tail, it will naturally come out a little thicker. It doesn't really need to be though. As far as puting the bait into the pop, make sure your pop is mixed to the consistency on pancake batter, just not to thin. When you lay the bait into the pop, it will sink close to the halfway point on its own. you can gently depress the body further to get it to the halfway point. Don't mess with the tail at all. Jim PS I vented with coffee stirrers to be sure to get enough relief.

Gotcha..... You can see from here Mike is a good guy. D&J is almost in my backyard. Good people too!!! Good luck!! Jim

Just be sure to overpour the "flat" side so you can skin hook the hook point.. I sell the 2 piece because you have to catch fishermen tp catch fish but like the 1 piece because the hook up ratio is so much higher. Jim

You can try Kevin @ www.basstackle.com but he may refer you to Zorn. They might be your guys! Hope you have a big machine to blow these on! You might want to talk to Carolina Mike and have him make the baits for you. Jim

I pour the stew out of these frogs. They fish great and you can cast them a county mile!!! Perfect bubble trail!! My fishing partner is over for the DOD tourney on Lake Eufaula in AL and is tearing them up on these frogs!!!! Jim

No clue really. A friend off of TU sent me some to attempt to mold in different ways. I think he said he got them out of the bargain bin at Cabela's. There is no "id" on the tail. He is catching the fire out of the walleye on them also..... I'll see if he can give me any further info on them. I am sure I still have the original somewhere in the shop. Jim

It only really works due to the inherent insulative properties of the plaster of paris. With aliminum, the mold cools to quick. I really went overboard on the vents and actually intended on drilling a hole in the center of the tail for the vents to disperse the air out. Never needed it though. My vents are thicker than the ones you will find on the aluminum molds as well. Little more trimming but I'll take that over throwing the bait back into the pot or cup! Jim

I made some from plaster of paris that you do not need to open at all to pour. Gave them to a guy on the board as he uses that bait a lot. He said they pour a perfect bait every time. Here is a picture of mold and resulting bait. Jim

Get a hold of Jeff at M-F. He has smoke brown pearl, smoke green pearl and others now. That color looks like it could be made with some of the other transparent colors from M-F as well. Their green pumpkin is very transparent brown (and not really green pumpkin at all)... Just a few other thoughts as the smoke pearl liquid colors leave the bait very transparent vs adding hi-light powder. Jim

I know some of you guys are going to fall over, but I am going to say....hand injection! The learning curve on hand pouring is waaaay longer and can cause you to loose the faith quick. Hand injection will give you immediate positive feedback. I really think that should not be tah big of an issue to you as you can even make some plaster of paris molds to hand pour while hand injecting. The larger issues are getting your color recipes down, work space issues, bait styles to choose, etc.... Soooo many choices, so little time!!!! Jim PS Mike has great advice and has really taken things to the level many want to go. As he said, if you keep pushing forward and doing the right things, you can make some money and have a GREAT time doing all this. On a side note, I have helped design and test a few baits in my time as well. Helps add to the piggy bank a bit and gives you a world of insight into the mold makers head also...

The research I have done leads me to think that design is safe in its design and action. I'm not a patent lawyer though! I think the only issue you would have is if you chose a name close to a previously copyrighted bait like Brush Hawg, etc. Jim

PS I sell to some of the Elite Series Pros also and they will call in the evening and ask "Can you get me 200 swimbaits out in the morning to this hotel?" Other customers can do the same for sure. Certainly you can say no but if you suck it up and do a few, you will get more calls and more business from the guys that actually have the money to support your business. Jim

Amen!!!! A lot of guys/companies think they can just buy hand injectors, molds and BAM... Business!! It takes years to build up clients and a good reputation. Lots of marketing and lots of LUCK! Sure, some companies get some orders right away but little by little, the customer leaves for another upstart product if the first upstart cannot give the customer what they need. Many of my customers have been with me since I started selling because I was sure I had the consistency in my products long before they went into the market. You also have to be willing to spend lots of time improving what you have... Colors, bait styles, website, etc.. Nothing can be stagnant or else the angler may just go somewhere else.... Bob makes a very good point in being honest with your customer and with yourself about what you are willing to do. I finally just opened my website for orders in 2010 becuase I had previous years customers that wanted product. The repeat customers always come first for me. I turned away hundreds of orders during the past few months but many waited for me to reopen based on the reputation of the baits. I have seen MANY come and even more go. Most will go but if you persist and take Bob's advice, you are certain to be able to make a nickel or 2!!! I say go for it and give it a run!!!!!!!!!! Jim

Nice!!!!!! I know I would need to practice more to get mine to work better!! The straight worms are easier for sure. Just get dicey when you have many thin appendages down a bait.... Thanks for all the good info on the twin injectors!! Jim

Bottom line to me is if you make a good quality product, they will come. I have a loooooong wait time for some stuff but guys are willing to wait as they know what they are going to get. Be your own worst critic and you'll be fine. Remember when guys were waiting months for Basstrix baits and paying huge sums to get them? Make a fish catching bait and tehy will come. All the other things will fall into place! Jim

I would try clearing my browser history and temporary internet files. If you are using IE 8.0, look for the Tools area on your toolbar (right hand part of screen). Click on that and go to the Internet Options area. Browser history is right on the front. Click on that and then click the areas to delete. If you are using another browser, find that same area. Jim

Thanks FISHGOD. That is what I am seeing. The port placement dictates the result for me. Even the molds with 4 cavities, 2 on each side of the port, will give 50% good laminates and 50% swirls or odd results. Trial and error for me.... Jim

Thanks Frank. The mold I have does not make a reliable one after 2 or 3 cavities. Mine has some thinner appendages and it seems you get one color or the other. Glad to hear that you are having success on the 2 cavities! I probably need more practice!!!!! Jim

I would suggest you try both and go with what makes sense for you and your situation. Laminates can be hand poured easily without opening the mold. Maybe 2 out of 100 are not perfect. Hand injection makes a perfect bait 99% of the time with one color and near that with laminates. I will say that there are colors that cannot be made with an injector that will need to be hand poured however these are 3,4 or 5 colored baits or baits with a different colored head portion. You may never have the need to do these colors though. Jim PS Correct me if I am wrong on this guys but I believe you may be limited to 1 cavity molds for doing RELIABLE laminates as well. I think once you get to 2 or more cavities, the plastic would mix more the further you get from the port. I am thinking I was told that but have not experienced that myself. I mention that because costs of 1 cavity are high compared to multiple cavity molds.

Del also makes a very high quality injector. I have used mine many times without issue. As far as taking your molds to the next step, consider the sponsors on the site that are in that business. On a custom design mold, I can only speak to the comapny I have used for several. Bob at www.bobstackleshack.com is right on with design, cost and final product. You can provide a sketch or prototype bait and he can take it from there. Good luck!!! Jim

Seems like we could all send them to Kevin, with our banners and baits, and just have him do it!!! LOL!! He is already set-up and ready to go!!! Jim

I think I will STEAL his idea and use it for my site! Very powerful and leaves no wonder what the action is underwater! Thanks for the link Frank! Jim

Your word processing software (WORD, WordPerfect) has software built in and all of the Avery template built in as well. If you need help finding that area of teh software, just let me know. Jim

I'll agree on the pot. Makes things real easy for larger orders! I have an older version pot and Bear made the stirring system. Best thing since sliced bread for running big orders! Jim

I just read the full complaint... 26 pages long. There area at least 23 baits mentioned in the complaint and the whole complaint refers back to the "legs" and how they attach to the body (I think??!!!) Incidentally, the Rage Tail was not mentioned in the complaint. I'll get the link and post it for anyone interested. A part of the complaint is also that Venom has been marketing their Dream Craw with an expired patent number on their packaging. Be forwarned as the Chigger Craw is mentioned, Rage Shad, Rage Eliminator, KISS Craw, Foxy Craw, etc... It has nothing to do with the real design except on the portion where the claws connect which are referred to as "legs". Game changer if Net Bait prevails on all the counts as I see many designs for ALL the mold makers out there that have a similar "leg" portion connecting claws or wings on baits! Jim Link: You have to download the pdf file to see the info. http://www.falsemarking.net/cases/2-10-cv-00932.html