NJFishRGuy

Me, too!

I think a lot depends upon which bait we're talking about. I started by pouring soft stickbaits; I was going through several hundred dollars worth of Senkos and the like in a season (at $0.60 per bait), so the cost to get set up and to make my own paid for itself. I don't think it's cost effective to make your own tubes, for example, though if you want to make baits no one else has or like to experiment with colors, etc., it's great. It's also a bit addictive... I've got an entire backpack full of baits that I've made in the last year and haven't used. Tomorrow I have to sort them out and sell/give some away. No room!

I have all three sizes from Lure Craft and the concensus above is correct. They pour ok if you get the consistency right, but the most difficult thing is filling the flappers. But they catch fish regardless... I keep begging Del for the small size in aluminum but so far ...

I also found this thread, which is more recent... http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=5439

Funny you mention that... I opened a new gallon container yesterday. (It had been sitting on a table, not on the cold concrete floor.) I mixed it for 4 minutes with a drill mixer and put some into a smaller container I use. It sat for about a half hour, then I mixed it gently by tilting the container back and forth; there were no visible bubbles. But when I melted the plastic and went to pour, the first bait was completely covered with very small bubbles. They eventually cleared up but it took quite a while. There was a thread about something similar a while back; here's the link. Other than the bubbles, the baits I poured turned out fine. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=4757&highlight=calhouns+bubbles

But is anyone making aluminum Smallie Beaver Molds? I keep asking Del and Bob, but so far no joy...

Actually, I also add salt only for weight. But seeing some of the beautiful baits above , I'm going to make some without even if I do have to add some lead (or tungsten in CA) weight to make it fall...

I'm not sure I understand, but is this what you're trying to do? http://www.tackleunderground.com/modules/mx_kb/kb.php?mode=article&k=2

Those are some beautiful baits! I understand that they are (sometimes) supposed to be fished weightless for a really slow fall; for that, seems to me salt would be needed. The reason everyone wants to pour them is that a) they are not made in the colors that are needed everywhere, and they are often out of stock virtually everywhere you check. I like them better without salt; I think I'm going to start making more of them that way.

I've added a lot of salt to the beavers I've made so far, but I notice that many of the photos posted here are clear, translucent colors, so no salt. The originals sink on their own, that's why I added the salt, but what's the general concensus? Salt or no salt?

Half mask and no eye protection (though I do wear polycarbonate glasses).

Hmmmm... maybe that wasn't a very good subject title. Anyway, I went back and looked at the first group of baits that I had made, and the majority of them have the flaps filled out. The difference was that I used one ounce of softener to 4 ounces of plastic (with 2 ounces of salt). I would buy an aluminum one, but no one is making an aluminum smallie beav'r that I'm aware of. I asked Bob's and Delw.

I've never made tubes, but there was a good thread on here not long ago on the subject. Check out: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=4761&highlight=tubes Good luck!

I'm going to give that a try, along with adding a little softener and heating a bit more.

That's what I was going to try next. My first batch had much better fill and had the same amount of salt, BUT it had one ounce of softener to four ounces of plastic. This last batch that didn't fill well had no softener. I'm going to add a little softener, decrease the salt, keep the plastic hotter and see if I can improve the outcome.

Anyone else having trouble filling in the "flappers" in the smallest LC B'ver mold? I don't expect that little point to come out, but I am losing much of the flapper. I was using 2 parts plastic and 1 part salt with no softener. I've tried increasing the heat to the point that it starts to smell like it's burning and still no complete fill. Do most of you guys use salt with this bait? I notice that the originals sink, that's why I added the salt. Any suggestions?

You've gotten a lot of good advice, especially Travis' reply. I find it's very important to NEVER touch the side of the opening while pouring; try to pour straight down the middle of hole. Then fill up the reservoir until it "mounds" and go on to the next stick. You have to stir really well when using salt, which you are not yet if I read your original post correctly, and stir between sticks. I pour two sticks and then stir again. One other point is that I would not use a two cup Pyrex cup; use a one cup and fill it half way. I used a two cup when I started and found it was much more difficult to control, so asked for advice here. Several people recommended using a one cup and it made a huge difference in control. I would start out pouring no more than 4 ounces at a time. Best of luck to you...

The molds are on the web site. They are NOT on the first page, labeled "New Molds", but are somewhere around the 5th page.

It occured to me while driving back from the Suffern Show that I should have added a hook to the sticks before timing them. When I logged on to post this information, I see that Frank has mentioned the same thing! It seems that great minds think alike... I added a Gamakatsu 2/0 EWG hook and dropped the two "sugar" sticks. The one that floated without a hook now fell at a 6.6 seconds/foot rate. The other, heavier stick fell at 3.4 seconds/foot. As a comparison, I also added a hook to the salt and softener stick, and found that it fell at 2.0 seconds/foot. Again, I must have not evenly mixed the sugar or the two sticks would have similar fall rates.

I had also received a sample of Senkosam's sugar crystals (which are not sugar at all but plastic flakes), and took some time this morning to play with them. Since Shmang has already done a great job looking into how they work with some salt added (he used 75% "sugar" crystals and 25% salt), I decided to examine the characteristics of the sugar crystals alone. I had a very limited amount of the material, so I made two five-inch sticks using 2 parts plastic and 1 part sugar crystals. I then made a couple of the same sticks using 2 parts plastic and 1 part salt, then finally made some sticks with my usual formula of 4 parts plastic, 2 parts salt and one part softener. The sugar stirred and stayed suspended much better than the salt. It was also much easier to add, unlike the constant fight when you add salt. The sugar also poured somewhat easier than the salt, more like pouring a bait with some glitter added but no salt. The salt baits were opaque milk white (see photo) while the sugar baits were the natural plastic color (I used Calhoun's) but appeared to have some texture inside; I assume these are the sugar crystals. The sugar baits FELT softer than the others, but when I picked them up by the middle I was surprised to find that the salt bait with softener hung farther down (see photo to compensate for my lack of descriptive powers) and that the sugar bait hung about the same as the salt only bait. I then tried dropping the baits into a bucket of water to see how they fell. The water temperature was about 50 degrees F. The salt bait without softener fell at about 2.1 seconds per foot, but the action was subdued. The salt bait with softener fell about 2.2 seconds per foot with good action. (I timed each bait I had made, averaged their times, and corrected for the actual depth of the bucket.) Then I dropped the sugar bait, and was quite surprised when the first one floated! I thought I had mixed the sugar well but maybe not well enough, as the second bait fell, albeit slowly, at 6.0 seconds per foot with decent action. I would conclude that Shmang's idea of adding some salt is a necessity to get a reliable fall. I would very much like to see what the baits look like without coloring with the 75% sugar/25% salt mixture. Shmang, if you could post some photos it would be appreciated. A final disclaimer... I had a very small amount of the sugar, and the less total material you work with the harder it is to get the mixture exactly right. I know the sugar mixture was close, but I was working with a very small amount of plastic and a small error may have had a major effect on the bait sinking vs. floating. Hope this info helps... maybe the next tester will try adding a little salt and a little softener and posting his results.

I use a drill-powered paint mixer to stir up the plastic in the one gallon bucket for three minutes, then scoop a quart into a Tupperware-like fruit juice container with a cup right after mixing. This way it's thoroughly mixed, and I can mix it in the smaller container before pouring by tilting it back and forth repeated and shaking lightly. This prevents the bubbles. You could use a larger container but I only pour for myself and friends so the one quart size works OK. Actually, the picture on the Del-Mart web site shows a different type of container, (sort of like an anti-freeze container) and I was really concerned this was new packaging, since I didn't know how I'd stir it then. Sounds like it's still the bucket, which I prefer.

Jerry, Thanks for the reply, and for moving my post to the most appropriate place. I appreciate it!

I'm not sure that this is the best place to raise this issue, but is anyone else having trouble with the toolbar loading at the top of the TU page? The one that says "Home Forums Photos How-To ...". It often never loads for me and I have to refresh 3-4 times to get it to display. It's very irritating, but I'm not sure it's not related to my computer. Any help appreciated!

I get this sometimes too and I have no idea what causes it. It's not an air hole; I've cut the baits open and checked. It's not an empty reservoir; I keep them completely filled. It's not how long the bait cools; I've gone upstairs for something, and not come back for 15 minutes, and STILL had it. I am at a lost, but you're not alone with this issue, brother... Good news is it doesn't affect how the fish bite!

Jim, Those baits are so effective because bass are first and foremost sight feeders. In the bass' brain, they act like food so they are food. Or in some cases they act like a threat (lizard on a bed) and so they get smashed. All I'm saying is that once the bass strikes, it's more likely to hold on to the bait if it has scent. And yes, I sometimes put scent on crankbaits and even spoons. (I've often thought that the perfect solution for a jigging spoon is to coat it in clear plastic so it'll hold scent better. Now that I'm pouring my own baits, maybe I'll try that.) Sam, I respectfully disagree. First of all, I know several excellent fishermen who fish Federation and even BASS Open events and use scent extensively. So the thought that pros never use it isn't consistent with my experience. Second, I just catch more fish with it than without. It's not a confidence thing; it's just true. Virtually all the guys I fish with regularly have the same experience. As I said, maybe the pros don't need that extra hold time but it helps me.