Richard Prager

QUESTION: How do you guys bind your large 2-piece PoP or DWP molds together prior to pouring??? All my previous 2-piece molds, prior to this jumbo mold, have been for 4" plastics and were relatively small. I bound the halves together using heavy rubber bands... quick & easy. But the jumbo 3 cavity mold pictured above seems to need more pressure that can be gotten from rubber bands alone. I used 2 big C-clamps with 1/2" plywood on each side of the mold. This worked but is a royal PITA to assemble and must be reassembled with each pouring. I'd appreciate any ideas. You might try large hand spring clamps.

I do remember reading a thread about it. I believe you would have to make a pop mold first from one of your baits. Glue a piece if metal in there for the hookslot.Then you can make an RTV mold from the new master. Try running a search for hookslots or maybe someone else will chime in.

Day: 10.5" Tricks, frogs Night: 10.5" Tricks, frogs, large jointed Jitterbug

I hardly use it at all but my presto Pot won't pour unless it's on the highest setting. That's without using salt. I don't think 400 really is 400.

I find there are just too many variables with a given fromula. Such as amount of salt used, not to mention the size of the crystals used. The larger the crystal the more translucent the bait. Floured salt makes more of an opaque bait. As a starting point, I use the color amount for a non-salt bait and then add from there.

Thanks, Maki! Be careful, Skeeterdan. I started pouring two years ago in my garage. If anyone sees my wife and kids, send them the lawn needs mowing!

That's interesting. Do you get many bubbles that way and what is the ratio old/new do you use. I keep tossing my scraps in a box. When the box fills, I put another in it's place. I have at least 100 lbs sitting here.

Great web site, Maki! Welcome aboard. Richard

With that particular mold you HAVE to pour the feet first. With the mold open, pour into the feet on one side of the mold. Then close the mold and pour the rest.The mold has to be warm and you have to pour rest into the closed mold otherwise the feet and legs won't bond and will peel apart. With the sprue, I just trimmed it just a bit. It kind of looked like a button. I used a frog hook with a hitch hiker and inserted the hitchhiker into the button. Here's a link to the hook. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/attachments/soft-plastics/2215d1190150632-frogs-583e_1.jpg

When you pour the feet, try using only 3 or 4 ounces in the cup. It will be much easier to control the flow into the mold. It's a good bait and I caught a lot of fish on it. I caught more fish leaving the the topoff on there.

If you are only pouring for yourself, you might find you will have better action if you don't trim all of the flash around the feet. I don't have that mold anymore, but I also use to leave the sprue (overpour)on as well.

Make sure you put some money aside for a good rehab program:lol: Welcome aboard!

Type in swirls using the search feature. There are several great threads explaining this.

Top: Black/silver flake/black lumina Bottom: methiolate

I use the microwave/pyrex method but see a similar thing happen when pouring with some of M-F's colors. Their smoke pearl line is one of them. I have to pour out the whole cup. If I reheat, I get a brownish tint. This is the plastic scorching, I imagine. Some of their colors are VERY weak compared to others and it take sometimes 4 times the amount of color in comparison to other brands. Certain colors also require LESS time to heat to a pourable state. If I heat their white, smoke pearls and pumkinseed the same amount of time as their other colors, the plastic will scorch. I have to use the same time as if I'm pouring a clear bait. You might try mixing a smaller amount of the brown/grape in a pyrex to do the tails.

Best frog out there, bar none IMO. Certainly the most weedless.

You might try slicing the tail at an angle (like a speedworm), texpose it so it's weedless and twitch it weightless though the lily pads or grass.

A Speed Worm can be fished in many ways. Color: Black/blue flake covers day and nightime fishing As it is with a bullet weight As it is with a split shot As a top water buzz bait Like a jerk bait Take off the tail and fish it like a conventional stick Take off the tail and fish it wacky Take off the tail and fish it on a shakey head Break it half and drop shot

In the fall and winter(if you can call it that) I've been throwing them on a Carolina Rig with real good results. Lately, I've either been using a shakey head. For the conventional style sometimes I'll use heavy owner hook, coupled with one of those Parasite clips which allow for a good sink rate. When I wacky rig, I'll use one of those gammy weedless with a 1/32 oz bullet or put a nail in the stick. I live in South Florida and fish the Everglades almost exclusively now that Lake Okeechobee is just about unfishable for lack of water. I'm normally fishing 0-5 feet of water. I stick my rod over the side to check the depth!

I'm probably in the minority, but I don't use salt at all. Not even in my sticks. I like my baits to be as bouyant as possible and float up off the bottom. I also prefer the colors you can achieve without salt. Don't get me wrong here, I do throw sticks with salt. Those I buy or trade with other members. I don't like all the work involved in grinding, flouring and stirring every two sticks or so.

Thanks for the follow up. Have you fished them yet and if so, what hook are you using?

Here are some of the plastic providers: Del-Mart/Calhoun Plastic M-F Plastic Lurecraft

I know that Delw accepts PayPal. Some others do as well. Just go to their websites and it will be posted.

Sounds like a keeper to me! Congratulations to the both of you!

After they set up overnight make sure you use the right size bag for the baits so they will lay straight. For example, if you have a 7.25" worm, use a 8" by 4" bag. 10.5" worm use 11" by 4" bag, 5.25" stick use a 6" by 4" bag, etc.