longhorn

I use Elmer's Glue All...not wood or school glue. It will withstand heat of pouring plastic with no problem...as I said in one post...I have POP molds over 30 years old that will still pour. If you take care of them and store them properly they will last a very long time. I store mine in the plastic shoe boxes with a Viva paper towel between the molds. This prevents chipping ,may help absorb moisture and the cavities are nice and clean when you get the mold out to pour. Moisture is the thing most damaging to a POP/Elmer's mold.

I use Elmer's Glue All and mix it with water when flooding the mold. It can be used straight if you choose to paint the cavities with a small brush. Note the second photo and how shiny the cavities are...that's how the bait will come out. A release agent is not necessary. I have no experience with two part POP molds...sorry. Reason being that I believe in most cases a hand poured bait with a flat top will perform just as well as the full round counterpart...there are several exceptions however.

I'm posting this because I read posts from newbies who are struggling with mold making and deciding what mold is best. For my money POP molds are still the best way to go for people who like to tinker with making their own soft baits for whatever reason....maybe not retail but that's still possible with POP. The molds in the photos are made from POP and Elmer's. Made my first mold in '74 and some cavities still pour. So you guys just getting started and on a low budget (like most of us) give POP a good try and you'll be surprised how it performs. I'm going to get some unusual responses about one of the molds.

Matt, really like the idea of the rod through the bait.....might be able to actually do this with one-piece open molds (POP and RTV) also by modifying them a little...I don't think it would be necessary to seal the tail to keep the air in and you could stop the wire back from the head to keep it solid. I'm an old school pourer and avoid two-piece molds mostly. I prefer multi-cavity open molds which allow me to pour 15 baits in about a minute. ps. carved a swim bait...made a mold...went to the duck pond...failed miserably...back to the drawing board...the reason I bring this up is your rod idea may allow open mold pouring of a swimbait with an air cavity and the rod will be much easier to remove than a tall knife through a short slot. Thanks, Jim for starting this thread and to all for the ideas and discussion....this is what's best about TU.

A POP mold coated with Elmer's Glue All will give you all the shine you want and detail too. You can apply by painting with an artist brush or flooding the mold with glue thinned with water. A second coat may be needed to get the shine you want. Mix some glue and water, try 4/1 Glue/water in a soft drink bottle and pour on the mold till the cavities overflow a little...rub the top of the mold with your finger to seal that...swish the mix back and forth a couple times to make sure the cavities get covered and then turn the mold upside down and drain the glue off. I did a master yesterday and one coat gave me a pretty shiny bait....that didn't perform ps My opinion is that the shine is for fisherman...I prefer dull baits...look down at a minnow or bluegill in the water...they look dull to me. The only reason I coat a mold is to get it to release without having to use oil or spray of some kind. Hope this helps.

Matt, I'm done being upset and I'm glad to see your post. It gives me more confidence to fish these baits in average lakes that have average fish. I read in a couple different places that they were primarily for 3 to 7 lb fish and that's all I was going by. I'll readily admit that the average fish I catch is not in this range but I do get some good ones now and then. Hopefully I'll have a good fishing report next week if this cold front lets us fish. Thanks for the insight.

I use worm plastic for most of my masters...also have used canning wax for some...it will release from an rtv mold but not POP. If the existing mold us POP I'd use plastic. Canning wax can also be carved for use as a master in a POP mold. Another thing I've done before is use play doh id the mold is really simple...you can press it in the cavity and carefully remove it...but if the mold has a lot of detail probably not too good. I like the idea above about overpouring the whole thing...great idea and good looking mold.

Sounds like it could be a Swirl Minnow sold by Netcraft.

Thanks, Matt. My comments are only about the action of the different baits. I didn't mean that the Ghost baits are better fish catchers than the Basstrix because I've yet to fish any them in a lake where they'll be exposed to decent fish. I'm fishing on a decent lake Monday and Tuesday and will report on the results. I know the Basstrix has won tons of money and is proven. The lakes I fish don't have populations that average 3 to 7 lbs so all the paddletails may be a little big for the average fish. I readily agree that there are no magic baits...I'm always looking for another tool for the toolbox..I'm thinking more of spring when the big girls are up shallow. Y'all have a good weekend.

Jeez..can a guy not put his opinion on here without getting yelled at? I said that my opinion was that this bait had superior action...not exagerated action...it has a more natural swimming motion than the other baits I've tested. That's my opinion. I've been fishing for bass for 38 years and designing and making baits for over 33 years and know natural action when I see it. I have also spent more total dollars on your baits, Matt, than on Jim's. Your bluegill baits are awesome. So just get over the sour grapes and don't yell at people who put their opinions on here. I think you owe me an apology.

Most people on here don't use a hot plate to heat plastic. The methods vary from microwaves to injection machines. The hot plate is very hard to control and you are right....burning is almost a given. The microwave is very popular since it's available to most folks.

I got some Ghost Phantom Shads from ebay and took them to the duck pond to check out the action. I used the same rig and same 1/16 oz. weighted hook as in my previous test posted here. The action of the Ghost bait was superior to the Basstrix and the Rabbits don't even get a mention except that I'm mad that I paid for them. The swimming action looks so natural and the colors to me are more natural than the painted reflective scales. This is what I was hoping for in a swim bait. Ghost is my winner so far. I've ordered some other brands and will report on how they do.

I have been making POP molds for over 30 years and have found Elmers Glue-all to be the best coating...cheap and it dries thin so you don't lose hardly any detail. Here is the process I use for making a multi-cavity POP mold: ...this method is for making pop molds using a plastic bait as the original. I use a plastic container with the bottom cut out....trace the outline of the container upsidedown on a serving tray or other flat clean surface (your plaster will be poured on this so a tray is handy). the outline is the size of the mold so pick your containers according to what you're making the mold for. take permanent double-sided scotch tape and tape the entire area inside the outline with very little overlap. wash plastic originals in detergent to remove all oil. arrange originals on the tape to your liking...press firmly on entire length to make sure they stick to tape...then put the container you traced back over your taped originals and tape it down to the tray using masking tape....mix pop to the consistency of pancake batter...make sure you have enough for a thick mold so it wont break easily....pour pop over originals and then gently work the tray back and forth to level the plaster...then gently tap the tray on a counter or table to release any big air bubbles from around the lures...not too hard because you want the tape to hold...let it cure through the heating cycle and starts to cool...then carefully remove the container and then the mold from the tray....trim excess plaster around edges of mold and make smooth rounded edges...look at the cavities and trim excess plaster there if needed...don't trim too much...now bake in the oven for an hour at 350 to dry....after that flood the cavities with a mix of water and elmer's white glue-all...start with 1 part water and 4 parts glue...milky constistency...spread the glue over all mold surfaces to seal... drain excess by shaking the mold...after the glue dries it's ready for a test pour...sometimes a second coat is needed...if you have bubbles in your pours you can apply more glue in only those cavities by flooding or with an artists brush.

I've dipped many of these baits and am still learning. Sounds to me like the bait was too thin or the plastic too soft. If you don't wait long enough between dips the first dip will start to run again. I've had the same problem on the last part which is supposed to be single dipped. I've recently got some Basstrix baits and the plastic on them is very stiff...almost has a vinyl feel to it. It's seems harder than any plastic I have. These baits are very hard to make...I've had several tries and still not there.

I bought mine from Netcraft and am terribly dissapointed with the performance. See my post on Paddletail field test.

Don't know if Createx will work but I do know special paint for plastic is sold by Lurecraft and probably others.

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My opinion is that matt finish baits look more natural...I would prefer all my molds produce a flat finish baits....in the water it makes no difference anyway.

I didn't mean I poured in the back yard....I pour in the garage and use heaters in the winter...gets cold in north Texas too.

I've been melting a bunch of zoom finesse worms lately and they don't appear to have any salt...none shows up in the bottom of the pan like it does when I melt senkos...the new zoom labels says "better than salt" whatever that means.

I always wear a respirator and never pour in the house...the plastic fumes are probably worse than cigarettes if someone ever really checked...I heard a long time ago that plastic paint fumes are really bad news although I've never been exposed to them.

My pouring table uses heat lamps and can be seen under the thread "pouring table". I also assume the plastic fumes are dangerous and always wear a respirator when I pour and I never pour in the house. I usually only make small batches for myself as needed so the speed is not an issue. The heat lamps are far better than electric burners.