mark poulson

Can I use iodized table salt in my soft plastics?

Is 8" long enough to stir a gallon jug?

Here's a Predator Baits wiggle wart I painted: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/13346-20140518-104501-resized/ I dipped the blank quickly in clean acetone to get a virgin plastic surface for paint adhesion, and then shot my Createx transparent colors right onto the blank, with no primer needed.

This a fun thread!

There have been lots of successful lathe turned crankbaits over the years. I'd suggest you do an internet search for them, and try to see how your lures differ from them. If I'm reading what's been posted so far correctly, there needs to be an interaction between the diving lip and the lure body, and the size, angle and position of your diving lip prevents this because it is too high, and causes the water it sheds to pass over the lure body without enough interaction to cause the body to wiggle. I would suggest lowering the plane of the diving lip so that it intersects the lure body just below the centerline of the body. I know this will weaken the connection, so you may have to turn a larger ball at the front, to leave enough meat once you've cut the diving lip. I think you might also have to hand shape the lip so that it is narrower where it attaches to the body, so that the water that is shed by the lip can pass more closely over the body, giving it more interaction. Good luck, and keep us in the build loop.

For me, the thickness of the bib is directly related to the length of the bib/bill. The longer the bill, the thicker the material. I use 1/16" lexan or circuit board for my square bills, and med. divers, if the line tie is in the lure. If it is in the bill, I use 1/8" lexan, and file/sand the bottom edge of the bill so it is only 1/16", in order for the lure to dive more easily and deeper.

I think worm oil will also cause your baits to soften if you add it before you pour.

Do soft plastic baits actually cure, or do they just cool off and reach whatever their resting state of hardness is?

Me, too! I'm not a sponsor, just a hobby pourer, and everything I know about bait making I learned here!

I wonder if they just whip in some air, or maybe micro balloons, to make it more buoyant. I know their floaters are lighter than the same size regular Ribbits.

If you add scent and/or heat stabilizer, that will soften the plastic, too.

Dale, I cut my joints almost through on the tablesaw while the blank is still rectangular. I leave 1/8" to hold the bait together for shaping. Once the profile is cut out on the bandsaw, I drill my ballast holes on the drill press, so I can keep the blank square and keep the holes centered. I also drill a small through hole at my eye location so the eyes will line up later. I do all of my rough shaping on an oscillating belt sander. I add detail with a dremel and it's sanding drum, and an exacto knife. Then I cut the joints completely through with a drywall knife after my shaping is done. I clean up the pieces on the belt sander, and do the final joint shaping. I install my screw eye hinge parts, mark where I want the slots on the next section, and cut/shape the hinge slots in the front of the next section. I have a drill press table with a small centering pin that lines up with the center of the bit. I mark where I want my hinge pins to go, use an awl to mark the holes, and then put the right size bit in the drill press. I put one side of the piece down so the awl hole is on the centering pin. I drill half way down from one side, then flip the piece, put the starter hole onto the centering pin, and drill down to finish the pin hole. If I do it right, the two holes meet at the center. If not, because I have the hinge slots already cut, I can see where the holes miss each other, and can use a hand held drill to correct the alignment. It's not hard to do. Having a process has made it easy for me to make a new jointed bait, or multiple baits, if I want to. I hope this helps.

I'll repeat what others have already said. The fumes from super glue are NASTY! You need a fan blowing across your work area to keep them from reaching your nose and eyes. I try to use it outside whenever possible, and it is still nasty!

Porkmeatballs (why do I love that name), I've never made a resin swimbait, but I've made lots from wood and from PVC. I've found that the lighter the actual lure body is, even if I have to add more ballast to get it to float/sink the way I want it to, the better/more lively the action of the bait. I also found that making the bait thicker on top, in the back and shoulders, than it is on the bottom (a V cross section for my baits from 1/2"+- at the belly to 7/8" at the shoulders) makes the bait more stable and less prone to roll on a fast retrieve. Since you're pouring your baits in a mold, you can play around with everything until you come up with what you really want. Good luck!

Thanks guys.

I think you're right about the flat head. It acts as a diving bill, driving the nose down, especially when you use the line tie that's 1/2" from the front. The same thing keeps a lipless crankbait like a rattle trap down on the retrieve.

Does anyone make/sell a mold for the 7" senko?

Are you still fishing, too?

Definitely a fun bait to throw!

They should work for any predatory fish. I make them with a through wire that is glued solid into the front section, so only the tail rotates. I haven't needed bearings. I use buzzbait rivets at each end of the tail section as bearing points, and the tails turn great. For heavier wire I use a piece of a small plastic drink stirrer straw as a liner.

Good for you! Post some pictures in the Soft Baits Gallery, and add a link to them here. I'd love to see them.

Ahh, the Schnoz!

Every time I see your avatar, I think of Jimmy Durante, and "I read a book". Hahaha

Are you talking about a football head with a skirt collar on the back so that you can add a skirt? I don't have a mold like that, but it seems like you could alter a football jig mold easily to make you own. The hardest part would be bending the wire for me.

That makes sense Bob. Thanks. One of the more successful jig makers/sellers around here, TNT Jigs, uses a blade that's coated with a thick paint (I don't know what it is) on both sides for their Claymore vibrating jigs, so they are heavier. They work really well on the Delta, fished deeper (10'+-) on the outside of weed lines. He also uses two heavy duty split rings for attachment, so there is a really free-moving attachment that lets the blade move easily at slow speeds. I fish them like a jig, dragged on the bottom in dirtier water, because I think the clatter of the additional hardware, plus the lower frequency (deeper) vibration of the heavier blades, helps fish find them in that dirty water, or in low light conditions.