mark poulson

http://www.solarez.com/productsnew/gloss.html I bought a UV nail light so I could cure it indoors. Three minutes and it's done. On sunny days I take the bait outside into the sun, and rotate it, after the excess has dripped off back into the container and I've blotted the bottom hook hanger or drip. I wait a second for the resin to flow back down, and then take it out to rotate it slowly for a minute. Then I bring it back into my open-doored garage and hang it in the UV light box for another three minutes, rotating every 30 seconds. Google UV nail lamp, and look at the 36 watt models.

I'll ask him for one and post it when I have it.

Bob, I just watched the embedded video from the Bass Tackle twin injector link above, and, lo and behold, there's Frank! Doh!!!

I use it. I add a little salt for taste.

I just posted a before and after of a red craw Pred. wart to show how the bill held up to a day of rock climbing and six+ fish. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/13345-20140518-104311-resized/ The one on the left was fish hard all day, and the one on the right is a virgin.

I just posted four pictures of the Pred. Baits warts in the Hard Baits Gallery. One of the is to show how the Solarez-coated bill held up to a day of rock climbing. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/13345-20140518-104311-resized/

Thank you for going to the trouble, and expense, of getting this right.

If you use stiff flouro for a weed guard, you can make weedless chatterbaits with that mold that work great. I have friend who pours and does that.

Didn't Frank do a video using a blending block, and multiple molds?

Al, I tied on one of the 5" Top Shelf Magic Sticks on yesterday, but the lake was too dirty to see how it fell. And the wind came up, making fishing it a real chore, so I put it down. It weights 9.7 grams, exactly the same as one of my original BYCB senkos, but it is just a tad stiffer, when I hold them both in the middle and let the ends droop side by side. As soon as I can actually see how it falls I'll let you know. I guess my email to them asking about softener must look pretty dumb, right about now. Hahaha

Remember that wire stiffness, apart from the line tie, isn't an issue. Your fishing line will break before you can deform soft .041 sst wire, and even your line tie won't deform unless you really try and horse a big fish. If you make two piece baits with halves that you glue together with epoxy, the epoxy/wire sandwich in the center make a steel-reinforced section that is really strong and rigid. The only place I would use a stiffer rod is if I were making a through-wire prop-type bait or a two piece spinner, like the Whopper Plopper, where the wire projects far enough out of the bait to give some bending leverage.

Smart!!!

I fished Castaic yesterday. The normally clear water was about a foot visibility, due to the 50mph Santa Ana winds we had for five days straight, and the algae that bloomed because of the 100+ degrees we've had for those five days. I fished one of my Predator Baits wiggle warts, a translucent orange belly/red side/dark red back with the three balls. It ran true, and backed out of rocks and snags great. It wouldn't back out of fishing line. Hahaha It also caught three keepers, and I farmed two more nice fish that came off under the boat. I out fished my partner, who was throwing a fat free shad in red craw, six to one, even though I let him have the bow after my third fish. Great bait! I had painted orange claws on the bill, so I dipped the whole bait in Solarez, and then hung it over the dipping jar. I hung it by the head and let it drip off, so the resin coating the bill would be thinner and not add weight to the bill. The resin held up great. The very edge got worn on the rocks, but it never peeled or came off. I'm going to paint the rest of my three balls baits in craw colors, including something with chartreuse (why can't the French come up with easier words to spell?), for stained water or low light, where a rattle is important. The two ball and the silent baits I'll also paint in shad patterns, but all will be translucent. Even in off color water the paint shows enough to get bit, and the silent/translucent is dynamite in our clear lakes here in SoCal, especially on shad boils. I think I have found my go-to small crank.

DaveMc1, That looks like a good candidate, for sure. They feel really soft, and I don't know how soft that sinking plastic is, or whether adding softener would make it more buoyant. Al, I just put them in the boat, in our 90+degree spring weather. I'm seeing snow and storms in the east, and we're melting out here. I should shut up, it's down from 100+ earlier in the day. I'll try one tomorrow, and let you know.

I just received my order from TW. The Top Shelf sticks don't seem to be salty, but they are very translucent, so whatever they use to add weight doesn't cloud the colors.

Griffond, I haven't tried that particular varnish, but I have used Spar varnish before. Since it is designed to go over wood, which expands and contracts, I found it is great for wood baits, but it does yellow over time, and it is a little softer than other top coats, and not as durable.

Bob, You're right. I used water based, and specifically Target Coatings SC9000, and it did soften and cloud if left on a wet carpet overnight, or in a tub of water overnight. But it never did that while fishing, and it was the only top coat I ever found that didn't dim metallic and pearl colors, or affect the color scheme in any way. A big thank you to Husky for turning me on to it. I have cranks that I coated three years ago that are still working, and still look great. The Target Coatings EM9300, their exterior version of a water based urethane, wasn't super clear (SC) like the 9000, but it is bullet proof. I used it on salt water baits, and it never failed. But I am, first and foremost, all about shortening my lure building process, so I can maximize my fishing time, so I have switched to Solarez gloss almost exclusively. It is super durable, and I can coat and cure a bait in three minutes and fish it immediately. I can dip coat a lure, including the bill, hang it by the line tie, let it drip back into the dip jar until it stops, wipe off whatever excess is on the bottom the lure back into the jar or with a paper towel, and then cure it. Hanging it that way insures that the amount of clear on the bill is as thin as possible, so it doesn't take away from the action of the lure, and I still get a really durable bait.

I got mine from Predator Baits.