mark poulson

When I tried to make a two piece POP mold the first time, I used PAM on the raw POP, and the new POP stuck to it badly. I posted my bad results, and got lots of good advice. Thanks to the members here, now when I make my POP molds, after I make the first half, I dry it in the over at 170 degrees for an hour, with the door ajar. Then I coat the mold face with D2T epoxy, mixed really well and then cut 1/1 with denatured alcohol. I brush the mixture onto the POP and it soaks right in. I brush on at least three coats, one right after the other, and then let it set up. Once the epoxy sets, I spray the face with PAM, and put it face down over the second half of the mold that's filled with fresh POP. I immediately clamp the two halves together, and turn them over so the half with the fresh POP is on top. I tap the top of the mold with a rubber handled screw driver to try and get the air bubbles in the POP to migrate up and away from the mold masters. Once the new POP had set, I open the mold, clean off any flash or crud, and do the oven and D2T treatment on the new half. I still spray PAM on both mold halves before I pour my plastic. It really helps to keep the plastic from sticking.

I've seen how effective big tubes can be. You have to tie one on and throw it for a while to get bit. It will catch smaller fish, too, but, generally, it gets the bigger bites, but those are less frequent.

Cami, I love how you figured out how to do it your way. You might try using a bucket of water to dip the pipe into for cooling. Running water makes me really nervous around hot plastic, too.

I don't think hiding the hook is a real issue on a bass lure, especially a reaction lure that's moving anyway. Now, for trout flies, it is critical. Damn trout must wear reading glasses! For me, palmering a hackle back down the treble would create too much bulk, which would really affect the action of the lure. I find that the fine line between enough feather/flashaboo and too much is just that, a really fine line. Larger walking baits, like the Lunker Punker or Super Spook, have enough weight to be able to handle big feathered trebles, but smaller walkers, like the smaller Sammies and the like, can really be affected by too much feather, because of the drag it adds to the lure's tail. And even on the big lures, the illusion I'm trying to create is of a moving tail, and feathers extending back from the hooks themselves are what give me that effect. Feathers on cranks and jerkbaits have the same issues. I tie my feathers so they extend about 1 1/2 times the hook length past the hook, and then trim them as needed once I see how they affect the lure's action. I'll try and upload an image of a lure with one of my feathers on my gallery page. I don't have the photo managing stuff I need to post it here.

If they gave astronauts going to Mars a quart of beer, and a quart of coffee, they'd never have to worry about water. Amazing how that works.

So.....is the COG different for a 10oz. glass of light beer than for a 10oz. glass of stout, or dark ale? Does this account for the loss of equilibrium after the consumtion of enough beer? Does each affect the bladder differently?

Dan Warme told me he was in the shop when someone brought out the big saltwater tubes, and he asked for a couple to play around with. The rest, as they say, is history. It takes a creative mind to adapt something to a new purpose, and he surely has that. Dan's won a lot of bass tournaments, and a lot of money, with the Tora Tube, and caught a lot of big fish. I've seen him throw it, and he works it like a spinnerbait, shallow, medium, and deep, depending on where he thinks the fish are located. To me, it looks like a small ball of shad in the water.

Jim "Ghostbaits" pointed out that it's easier to do an open face laminate with a two piece POP mold, because the plastic doesn't cool as quickly as it would in an aluminum mold, so you have time to close the mold and pour the second color in, and it will still melt into the first pour. I only use POP molds, and that method has me feeling like I'm creative! If I were using an aluminum two piece mold, I think I'd have to heat the mold so the plastic would stay warm enough for the second part to melt into the first and bold.

Cami, I agree. Very interesting and ingenius method. Nova, I'm surprised you haven't heard of the Tora Tube, made famous on the west coast by Dan Warme. Here's a link: http://www.bassitudes.com/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=tora%20tube Start at the bottom of the page, and then hit next to see what's available. I've fished with Dan and he catches big bass with the big tube, which was orginally for salt water. I think they're made by Canyon Plastics, who still make the original tube, the Gitzit.

That's because he's one of the only ones who actually understands what this is all about!

Man, what would we do without our computer savy kids? Don't you wish you could catch fish as well as you can pound nails? I've been thinking about your flat eye request, and find myself wondering if you might use the 3D stickon eyes set in a shallow recess, and maybe cut the photo film around them after you apply it. Predator Bass, a site sponsor, sells lots of different eyes. He might actually be a source for flat eyes, too, although I've never looked for them on his site.

I also use blue painters tape to mask both bills and hard tails on my lures. With the tails, I leave enough tape beyond the tail to let me grab it with hemostats, for dipping, without actually grabbing the tail material. I use thin clear guacamole tub lids to cut out my tails, and they are easy to distort if you clamp them with hemostats directly. The only thing you have to be careful of with blue tape is that the heat of a hair dryer softens the adhesive, so be sure you fold it over itself well enough to really be secure while you're painting. And be sure to pass an exacto knife along the tape to lure joint, to be sure your paint and top coat don't start peeling with the tape when you remove it.

If you say it, it must be true! I'm looking for grizzley hackels right now, to make my feather embedded Ikas. I guess being a half wit is okay, as long as you've got the right wit to split.

I have two daughters, so I can see it now. Dad, can we make a Barbie lure?

11 grams.

Very nice job! Congratulations! Sorry, I don't have a flat eye link.

Kim from Lurecraft warned me that the RTV isn't meant to go into a microwave.

When I'm trying to match the action of an existing lure, I always try to get my hands on one that's clear, so I can see the location ans size of the ballast and rattles without having to open up, and probably ruin, a good lure. You can also scrape the paint job off, and clean it with acetone, to make the innards more transparent. When I'm adding ballast to a lure, I typically put on all the hardware and hooks, and then float test it. I add split shots, or egg sinkers, to the tines of the hooks until I get it to float or sink like I want it to. Keeping the ballast as low as possible should help the lure to cast well, and to be stable on a faster retrieve. Exactly where to place the ballast is the $64K question that can really only be answered by trial and error.

I'll check it out.

I have an RTV open face lizard mold that's really hard to pour. I wonder if I could mix the plastic cold, and put it into the mold, and then microwave the whole shebang?

Could you fill the sprue holes with JB Weld, and redrill them with a countersink? You might even try RTV silcone, since it stands up to lead just fine.

When I worked on the job, my work van was, and still is, organized, so I could find whatever I needed quickly, since I was working by the hour, and time is money. When I built cabinets and fixtures out of my garage, it was organized and neat. Now I fish a lot, and build lures and pour plastics in my garage, and it's organized differently. I still have all my woodworking machines, and a big 4'X8' central work table, but now they're covered with fishing stuff. And there's a couple of racks with rod and reel setups, and drawers of lure making parts and stuff. I know where everything is, so that's all that matters.

No clue, but Del posts here often, so I'm pretty sure he'll get back to you.

I have had the same problem with my jig heads when I've tried any vinyl dips or paint. Plastisol softens the paint and turns it into a gooie mess. I tried coating the vinyl paint, but it didn't help. I went back to either rattle can paints, or powder coating.