mark poulson

Sounds like a great wife!

I have been pouring my own baits for a while now, and I am wondering if the plastisol Bear and Caney Creek used to sell were degassed. I never had any problems with them. Maybe ignorance is bliss, or maybe they were both degassed, or of a different formula. Or maybe degassing isn't that important. Does anyone here know if those brands were degassed, or of a different formula that didn't require degassing?

I would try Createx transparent base. It works for me with both Hi Lite powder and Gonation powder. If your airbrush won't shoot it, you can brush it on, after being sure your paint is dry and hard, and then use a hair dryer to set it, too. I use a well loaded brush, so I don't have to repeatedly stroke it to get good coverage.

I have found that, for me, masking the lip is faster and easier than trying to install the lip correctly after the lure is painted. I use blue painter's tape, and remove it after I've painted, but before I top coat.

I use 28 gauge gardening wire instead of braid, because it's easier for me to handle. Once it's in place, I reinforce it with crazy glue.

Jack hammer, or dynamite. Hahaha Seriously, I have found the only way to remove it is to slowly whittle away at it with a sharp knife. Be sure the lure is on something like a towel on a solid surface, and watch your fingers!

I am a hobby pourer, so, for me, a microwave works best. Just take your time, heat it a minute at a time until you get close to the 350 degree conversion temperature, and then do small time intervals until you get it the right temp. I use a wire coat hanger, bent double, to stir my plastic, which seems to cut down on stirring bubbles. Buy a digital thermometer, so you can check the plastic's temp. as you heat it. Once it starts to read 325 or more on the surface, and it has become more clear and runny, stir it, because the plastic heats from the center out, so it will be hotter than the surface reads. You don't want to heat it much past 350 overall, or you can scorch the plastic, which makes it yellow and useless. I always add a little heat stabilizer (1/2tsp to 4 oz of plastic) because I do lots of reheats, and that keeps the plastic from yellowing. If you mess up a batch, toss it, and learn what not to do from your mistake, but don't get discouraged. We've all thrown away our share of plastic. Once you've begun pouring, let us know how you do, and do ask questions. Everything I know about pouring soft plastics I learned here, from members who shared their knowledge.

I always add some yellow carpenters glue to my POP, to make it stronger so it holds details better. The more you add, up to a 50/50 mix with the water you add, the more gloss your mold will have, but you still have to seal the cavities before you pour.

If the weight of a second coat is an issue, but you still want to add some glitter, mix it into some Createx transparent base, and brush it on. Brush lightly, and be sure your paint job is really dry, so you don't move the paint with your brush. I find keeping the brush well loaded helps. Once the transparent base has been dried with a hair dryer, you can add just one coat of D2T, and you're all set.

You can also put the two plastic bottles in the microwave for a few seconds to get them warm. When the components are more fluid, they are ready to use. Because they aren't mixed yet, the heat won't affect the final product.

Bear in mind I am just a hobby pourer, so this might not work for you. I bought a small paint mixer for my colors. It works. You can Google small paint mixer and see a lot of options.

Dang! Please return the four dozen swimbaits I just sent you to foil for me. Hahaha

I found a way to make my spinnerbaits hold up better, without having to resort to titanium wire. I bend my spinnerbait wire closed at the R bend to get a 60 degree+- angle, instead of 90 degrees. I use #6 Indiana blades on the back, with smaller Colorado blades on the clevis, and they keep the blade up so I can fish them at lower speeds. That way, I can use the 60 degree bend and keep the blades closer to the hook and trailer, which I think makes for better hookups. Then I lock the spinnerbait body in my fly tying vise, so I can work on it more easily. I use 28 gauge gardening wire to close and reinforce the bend, putting three or four wraps around the blade wire, then four loop wraps around the back of the R bend, and finally another three or four wraps around the wire leading to the head. I reinforce and lock the wire in place with crazy glue, being careful not to let it run down either wire too far. I can fish the same spinnerbait for 20 fish or more without having the wire open up or break. I also put a bead right up against the loop at the end of the blade wire, and lock it in place with crazy glue, to keep the split ring for the swivel from accidentally slipping through any opening in my wire loop. This whole process adds five minutes to my building time, but it avoids the frustration of having a spinnerbait open up or break on a fish, and of bringing a spinnerbait back to the boat with the rear swivel and blade gone.

At the top of this forum page, on the left hand side of the black banner, use the More tad to find the Contact option.

The Spike It dip and dye that I use is a dye, with really fine pigment particles, and all of their colors run /bleed onto whatever soft plastic baits they lay against. I think you would have to go to some kind of a soft plastic paint, which has larger pigment particles. I think Spike It sells that paint, too, but I've never used it.

You might ask the site host here.

I think I'll go that way next gallon I buy.

Is there a link to your recipe cookbook?

Do you sell the same degassed plastic that Bait Junky used to sell?

I'm looking for a supplier who sells Calhoun's plastic by the gallon.

That looks similar to Bub Tosh's Nose Job, but at the other end. Maybe it should be called The Booty Call.

Here's a picture of the bait I repainted, trying to match the Strike King version of Table Rock Shad. I am no artist, but it looks close. The shimmer from the hilite doesn't show in the pic.

I've had good luck bending out the eye in the Mustad 32786 jig hooks with an awl, but only in the larger sizes, 3/0 and 4/0. I tried it with the 2/0 on a 1/4 oz. jig, and broke every hook eye.

I slide the "mandrel" (the part that gets the skirt tied around) onto one end of a straightened paper clip. Hopefully it's a tight enough fit to keep the mandrel from turning, but, if it's not, I put a slight bend in the clip wire to act as a kind of a spring, to hold the mandrel. Then I clamp the other, unstraightened end of the paper clip in my fly tying vise. Then I just tie my skirt material on the same way I tie skirts on jigs. It works for me, so it must be pretty simple to do. Hahaha