mark poulson

Every spring I check the hooks on my jerkbaits, and test them to see if they float, suspend, or slow sink in my 5 gallon bucket of water in my unheated garage. Once I've gotten a bait to suspend , I use my line choice to fine tune it on the water. It's all approximate, anyway, at least for me. Every time out the water temps and conditions vary, so I take a guess before I leave to fish, tie the bait onto whatever I think will match the conditions, and then go fishing. Where I fish, the water never really gets below 50, and there's usually some color in it, so I typically don't have to make major adjustments. If I need to, I'll switch setups to one with the line I think will help me match the conditions. That's why boats have rod lockers.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I have never had bubbles in my BJ plastisol, even after I've shaken it. I typically shake it every time before I use it.

A family member runs a plating company. When I asked him if plastic baits could be plated, he said yes. He also said that the baits would have to be primed first with something that could be polished, or the chrome wouldn't shine. He said that is why metal pieces are plated with copper first, so they can be polished before the chrome is applied.

Plus "exotic" materials can come with their own set of issues. Years ago we were repairing some concrete pilings under a house, and the subcontractor was using some kind of carbon mesh. I asked him for some scrap to use as my swimbait hinges, and he sent me some, along with a handling regime that made me reconsider using it. Seems that inhaling any dust from it could cause real problems. I decided to stick with SST screw eyes and pins, and carefully disposed of the envelope and it's contents.

I'm spoiled. I always use BaitJunky's degassed plastisol. If you don't use degassed plastisol, and you heat in a microwave, you will have to degas it, so no moisture that might be trapped in the plastisol can expand to form bubbles when it's heated in a microwave. Otherwise you can expect to have bubbles to deal with. I am just a hobby pourer, so I go the degassed plastisol route and never have to worry about degassing myself, except after raw mushrooms.

From my experience, getting the plastisol up to 350 degrees is very important, or you can have baits that stay tacky forever. I use a cheap digital thermometer, and stir with a doubled over metal coat hanger that has a 1/2" flat section at the bottom, holding the two metal arms apart. Once I've gotten the plastisol up to 345 on the surface, I mix it so I bring the middle material up to the top, and check the temp again. The plastisol heat from the middle out, so the middle temp is always hotter, and that way I can get all of the plastisol up to 350 without burning it. I do add some heat stabilizer, just in case, but the Baitjunky's plastisol I use already had stabilizer in it, so I only add 1/2 tsp. per cup. Once I've gotten the plastisol up to 350, and it has become clear and runny, I never heat it past 335 again. I use the degassed plastisol.

I can see you have a full plate, and a demanding quality control person, so I understand why you would declice. I can only plead sloth and poverty. I'm too lazy to go to all that work, and too cheap to spend $700 for four ounces of paint.

A split ring will let you change out a dull or damaged hook.

Anglinarcher, that sounds like a perfect job for you! Hahaha

I still have two 40+ year old flatfishes in a tackle box somewhere in the garage. One is orange with spots, and the other is green with spots, if memory serves, but it's been a long time since I've actually seen them. They did have a great wiggle.

Kasilofchrisn's video said it doesn't need a clear coat.

Sorry, I have no clue. Are you sure you're getting the plastic to the 350 degree conversion temperature before you begin stirring?

It's been my experience that a one joint bait like that has much less action, like an S waver, unless the legs are flexible, and have a down turned foot, to give the leg some kick. Like the boot tail on a soft swimbait. If you want more action from the legs, I would alter the foot section on the original two joint design to give the foot a boot tail shape. That way, the foot will catch the water and be forced up, and then fall back down and begin again. Hopefully....

I agree with that. It's far easier to trim the nose without ruining the bait, and a nose first mold should help the tail fill without air bubbles, because the plastic will still be at it's hottest.

Nice looking master! If it were my bait, I'd make a silicone mold and pour one, and then rig it with one of the biggest belly weighted Owner Beast hooks, to give me something to start with in my testing. Once you get it to swim, you can see how the tail wiggles. A lot will depend on the plastic you use (hard/med/soft). I use a medium for my 7" plastic swimbaits, but I've never poured a 10" bait, so I can't help you from personal experience. The more belly weight you add, the more stable your bait will be, and the faster you can retrieve it without it rollling over. If you first prototype's tail doesn't wiggle enough, you can widen the master's tail with bondo, and then make another silicone mold. A flatter, more circular shaped tail will catch more water, so it should wiggle more, but it will also make the bait want to roll more, so you'll have to experiment to see what works best for your bait. Good luck!

Be sure to try and match the flexibility of the original Senko. Softer is better/more wiggle.

Let us know how you sticks turn out!

You'll have to really work to make a mistake that the rest of us haven't already made.

I still have a Predator Bass squarebill with a gasketed screw in plug at the front hook hanger, so you can add or subtract ballast balls.

I have a very organized work area, too, but it's buried under a lot of stuff.

Hughesy, Does that mean moving the point of attachment up and away from the bill makes the bait more stable? A while back I made some med diving cranks with the line tie in the bill. I actually made the wire come up through the bill almost a quarter of an inch. Those cranks were really stable.

That is amazing looking stuff. Of course, they must think so, too, to charge $699 a pint!

Your vibrating platform makes me wish I'd saved my kids' vibrating football game. Hahaha

To me, a good snap is fine for cranking. I use the LurePartsOnline 40 lb snaps for my bladed jigs, and for open water cranking, where I may change colors several times to see which color is working best at that time. But snaps grab weeds, so I don't use them when I'm running a square bill through grass and tulles. I also think they are heavier than a good, small split ring, so I don't use snaps on jerkbaits, either, since I'm usually wanting a specific action and it's easier for me to get the bait adjusted beforehand with a split ring on it, and then just tie the line to it. Sometimes a slightly larger or smaller split ring can make the difference between slow sink, suspend, and slow rise. For me, especially in colder water, that's really important.

I use the gloss, because gloss is the strongest finish.