One Sock

ooops forgot the frog..seems i attached it already in first attempt baby bass thread. here is a different one

Not sure if I ever have an average day. most of my pouring is limited to evening hours after work. I probably average a few gallons a week. However, on weekends I can go through a 5 gallon container. It depends on how many orders come in. I also like to experiment quite a bit so you can( and i do) wind up using quite a bit of plastic just messing around with color and flake combinations. One thing I can tell you, if you do experiment, always write down what you did. I have had a few times where I have gotten some great baits only to have a hell of a time remembering what I added. Get a good microwave also, with a turntable, it seems to me the plastic cooks consistently with a better microwave, maybe just a confidence thing with me. I'm hooked on frogs right now(no pun intended) so I have been making quite a few. here is one of the latest.

Dead on post del, I agree 100% I can produce a lot of sticks. It depends on your organization. Pre mixed flake helps a bunch when dealing with multiple colored flakes. Multiple molds helps. I now have 7 -5 inch stick molds and can pump quite a few out. I can stock stores and take care of steady customers without a whole lot of time invested. I must add, I have 3 microwaves and about 20 pyrex cups. Custom plastic containers in 4 ounce size so I can just dump them(plastic) in the pyrex cups. I also use newspaper on my pouring station so I can have a quick clean up, instead of wiping down drips and residue and flake( i always spill flake for some reason). Bags are pre labeled with color quantity and scent type. In an afternoon I can knock out quite a bit of sticks. I also keep some flat molds like gobies and slithers to finish of a cup of plastic so reheating is minimal for leftover. this allows me to have a bunch of sample bags laying around for handouts. If I needed 1500 baits a day i might go with injection set up

suspending jerkbaits, ever so slowly, use a sweeping action sweep the rod and then reel up the slack and repeat, you will get hit when it stops. I also like to split shot salt-less senkos, i put the split shot about 18 inchs up, rattle traps will also pull some good fish in cold water. My biggest cold water fish was 5 lbs 13 ounces on a rapala in blue and orange, water temp was 36 degrees and it felt like I was reeling in a wet sock. No fight to the fish whatsoever

Nice job!. I love playing with laminates and experimenting with multi pours. I still have a ways to go as I am always learning. Here are some of the things I have worked on recently.

Funny, I have done this before and managed to catch quite a few fish. hell me and a buddy would pour the sticks and see who could stretch them the furthest, then go throww them out on the lake and laugh like crazy when we crushed fish after fish. I wouldn't sell them that way cause they look nasty, but for personal use, who cares? You can catch fish on almost anything when provided with the right conditions. From the chuck woolery moto lure to the budwieser bottle cap with the treble hook attached So go throw them Vishezfish and then post some pictures. have fun and tight lines

One of the best tips posted was use a quality reel. If your baitcaster came with a rod at wal-mart. Don't keep practicing.. J/K but seriously you will learn faster on a quality reel. I can cast more accurately with a baitcaster than I ever could with a spinning reel. Keep at it. there are some good reels for good prices the shimano scorpion around 150.00 is a great reel to learn with IMO

I know some here don't want to give away the secrets of their plastics, but for those who do want to share, what type of salt do you use for your baits and do you need to do anything to it first? I use a very fine popcorn salt from a local organic store, pretty cheap and all I have to do is add and stir. what about the rest of you?????

Salt in sticks is always a must for me. But then again I fish my sticks almost 99% of time wacky rigged. For slither type baits and trick worms it would depend on how I was fishing them No one can argue that GY's sticks have produced a ton of bass and fall rate has everything to do with that IMO, I have tested my sticks side by side with GY's for a while trying to get the right salt content down. I tank tested them and I also weighed them on a gram scale. I do a lot better now that i know that my salt content is comparable to GY's. I also use salt to firm up some baits. Like the frogs I have been making. when your whipping frogs around on a baitcaster, the no salt frogs seem to tear up a bit faster. It's a personal preference for most people I guess. But your right Del, everywhere you look the word salt impregnated seems to be popping up. Don't even get me started on bleeding baits :-)

I use a canon also. No special lenses or anything else. Just use high resolution and check your compression settings. I use a small white ceramic plate for background and no special lighting. the pictures come up great and no altering outside of cropping

30 aluminum molds 7 -5 inch stick molds 2- 5 inch fluke molds 4- 2 piece frog molds 4 -dragonfly molds 2- slither molds 4- grub molds 4- zippy molds 3- goby molds

I never used pots, just pour them out of pyrex cups heated in the microwave. Baits come out consistently. ( weighed on a gram scale) Just need to make sure that you are always stiring so the salt and flake stay up. It's a great hobby and a terrific business for some. You are only limited by your imagination, spouse's tolerance level and cash your willing to invest.

Not sure who made it, but a friend of mine sent it to me recently to try out. he sells molds like that on e-bay. It's a nice mold and you can hand pour it and while the frogs come out supersoft. I would suggest adding some salt just to keep them from tearing up during repeated casts. But otherwise, I don't see a downside to them yet.

Supersoft, great action in the water. I do like to trim the flappy feet a bit to look more like the tail on a speedworm or horny toad

Anyone making frogs? Ideas for colors? This is all new to me here. I made a few a couple days ago and would like to see what others are making