BassMunn

Thanks daveh, I'm thinking of trying some LC stuff on my next order just to see what it's like, although I can't complain about the Calhoun stuff. I was worried about smell, but the Calhoun smells just like Zoom (before adding scent), so I'm happy:) I'll try that recipe of yours for the Flukes, I've got to get that right, I go through a ton of Flukes every year.

Thanks Vodkaman, that was interesting reading. I definately noticed that the dents only appeared when the mold was hot, but there weren't many.

Thanks ODA and ZBass:) Luckily it was only 4oz of plastic so I played around with a color I wasn't sure about and then used the stuff to practice pouring my Fluke tails, still not perfect but looking much better. Oh Dear this is a sickness isn't it, I just wanna go make more baits. Don't think my gallon of plastic is going to last too long:drool:

I'll try that, them frogs have to fly far:) I agree with the dents, I've gone through enough packets of well known brands and have seen it from most of them, as long as it is not a major flaw that will affect the swimming of the bait, I'm not overly concerned.

Thanks Bass Boys Another question - I just goofed up Was heating the plastic in the microwave and was waiting for it to turn clear and it just went yellow instead, was I heating too fast?

Drof99 - Thanks, yes I am using softner, I used the recipe off the Del-Mart site for stik baits (8oz Plastic, 4oz salt, 2oz Softner), I think the salt is too high, but being a Newbie I don't really know. Gonna pour a batch now with no salt for Frogs. Jim, Thanks for the kind welcome. Those small dents appear when I open the mold before pulling the baits out you can see them already, but they are small and like you said the fish don't care:), the mold was already hot (could hardly hold it). Might have had something to do with the salt. I've also got tiny little bubbles in the baits, how do I get rid of this? Last question - I want to pour some more flukes, do most guys add salt? I know the Zoom SF has salt, but not sure how much to add? Thanks Shannon

Hi There My first post here, my name is Shannon from South Africa I recently made a few RTV molds and have been melting down old baits to get some practice. Today I got my Stik Kit from Delw along with a few extra colors and a 5" SF mold. Firstly I have to say that melting old plastic baits down is terrible in comparison to working with new plastisol, the old plastics burn so quickly and they stink (gave me a migraine for 2 days:(). Anyway here is a shot of my very first attempt at making my own baits with Calhoun Plastics. I was trying to make Zoom's Mardi Gras which is basically a Watermelon with gold and purple flake, it came out pretty well. Not as translucent as the Mardi Gras, but it clouded up when I added the salt. Still a decent color that should fool a few Bass:D The stik mold is really easy to pour (Thanks to the tips and videos from members on this site). I do have a few with small dents in them, but I'm not too concerned with that as I will not be selling these baits. The SF Mold will take a bit more practice to get the tail right, for now I am just trimming the tail with a hobby knife. The frog is from an RTV Mold (Ribbit Frog). I now understand why guys call this a sickness, I couldn't wait to go and try these out, so this afternoon I took my 4 year old son for a quick line wetting and we managed to get 2 smallish keepers on my new baits from the side:) I did notice though that my baits are a little too hard, but they break very easily and they sink like a stone - am I using too much salt? Thanks Shannon