bluegrasslover

I was at Tractor Supply today and saw something that you homemade injector users might be able to use. syringe 1, syringe 2 and syringe 3 which has a nice nozzle. I don't use an injector and have no idea if either of these would work but I thought I would pass it along just in case because they looked pretty cool. Greg

Those sure are purdy. I've got to try the drop shotting technique.

Check out glonation.com. I have some red and orange from them that work well. The orange seems to work better (brightness) than the red. There's also glowinc.com and they have a help page for lures at http://glowinc.com/glow-in-the-dark/fishing-lures.aspx. glonation seems to have better prices. Greg

Damn I love this site! I never thought about using a torch flame to get those bubbles that just will not pop! Definitely adding this to my arsenal. Thanks Pike! Greg

There's probably a reason why not to but I've been coating the entire mold because the unsealed surfaces leave POP dust on my hands and baits.

Absolutely. The guy knows his stuff!

That's a great idea! I know I've had some that have sink holes 2-3" down. Topping it off with another color could look pretty cool!

I just bought 100 from lurecraft and it was about $14.

Craigslist for me...$5. But, it is one of the old analog dial types with no power settings but it works great.

Really? I would have thought, based on the posts I've read here, that it would hurt like crap.

I just found and was watching some videos of Larry Dahlberg making hard and soft plastic lures. I see that there has been some discussion on this forum about his DVDs. He is obviously an expert lure maker but I was shocked at the lack of concern for safety. I just saw where he was pouring some dragon flies using a soft mold (assume it was alumisol) and he's spreading the mold apart with bare hands to get the hot plastic to pour into it. The plastic was pouring not more than 1/4" away from his fingers. He might be a great lure maker but I'm not looking to him for safety tips that's for sure! Greg

Dang...that's the shortest patent application I've ever seen.

I don't do this but it might work for you. I went to our local news paper printing place and they have tons of rolls that are too short for them to use but still have lots of paper on them. I got 3 rolls about 6 years ago and I still have a lot left and I use it often. I got thin and thick/stiff paper rolls. I have a roll on my workbench mounted on a 3/4" dowel that I just pull out and over the workbench when I need it. They just give it away. If they ask though tell them that your wife is a teacher and will use it for her class room

I tried it. I got really good detail with it but the mold was EXTREMELY fragile. It broke and so I don't think I'll use it again. If anyone knows how to toughen it up I might try it again, otherwise, I'm done with it. Greg

Cool...Thanks Dave

I'm using LC 536. I want to do some baits to take to the beach fishing in a couple months. How much hardener do I need to add to the LC 536? Thanks, Greg

I haven't tried the glue you're talking about but I did try blowing off the excess with my air compressor after flooding and it worked really good. Got the best, smoothest seal coat yet. Greg

Me and a fishing buddy came up with this stick modification. We raised an area to make for a cleaner skin hook and to eliminate any deforming of the worm and to make it glide over cover a little easier without getting snagged. The starting line of the egg sack is now the exact place where you insert the through hook. Not that it's difficult to hit the right spot but why not it's a feature we both wanted and there in lies the beauty of pouring your own baits. Greg

You are correct. I used a hydrogenated product which I'm quite sure that my grandma Sadie Belle made. Now that I know it works maybe I can find the real thing or make some myself. Nahunta (you're probably familiar with them being a NC man) has a pork "outlet" at the farmer's market in Raleigh. I'm betting they have some of the real stuff in there. Greg

I got some real lard and tried it out last night. I put 1 tbs in 1/4 cup of plastic scraps. As expected, it lightened the color. I'm not sure if the lard is buoyant or not but the worms still floated. I don't know if the bass will like the lard smell or not but it's certainly in there. Bonus is that the worms are slightly slick so they probably don't need any worm oil at all. I'm going to hold on to these and try them out when it gets a little warmer. I'll let you know. Greg

Bear, how is your salt in comparison to the popcorn salt? Finer? About the same? Thanks, Greg

You're welcomed. The last sticks I poured I tried granulated and I think about 80% of the salt went into the last couple of sticks. I stirred the hell out of it but it didn't seem to matter.

Ok, I was having a hard time figuring out what type of salt to use. Some people say flour, some say regular granulated, some say fine. I've tried floured and regular granulated (granulated was damn near impossible for me to keep suspended). This is by no means scientific like but what I did was take equal amounts of vegetable oil (I know this a bit thinner than hot plastic but it's just a test) and put in some glasses then measured out 1/4 tsp of 4 different salts...course, regular, popcorn (fine) and floured. I put the salt in, gave it a stir then timed how long it took to settle out. The course and regular were pretty much immediate. The fine took between 30 and 45 seconds to completely settle out. The flour took about 1.5 minutes to settle out (there was still some suspended at this point but the majority had settled). The fine was much clearer with suspended salt than the floured. The floured was very cloudy and opaque. The floured also formed some small lumps when I put put it in that were not easy to completely break up. I could easily see them in the oil but never would have in colored plastic. Although the floured stayed suspended much longer it appears to me, based on this test, that the fine salt would be the better choice. You have enough time to pour some molds between stirs and will definitely require less color than the same color attempted with the salt flour. I just wanted to share my findings in case anyone else was wondering what to use. Greg

Southern cooking is the best. I remember my mom and grandma always had a pot of bacon grease in the fridge for seasoning the collards, peas, butter beans....pretty much any vegetable. Delicious. I'm with you on the fat. I think if one would want to try this it would be with some good ole lard which I guess it is the solidified rendered fat (maybe that bacon grease from mom's fridge). I'm going to pick some up and try it. Another bonus for pouring your own baits. njones, maybe you should get some bacon strips and dip them in some plastisol for your buddy. mmmmmm bacon worms....

You know the sink hole that forms down the middle of a worm if you don't top off the pour properly? I was thinking about making a new mold and put the sprue on the tail end of the stick bait and then "encouraging" the sink hole to form so I can use the hole to insert a rattle. Inserting the rattle could also trap air in the tail end of the stick which should make the bait stand up good. Anyone ever tried this? If so, did it work? Thanks, Greg