Painter1

I recently aquired an Ear Ball Mold and poured some up. I would prefer to attach the hook directly vs using a split ring. Any recommendations on hook type or best way to open and close the hook eye? I notice that other available similar heads are football shaped. Not seeing one that shape frpom DO-IT though.

When putting on 2 or 3 colors how do you get the strands evenly distributed before anchoring them? I am not dexterous enough to hold skirt strands in place and wrap at the same time and the elastic bands hold everything too tight to rearrange the strands. Do they make an oversized elastic band that would allow maneuvering the strands after skirt is on the jig? I think I could do the wire wrap if something like a band is holding the skirt in place while wrapping it..

There is a jig maker on a local BB, Nu-Tech https://nutechlures.com/index.php/ who talks about using only smaller jigs with a bead and bullet weight added on the line, Texas style, when faster sink rate and more bottom contact is desired. He is a night bass fisherman on clear water impoundments who, apparently, does well with this technique. He says the advantage is you get all benefits of a heavier jig but the bass has less weight in its face after being hooked, reducing chances of throwing it. He also believes the bass can't feel the lighter jig as well when attacking it. If this really works, only smaller weight bass jigs would be needed? I have not tried it yet but will be doing so in the next few days.

Between 50 and 60 strands is common. Many tabs have 20-22 strands ea. 2.5 -3 tabs is what I usually use. The hard part for me is getting the strands distributed evenly.

I am having some good luck using salted plastic on just the belly part of a swimbait/fluke. When using 2/3 plastic to 1/3 fine salt I get a dull off-white color that doesn't need much tweaking. I don't use a jig or any other weight with it and get the slow sink rate I want. I like the good action twitching & jerking it and the weighted bottom keeps it right side up.

I recently bought some black lights from Bottom Dwellers and needed to sort some things out before ordering. I spoke with Dale several times and he went out of his way to get me the information I was looking for. Shipping was prompt and product was as advertised and well packaged.

I made some grubs last night using light GP with nutmeg, whisker copper, black and a very small amount of orange. Inspired by GP Orange.

Pouring lead anywhere near food prep or dining areas strikes me as a bad idea. For those of us using Lee pots the most significant heavy-metal overexposure risk can be eliminated by a thorough washing of your face and hands before smoking eating or drinking. I am a Licensed Missouri Lead Supervisor and work in in the industrial lead based paint removal field where this is very much an issue. Dangers from lead are vaporized fumes, dust (especially dust smaller than 10 microns) and ingestion. Smoking and or eating/drinking before washing face and hands is a common problem that can spike your blood lead levels VERY quickly. Insufficient respiratory protection against airborne lead particles can also be an issue of concern but is not as likely in our described situation. (Maximum airborne exposure is 50 ug/m3). We monitor all workers blood lead levels including actual lead percentage and ZPP, If I remember correctly, ZPP measures retention. We use engineering controls (dust collectors, forced air hoods, etc) to minimize or eliminate the hazard. OSHA establishes maximum blood lead levels and we work with Industrial Hygienist exposure to test and prove our controls are effective. The only way to be sure where you stand is to have a blood test. Levels above 30 ppm are reason for concern. Above 50 ppm is a problem.

Thanks, Smalljaw. The jig does have some pumpkin color strands but shame on me for not doing a better job of record-keeping.

Guys, I have learned the hard way to write down the supplier along with the code. I have Five (5) jig skirts (out of 18) that I want to make more of. With the help provided here I have found Four (4) of the Five (5) combinations. The last one has no codes, just names of the skirting colors. Anybody recognize these colors? Watermelon Red Flake (found several of these) Pumpkin Candy Pumpkin Candy Craw

That rocks. Thank you!!!!!

I made some skirts a year or 2 ago and wrote down the skirt codes but not who I bought them from. I searched the usual suspects with no luck. Does anybody recognize these codes? Green Pumpkin Baitfish 1614-10-186 Green Pumpkin 1605-10-262 Dirty Pumpkin 1616-735

Looks good. I really like the color combo.

Thanks, Ted. It sounds like I need someone to modify my molds. Anybody you would recommend?

I want to add a heavy mono weedguard to some of my jigs that aren't made with weedguard holes/pins. Am wondering if a hot steel wire or drill bit is best to make the hole in the lead before painting.

That makes sense and I think you are right. I wonder if bass have a sweet tooth LOL

There are some "colored smoke" colorants out there also like Green Smoke, Blue Smoke, Silver Smoke. You can get a lot of variety in that flavor. Good advice given above about 1 drop at a time.

I washed the salt off some of the plastic I made the other day, dried them and then shook them in the usual container with worm oil. I think the salt did dull the sheen a little bit but they still absorbed plenty of the scented oil. After washing and before oiling I bit the head off of a worm, as we typically do to shorten a bait. I could taste the salt, although it was not nearly as strong as a true salt infused bait.

Looking for a discussion related to pros & cons of using salt in lieu of oil for packaging and storing soft plastic baits. I made some plastics for a guy that makes a good living fishing bass tournaments. He asked me to makes some more, with his recommended modifications. He is, himself, an experienced soft plastic maker and during high school worked in a shop hand pouring open mold baits. One of the things he recommended is to put the warm baits in fine salt, shake to coat, and then lay them out straight to cure. Bag them the next day. His position is that the surface of the bait will absorb and maintain a salty taste for "a while". He prefers this to a light scented oil coating. Of course the salt masks the true colors of the bait, initially, so they aren't very attractive until they hit the water. Has anyone had a problem with surface salt adversely discoloring or changing the softness of the plastic over time? Thanks. Mike K.

Great thread. It certainly adds an element to consider. Silica Sand is 18% heavier than salt, assuming they are both dry. Super fine silica sand can be bought as small as 5 microns. Sodium Chloride weighs 2.16g/cm3 and silica sand is 2.65g/cm3 On the opposite course - It occurred to me that one may be able to form a portion of a plastic bait with fumed silica to make it stiffer without adding hardly any density

Great idea. It will be interesting to see how it handles the heat. Gloves might still be a good idea just to protect your hands for 300+ degree plastic spillage. I'm looking around for something that will work as a handle for the Shooting Star injector. I have to hold that one with an oven mitt. Once, I put a piece of duct tape on one side to help me remember colors. It cooked off.

Thank you, Andy. It appears that BT and Del both make what I am looking for also

Who makes a mold most similar to the 4 in Slim Senko? As always, I appreciate your help.

This bait swims real well on a weighted hook. I made some heavier ones and had good luck on bluff ends this winter when the shad were flopping and dying. I would throw it near timber and let it glide. Bass would just take it and swim off. The hook slot makes it easier to drive the hook through but I did miss some good fish that came unbuttoned. Hit me up on a PM on what you want to trade.

I certainly can't find it on Bears site. I was planning on selling it or looking for a trade because I have enough baits already made from this mold. It's always nice to be able to identify the mold so folks know what they are looking at. I can't find it among the usual suspects and don't remember where I got it.