JBuff

A few tips that are strictly from a hand pour perspective: 1) Flakes: I rarely use them but when I do I adhere to the idea of 'less is best'. This helps with issues such as, arching, even flake dispersal and less stirring. I've never had a fish stick it's head up out of the water and tell me the watermelon was perfect but they didn't bite because I didn't have enough flake or wrong color flake. You can always add but you can't subtract and don't get in the habit of adding flakes in reheats, you'll become reliant on the flakes. If you have to in order to achieve the finished bait know that you are because you've curled what you originally put in. The result is usually a "cat turd" rolled in flakes. 2) I use 900W micros on full power, higher wattage micros I have to turn down the power in order to use the same heating sequences. 3) I always stir from the center out in order to disperse the heat as quickly and evenly as possible. 4) Decide how your goal in a finished bait is to be accomplished color wise, meaning either directly with colorant or the influence of flakes. 5) From the start don't do what I did and believe that you're going to remember recipes...you can't. Date each recipe & photo it so you can correspond. 6) Strive for consistency..after all it doesn't serve you to make the immaculate conception if you can't duplicate it. A) Don't question your recipe unless you've changed a colorant supplier, b) don't trust artificial lighting, take the time to walk outside and see it in natural light, it's where the bait is going to be used. 7) "If a fish can see these bubbles it already has a hook in it's mouth", a philosophy I accepted. I wear 4 power glasses to pour as a result I probably see more bubbles than the average bear. I was terribly anal about bubbles when I first started pouring because I was comparing what I made to a machine made. 8 Never forget your humanity, you're not a machine which is why you've chosen to make your own baits to begin with. Individualism, creation & ownership are an extension of your mind, you will have failures and learn from them...you will never be perfect and there's always a next time. 9) No where is it written that you cannot make something, anything is possible until you prove to yourself it isn't. 10) Color is what you say it is, no two people see color alike and is irrelevant because the color only matters to a finned creature with the brain the size of a walnut.

Sear them together with a hot putty knife, do enough times you'll get proficient at it. Lot less messy and saves time.

It was only a matter of time, I was wondering when someone would notice that Bait Plastics and Poly Sol have the same address. I've had several individuals make contact asking me questions pertaining to the issue of manufacture and I had no answer because it isn't any of my business until I have to take the time to answer them. As this site is designed to help people it would serve to clarify a couple of questions. Was Baitjunky receiving a "special mix' from Calhoun? & is Poly Sol duplicating it or is it genuine Calhoun as it's being represented? This will go a long way to clearing this up, I'd appreciate it and I'm sure others will be as well.

For swimbaits Top 8 oz 1) Flo Blue 10) Black 1/2 smidge green hi lite Vein 8 oz 1) Mustard Yellow 1) Brown 1) Watermelon 1/2 smidge Gold hi lite Belly 8 oz 1) Flo Blue 1) Black 1) Pinch Pearl hi lite Merry Christmas

See this all the time on FB and fishing boards in the classified sections under the guise that they bought too many and are "overstocked".

We've received 2 e mails in the last year or so from people that claim we're infringing on their patent offering to let us continue to produce for a set amount of money. The first one I noticed immediately did not include a patent # I was supposedly infringing upon. With a little research I discovered the truth regarding such scams, bogus filings by parties not even in business. I wrote both back and gave them 5 working days to produce the patent number neither replied. The patent office had become laxed in how they were awarding patents and recently I read that the patent office is going to investigate awarded patents.

I've mixed and poured thousands of gallons of plastic that wasn't/isn't degassed with no bubbles. I have no idea what you're talking about regarding moisture and it talking to me, there's no need to explain I'll consider myself fortunate.

Questions: It appears that you are using a 2 cup pyrex with only about a cup of plastic is there a reason for this? How much plastic are you heating up from the start? What's your heat up sequence? What wattage is your micro? Once heated are you seeing any vapor? I would suggest the following: Take 8 oz mix colors in prior to heating if your not, 900Watt micro set for 2 mins, stir and set for 1 min. Stir from the center out to disperse heat, the viscosity of the plastic should allow for the bubbles to rise, if you don't see them rise bump the plastic for an additional 30 seconds and observe. The bubbles should rise from the center and gather along the edge of the pyrex under normal circumstances. Judging by the photo there's enough bubbles where that's probably not going to happen and it will look like the head of a beer. The bubbles in the pic are normally associated with moisture but since you've already stated the lack of humidity that rules that out.

After 8 yrs I've been wrong the whole time. I mistakenly believed I had a "regular job" pouring for a living complete with burns & scars. A "regular job"....better think about this a little more, just being honest.

After reading the OP I thought it best to relay some of the experiences we've had to date that may serve to give food for thought and direction. First I would stress that either hand pouring or injecting has a learning curve to arrive at a finished product that anglers are willing to purchase, this cannot be overlooked. 2nd, there are 100's of high school & college teams that are currently or have considered this same possibility, there are only so many suppliers and they have all been subject to the same requests for free or discounted materials and can only do so much. 3rd, with all young people these days they have very busy lives: School during the school year, sports, girlfriends/boyfriends, Xbox and so on...time available becomes the issue. A few ideas to consider: 1) Contract out the product, this will expedite getting product for sale. 2) Locate one or more Bass clubs in your immediate area (In Alabama there are plenty), call the president and discuss the possibility of attending their next club meeting and showing the product(s) to them and go from there. 3) Locate and discuss the possibility with a local retailer as to putting some of the product in their store. I've known several high school Jr & Srs that have used a similar project as a business model for thesis papers for AP classes. Last thought: Every year I purchase 7-10 boxes of girl scout cookies, they're overpriced and I know they didn't make them themselves. I purchase for the purpose...to help the girl scouts. Point being people will purchase the baits at a higher price just don't sell them a piece of junk or they won't buy a second time. Best to you and the kids

Pretty much sums it up and I'll add: Don't make the mistake of taking payment upfront for baits. Once you have someone's money you're obligated and they have the right to expect a decent delivery time. I've seen at least 10 people over the years use advance ordering as a business model only to get a black eye and fail. If you have a vision of success and understand what is necessary to achieve it...chances are you're going to orphan your family and lose a lot if not all of your fishing time. If your customer base is tournament anglers don't count on them to tell or share info about your products, if it works they're going to want to keep their competitive advantage.

So very true, the enjoyment derived from being able to create at will not because it was "ordered". Worst is making the same color(s) over and over with little to no variation has all but killed creativity.

How I use to do it in a hand poured 5" stick which might work for you. Measure your cavity to the length you want the core shot color, get an old metal clothes hanger and cut to match + 1" to bend up. Pour your half as usual and place the wire on it but don't allow it to submerge completely you want just a little of it exposed, with the bend at the res opening, let cool and pull/lift the wire. Be sure and use a release agent on the wire, and you should have a cavity that you can apply your shot color that is deep & wide enough to be able to pour. Make sure your port for each cavity is clear before injecting. I just used a clothes hanger because it was handy you can use any diameter wire you want to increase the amount of core shot color. In the beginning I'd have a 30% success ratio and with some practice I got it up to 85%. Hope this works for you, been a long time since I did it personally so I don't think I left anything out.

The weight will more than likely fade out to a pretty shade of blue in a week or two if it's lead.

Kudzu

If you're pouring under artificial light it will affect the color you see.

I'm going to convey some of our experiences over the last almost 8 yrs. 1) Customs are a no bueno for a number reasons, a couple being that even club level anglers will ask you not to produce it for anyone else and there's the issue of the amount of time you'll tie up to produce it which in turn this could happen...they don't like it. Of course you can probably sell it to someone else and recoup a little bit but you don't get the time back...losing end game. 2) If you like to fish and you get off work early (assuming you have a day job) and know you have orders to fill and molds to pay for...chances are going fishing goes out the window. 3) Know thy limits based on time to produce, time available and what thy time is worth. IE. $20.00 per hour net is what you set for yourself. In each mold do the math and discover how many of that product you will have to produce in an hour for that net based on a cavity count available. You may discover it's not possible within the criteria of cavity count and process. These are 3 and there are more that are equally important. As mentioned previously the legalities, plus competition and so on all factor in to the equation of profitability, not to mention the intangibles such as materials cost increases and of course the big one that being the economy. Food for thought

I'm seeing 3 distinct colors Junebug, plum & mud. I know how too get the blend in a hand pour but not injection. Judging by the pics I would guess that they're applying the plum first and only in the claws with excess going in to the flippers possibly (hard to tell by the pics), then the JB & mud in sequence, again that's just a guess.

These are always fun..always interesting how different people see color. My take is Lurecraft's violet grape W/.009 red flake very common for SoCal. From what I can see it was probably a production color so the amount of plastic originally mixed would've been large. I'd start with 8 oz and think pin drops of the grape & non bleed red or even flourescent red plus 1 drop of black. Pour 1/4" in the mold and continue with the pin drops to taste then add the flake. That's my guess

It's an older mold & it's been around for a while...just so you know I do troll the TFF on occasion and know exactly where the baits I brought and gave away in Shreveport went. This is the part when I can have a little fun at someone else's expense...I'm more than happy to help you any way I can. While I'm here, in the DYI forum it's not blue in the belly it's green hi lite mixed with overheated clear. It's my birthday today...pick a bait you want to copy from Top Shelf and I'll give you the recipe...after all having made thousands of them....might as well have the satisfaction. Deleted in 1..2...3..4

As you can see I don't post very often but that doesn't mean I don't visit the TU to read and see baits. I do to enjoy the creativity on display and appreciate the talent & artistry because I'm well aware of the efforts involved to produce a single bait. I understand the premise of the contest and it's purpose and solute the TU. To the purpose of my post: I personally live for the challenge of creating that which doesn't exist in the known universe. To make physical, to have ownership and to push the mind to aspire to achieve a result. I know I'm not the only person who loves a challenge for similar reasons, I can see it in the photo gallery and I'm green with envy when looking at some of the paint jobs on the hard baits <<<painters have all the fun. For TU consideration: Challenge us...ie give us a template..a pic of a bait fish for us to duplicate as we see it individually and divide into two categories hard bait/soft bait and see what happens. The TU purpose will be served in that people will see what is possible and provide food for thought. Humbly submitted, J

Truth be told I've used the porcelain many times usually to test buoyancy of a worm on a shaky head or fall rate of a wacky. At one point I was mixing food color in it, it was perfect because you knew exactly how much water was in it, once done flush and you could start again...worked good until the bowl started to stain...heard about that. The best though was when I used it while it had cleaner in it ( I was in a hurry ), discovered the most beautiful shade of green and went straight to the shop to duplicate it.

For personal use only 72 cavities / 4 different configurations, anything less and it becomes psychological...going nowhere fast. I'm so use to mass production I almost dread self pours and have a hard time getting motivated.

Zoom tends to be a little wild with the amount of flake they use but that's out of necessity since they employ salt. Due to the opaque nature of the finished product they rely on a certain percentage of flakes to set at different depths. Their recipe for GP is the cause for the Holo flakes to appear to be gold within the bait.

I was going to give it one more day...you're absolutely correct it's .015 Holo, there is no gold. Color kills it at Amistad and Falcon