JRammit

Since you mentioned rain, i had to share this...... Taken last weekend, 2 streets over from my house..... Its the end of a 5 year drought in north Texas!...and of course the pic is sideways, as is every pic i upload for some reason...

Just put another 60-70 hrs in the fuel/oil/chemical truck behind me... Not much time or energy to tinker in the evenings, get every Sunday and every other Saturday off, so a project that would take most guys 3 or 4 days takes me 2 or 3 weeks... Still have alot of empty trays in my tackle box!.... I have gone fishing 5 times this year, but thats LOW for me! Al... You mean you gave up selling?... Surely you still pour for yourself???

I just now looked at that link... Thats almost exactly how i do my RTV molds... But i stand my master up in wet clay and mash the PVC down around it..... I didnt think to put a slit down the side, looks like that makes it ALOT easier to cut the mold apart! I always had problems with that part... Some extreme precision would be in order to cut around the tiny legs on a bait like the one in question!

We worked hard all week and Friday is almost upon us... Then for some comes the "week end"... Not all of my weeks end, but im sure some of yours do.... How do you spend them?... In your man cave or in your boat??...... Since i started making lures, my time on the water has diminished... Might sound sad to some, but my time in the "shop" is equally enjoyable to me!....... Just wondering how many suffer from the same dilemma??

Seeking, Pm sent

Why dry?... I just toss mine in a water bath and let em float a while... They dont seem to mind...

I had similar thoughts of using my scented oils to lube my molds... I know some guys mix it in, but cant help but think most of the scent gets sealed in...... Havnt tried either, the oil isnt expensive but the shipping is! Dont wanna waste any...

Ray, i put mine in for 20 minutes on warm (150-170).. Seems to work, at least they are dryer than when i put them in... Dave, what are u using plasrer for?... Didnt know u made soft baits???

Maybe if you took 1 "dimention" away from this bait, it could be done in a 2 piece mold... What i mean is, 5 legs instead of 5 sets, 1 antenna instead of 2.. That way they all lay in the seam of the mold The tail and eyes will sit deep in the mold.. The RTV would be your best option, maybe just flexible enough to get these parts out with a little bending Unless you are EXTREMELY skilled at carving or sculpting, the life cast is your plan... But if i were attempting it, i would cut the fragile appendages off and replace with thin wire or something similar Oh, and maybe some threaded through skirting for that mess of arms in the front... I stole that idea from someone else on here, now my conscience is clear!

Cool pics!... Apex predator!... Didnt say how these fish were captured...?

Seeking, Ive never fished musky, i dont know why? I lived 8 years in Colorado, they are prevalent there, but i stuck to trout and walleye....... I couldnt agree more about right place right time! Some days you could probably throw a bare hook and still catch fish.... But other days, for all the species im familiar with, bait choice does matter!

Think i got a little off topic there, when i start talking about fishing i tend to ramble (ask any of my friends), lost my train of though...... Meant to say, i think we spend too much time getting our baits to resemble a fish's prey rather than spark a fish's curiosity.... A great bait does something a fish doesnt understand.. Since they dont have hands or paws, they explore the world through their mouth...... Get a fish curious, get her in the boat!

This is a such a great topic, because as the most intelligent species on the plannet, we pretend that our efforts here are to understand dynamics, engineering and applied science... When in reality, we spend all this time and effort attemting to trick a creature with a brain the size of a marble... Ha! I think the most common misconception in fisherman is that fish only strike out of hunger.. Of course they do, they gotta eat... But if that were the only reason, none of us would have pics in the trophy room.. Lets use the Largemouth bass as an example since the majority of us are familiar with her: Natural selection and evolution have made her an extremely proficient hunter! - she knows her agility is no match for her smaller prey, so she relies mainly on the ambush (which is why we fish cover) - she knows her larger retina gives her the advantage over smaller prey in low light conditions (which is why we get up at the crack of dawn) - somehow she even knows the time of year to leave her cover and hunt open water schooling bait fish (which is why we have a shad everything in our tackle box) Point is, she isnt starving, our lure isnt the first thing shes seen all day.. Match whatever hatch you want, or throw something different, she may turn her nose up at it, or she may hammer it.. Its her decision..... Ive caught a bass on a craw bait, with the tail of a 5" shad still sticking out of its throat, had a bass burp up a 7" plastic worm as i unhooked it from my 6" plastic worm, even caught a bass on the same 6" worm that was casually swimming through a school of minnows.... These fish were not hungry Perhaps her only flaw is the the same flaw that "killed the cat"... I like to compare fish to other animals because some behaviors are similar.. Think of a well fed house cat chasing a laser pointer, he dont know what hes gonna do when he gets it, but he HAS to have it!!! Some good examples on this thread about one crank out performing another, but from my experience what works on one day will not necessarily work on the next... What makes a good crank bait? Or good lure in general?...... Great question!... Id say ask a fish....

I would imagine so! As a regular dremel has NO electronic brake and no handle for leverage to balance out the torque of a heavier blade.. I think that attatchment may have been designed as a weapon rather than a tool!... Years ago i had an actual scroll saw made by dremel, only problem i had with it was misplacing it durring a move.... Wish i still had it!

Check this out, i was thinking of getting a scroll saw too, but this thing would save alot of space! http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Tools/Pages/ToolDetail.aspx?pid=MS20#.VVP43dAo5ms I havnt sold anything yet, actually at this point if someone bought one of my baits it would only be out of sympathy (ha ha!).. But i think im improving.. Still trying to achieve my 1st goal, which was to replace my WHOLE arsenal with all customs, im almost at the halfway point... After that, who knows??

Something you could try... Cut the angle you want in 2 small plywood squares, then make a "sandwich" in your vice.. Line the bait up the best you can with the slots you cut in the plywood.. Then use them as a guide to cut the slot in your bait...... Getting it all lined up will be a bit tricky, especially if your bait is round.. Perhaps make some square spacers the same width as your bait to square up your "sandwich".....

What about the "beat the clock game" you have to play with epoxy?... Since you would likely be applying the UV stuff indoors, do you have infinite working time?... That could be an advantage!

Ha!... I'm thinking the next addition to my "man corner" will be a mini beer fridge next to my cardboard paint booth.. More efficient than walking to the kitchen fridge! Im strictly power tools on hard baits, carving dont i well do!... Hand me a big block of wood, after an hour of carving ill hand you back a smaller block...

What kinda lights does this require?... The same kinda lights folks use to grow......... Plants....?.... Just curious, i hear those cause a notible difference in the electric bill... What advantages does UV resin have over epoxy to justify this cost??

Dave, that was my reasoning for starting with softies... But there are some things a chunk of plastic just cant do... Theres a time and place for everything on the water.. Fish arent much different from women... Sometimes you gotta finesse em soft and slow.... And other times... Well... You gotta give em the hard bait!

I havnt bought a bag of plastics since i joined TU last year... But i did fish mine against a store bought once... 2nd bait i ever made was a little 2" shad shaped crappie jig, 2nd time i used it was fishing against a buddy who use to fish professionally and his favorite panfish assassin jig... He smoked me 30 somthin to 20 somthin!!!... But he always outfished me anyway, so i cant blame the bait...

Man, my wife has me posted up in the corner.. Weve been fighting over the laundry room, ill get it one way or another!!!... But in the mean time i know all about opperating in minimal space!... I also know about 350 degree plastic!.. Gloves and long sleeves from now on!!!... I just assume it happens to everyone once, so mine is out of the way!.... Wasnt that bad, only about 9 blisters on my left hand, biggest one was only the size of half an easter egg..... Not to discourage, hot plastic is no more dangerous than the power tools you probably use to make hard baits