Fishermanbt

Have you tried to lay out the oily baits on a baking sheet for a few days to see if it subsides? I’m a fan of BP but noticed the baits some times get oily when sealed up in a bag. I have started leaving the plastic bag zippers slightly opened and it fixed it for the most part

Welcome to TU and the tackle making community. 1) factory senkos are a soft blend plastic with heavy salt. Dig through the search feature if you haven’t already, there might be a recipe in an old post. By adding salt the plastic gets hard. You can use regular or soft blend plastic and then add plastisol softener to get the right feel you want. 2) the topic of when to add scent has many opinions. Either way works. I personally add a few drops in the bag after the baits have cured for a few days or a week. I hated to constantly smelling the garlic or shad scent while pouring. 3) by cooling the mold the baits set up faster. A cold mold will sometimes cause baits to dent though. As the plastic cools it starts drawing hot plastic from the sprew. If the he sprew sets up the plastic on the bait side has no plastic to draw from. My senko mold is a beast to keep from denting. I usually just put a mold on either side of the one I’m shooting to draw the heat away.

Walmart or craft stores. This is what I have used. I suspect that rtv may not cure if in direct contact with the clay. That is why I mentioned covering the clay with wax paper while one side cures. I know soft plastics plastisol doesn’t play nice with the clay. However my two part tin cure silicone doesn’t mind the clay when making a mold.

The use of clay would only be used as a temporary to press against the side with rtv until cured. Then remove the clay and put rtv on that side. Thus, giving you rtv on both halves.

Just thinking aloud here. What if you applied some rtv in the void area on one side so it’s level with the mold face. Place your hooks and keepers where you want them. On the other side of the mold fill the void area with model clay (not air dry kind) and level it flush with the face of the mold. Then cover it with wax paper and tape to the outside. Close the mold and let it cure. Should be minimal squeeze out. Clean up flashing with a razor blade and clean the clay off followed by some iso alcohol. Then repeat for the other side with wax paper over the cured rtv. Should give you a nice even seal with some wiggle room for the keepers.

It really depends on the type of bait you’re pouring and your presentation. Soft= lots of bait movement but does not last long due to teeth or structure. Medium= just that, middle of the road in bait movement and durability. Hard= less movement of the bait but it lasts for several catches or snags. With that said, some bait types like swimbaits often times call for a medium or hard plastic to maintain their action. Tubes is another I generally pour with a hard plastic for durability. With crappie baits I use medium or soft plastic. I suggest trying out a few different manufacturers’ plastic sample kits to get a feel for what you want rather than being disappointed in a gallon of money spent. If you do a sample kit, shoot your favorite mold once in clear then try some with color. Do this with all three firmnesses. Let the baits hang for several days to a week and see if the clarity and firmness suit your needs. Make detailed notes with dates in a notebook as you go.

I use CS Coatings Seal-Coat on my jigging spoons. Very little to no smell. Two to three coats depending if I do an initial coat with glitter in it. Dip and drip. Being water based it can also be thinned and applied through an airbrush. After a few days of cure time it seems rock solid.

“Where do I find brown highlight?“. That is a very good question. I got mine in a lot purchased some time ago. It is MF brown neon powder color 940BN.

A “natural” crayfish can vary in color from region to region. They also take on different hues throughout the year as they molt and spawn. Try a google search for crayfish in your region to get an idea. The standard crayfish if you will, I’d go with a laminate of pumpkin seed over a tan (I use DeadOn grit color and tweak it with other colors as needed). I’d also look at MF motor oil, MF chartreuse pumpkin or MF green pumpkin brown. You could further drive yourself insane by incorporating some brown highlight to the above. As for glitter, black for sure along with red and/or orange.

I got tired of fighting those pucks. When I get done I will pour the hot plastic on to the outside of a big mold (like a Do-It ES mold) just shy of spilling over the side and keep layering it or on a cookie sheet. Once cool I’ll roll it up and put it in a bag or a container. I will also often leave an incomplete bait or a runner in with it for future color reference. Cutting those rolls up is much easier.

I have been using 4 mil zip top bags from jc_supplies on eBay.

I use either a hot plate or a toaster oven to warm the molds up and to keep the injector and block hot. 175°-250° will usually do the trick depending on how cold the room is.

Tried hot stamping on lead baits with limited success. Maybe I was doing it wrong but it was just a PITA. I went with the nail foil and foil sheets and gilding glue. Much easier and faster.

Try digging around in bugmolds.com website. They might have something similar. As for the bait, the company might use a proprietary TPU rubber. This would require high heat and high pressure through a specialized machine. Something that is out of reach for us “at home” makers. You could get close enough though by using a 2 part mold and pouring in the fins first then shooting the mold with a dual injector to get the top and belly different colors.

The fluorescent colors I have are from Golden and I think Spectra are thinner than Createx. As far as coverage, make sure you are mixing the fluorescent colors really good before use. Chartreuse and pink are infamous for pigment settling/hard packing. Once throughly mixed build up the color with layers. Spay, heat set, spray again until you get what you’re after. As for painting over holo tape, yes you can. Just go lightly over it. Test out a few blanks with varying amounts of paint and clear coat. This way you can get a feel for how much paint you need. I would also suggest consider spraying alcohol ink over the tape. Very little is needed and it gives the bait a nice look. See attached photo.