Slimy Salamander

Thanks, I use Rhinoceros 3D.

Thanks FishCandy, yes those were 3D printed as well. I opted for a significantly cheaper and faster printing material on those, but it's well worth the effort. Splitting the mold with clay is the only part of mold making I dislike and this makes it much easier, quicker and neater.

Thanks Mark

I've made a time-lapse video showing how to design and build your own fishing popper cork. In the beginning of the video I demonstrate how to catch African Sharptooth Catfish, but this technique should work for many other catfish species elsewhere in the world as well. I believe that Redfish are targeted in a similar way in the US so perhaps this will be useful to someone.

Check the Facebook page of "Custom Lure Factory", all those designs were made in Rhinoceros 3D and they are fantastic.

Rhinoceros 3D perhaps?

Looking forward to seeing your work.

You know, you are right. I have no reason to complain about the US government becuase I'm not from the USA. If you feel the $35 is justified then it's all good.My opinion about our government is very different but that is becuase our government is beyond evil and it's something very few foreigners will understand, just like it's impossible for me to understand how you guys can actually trust your government. This is a classic example of how cultural differences and vastly different circumstances can cause misunderstandings. I'll rather not discuss this further, becuase I came to this forum becuase fishing makes me happy and it's one of the few things that keep my mind off the political uncertainty going on. We already need bullet proof vests to go fishing in some areas becuase this country is full of savages.

So they do charge money for a copyright, another example of how a government rapes it's citizens for something that should be a right. Back to the point, very few things are worth patenting and I don't see the point unless it's something that will change the world. I've created some very ground breaking lures myself and I just couldn't justify the expense and effort to apply for a patent. In my case I focused all that energy and money into the product itself and made some great improvements.

Watch this and listen to the guy, he knows what he is talking about:

Lol, that's a scam. A copyright is FREE and automatic if it has the words copyright and your name on it.

JRammit is correct. Don't waste your time or money on patents, they protect nothing unless you have millions to spend on legal fees going after copycats and they are very likely to get away with it in the end anyway. Very few ideas are worth patenting and the only people that win is the lawyers.

Hi m_vandorn, How's the development of your lures going? Have you made any new breakthroughs? I've finished designing my lure and managed to shrink the size down considerably. Photos: http://i67.tinypic.com/2pr62s6.jpg http://i64.tinypic.com/1426hw6.jpg http://i65.tinypic.com/mtt2lh.jpg

Just some feedback. I had an aluminium mould made as well as 3D printed masters from the same lure designs. There are two sizes of the same lure design, small and large. The aluminium mould is far superior, it's cheaper, it's smooth, highly detailed and ready for production. The mould is for 2x small and 2x large lures. For the 3D printed masters I went with PolyJet resin, because it's one of the 3D printing technologies with the most amount of details and best smoothness, but very expensive. The 3D printed masters (1x small + 1x large only) were more expensive, not smooth at all as claimed and I still have to make rubber moulds from them, so it's not production ready upon arrival. I also waited longer for the 3D printed masters. Conclusion, don't bother with 3D printing it's not not that great and I highly recommend getting an aluminium mould machined from your 3D design.

Hi Garreth, I'm a South African as well, will you share your supplier's contact details with me becuase I find it really hard sourcing good quality paints locally.