Hillbilly voodoo

No problem my lures are mostly pike and lake trout lures around 5-8inch so I understand how fast material adds up. Buying 32 oz at a time is brutal One thing you might want to look into is smooth ons mold max 30 it’s a cheaper option for silicon molds than Alumilite. Well at least in my area it’s almost 1/2 the cost.

I use Alumilite as well and if you are buying small quantity it can be costly. Buying in large quantity it’s not bad in my opinion and I build larger baits I have not tried featherlite because controlling buoyancy through different ratios of micro balloons and resin is a big part of how I build. I have used Smoothon’s version of alumilite white (can’t remember the name) and it was brittle compared to Alumilite and more prone to bubbles in my opinion. I don’t know what you pay for Alumilite vs smooth-on resin but for larger quantity Alumilite is cheaper for me even with shipping it from across Canada one thing I did find with Alumilite products shopping around is important because of price differences. I have seen 2gal of Alumilite white with up to $300 difference in price here in Canada Outside of smooth-on and Alumilite I don’t have a different resin option for you. I can say for my use Alumilite is a better option then smooth on

The problem is pics don’t show action. Let’s be honest it’s a pretty contest lol I still would like to see it if you succeed

Personally I don’t see an issue in the contest or how it’s run. Like I posted earlier I don’t take it seriously and see it as a fun thing only. I have never even attempted to build a lure with the contest in mind just entered lures I would build normally. Only think it would be nice to see some new members stick around and more entries from active members

@Travis I have to agree with your post some of the rules regarding pictures/video are part of what keeps membership/posting down. The attempt to avoid being a social media site just sent more traffic to those groups/forums

I don’t think it really draws much for members but people do enjoy it

Promotion that brought increased more members would be beneficial for sure

I understand where you are coming from Dave Well let’s see who sticks around beyond the contest

Ok depends on the size of trout you are talking. Around here trout can average as pan fry 12inch trout in some waters and other areas exceed 10lbs There is one flaw to single hooks for C&R trout fishing and that is eye hooking or brain hooking trout if the hook size is a bit big compared to the trout. In my opinion a barbless treble is better for solving this issue or run smaller singles but you will loose more larger fish on the small single I owned a U catch trout pond for 10years and got to see the results of different hooks, lures, and bait/hook combo’s if you want to run singles for C&R trout think of the size of trout and pick a hook with a gape that is just small enough that it limits brain hooking on the smaller trout you catch

@Vodkaman It does show how many lurkers are around once a contest starts. Would be nice if a few stuck around and contributed I don’t take the competition part seriously but I do like seeing some of the unique lures that are entered. Did notice not much for entries from regulars though Dave with the amount of people going in the direction of 3D printing a Cad class probably would see interest

No lack of entries in the contest now Seems like a lot of new members who entered and some nice work. Hopefully you new members stick around and contribute some of your knowledge to the forum

For the trout the sharpie was my favorite of the methods suggested

Welcome to the forum more of a builder than a painter myself but there is some members who are true artists on here ton of information if you search the forum too

I think both of us were thinking you mold had bubbles with the plastisol aspect I am will have to bow out and lay someone more knowledgeable help you there

If you are talking about bubbles in the silicon mold there is one thing that definitely helps. When pourIng your mold only cover your master with a thin layer of silicone and stop. You will be able to actually see the bubbles form an pop. This only takes a few minutes to pass then you will be able to continue pouring. it makes a big difference and I kick myself every time I rush and forget this step. When I do this with a master that was clear coated master I get an extremely smooth mold cavity. You will still have bubbles in the rest of the mold

I will keep that in mind Mark might come in handy

In the end the fish are the final judge. It will be about a month before I can give it a good test on pike as is stands I like it but fish don’t always agree with me

bath tub test looks good but need to test it on the rod still. the ugly prototype was tested at the river and worked so have faith the pretty version should be good