Forward weighting soft sticks

[Senkosam]

I've been successful this spring with my usual sticks in different styles and sometimes prefer to cast unsalted sticks over shallow wetlands. The slight problem (if you could call it that) is that when I jerk the stick, it sometimes surfaces rather than walks from side-to-side and the Gammie hook does little except on the horizontal drop.

I figured out a way to keep the nose level with the body, horizontal to the bottom, and still maintain a high whip-action soft body. It requires a second pour of the front (and/or rear end for rehooking after the front is torn up), 1/4 of the way, with salt-water plastic with a high salt content. Salt water plastic weighs more than regular soft or super soft and salt adds to the weight, plus, it gives you a hard-nose bait that lasts even longer than super soft sticks. The result is a horizontal dart from side to side and a nice horizontal drop with the Senko action.

I was able to catch 4 bass and a 18" pick on the same stick last Sunday, poured the way mentioned.

FM

Edited May 7, 2008 by Senkosam

[CHUCKV309]

Were you able to get the colors close, or did you use it as a color break? How far up did you go? 1/2, 1/4 or where? How much salt to a cup of plastic?

[Senkosam]

I wasn't too concerned about the tip colors. In fact, I used some Spike-It dye to color the tips the same or different color or used glitter in the clear salted plastic. Fish didn't care and weren't put off by the small color difference.

On a 5" sticks, the weighted tip is about 3/8" from the front or rear of the stick. The amount of salt (fine salt) is dependent on how much you want the tip to level off the fall. (I use about 3 tablespoons per half cup.)

On a 4.25" stick, about the same or a little less than 3/8", but the wide gap hook needs the room.

Edited May 7, 2008 by Senkosam

[King Bait Co.]

I have been drag'n my stiks on the bottom to but I have been doing it wacky. It looks like two fat claws on a crawdad swinging around. I was on a boat doing this with my rod tip in the water and I hit a 17"er. It hit it when it whent towards the top and had a good boil. I use stiks without salt rigged weightless like a worm to drag across the top of the weeds. Sorry wasn't on subject. Know I have been wondering how to do a hard noes style but I want to do it in the middle for wacky worm'n. How should I do it or would the ends pull off to easy.

[Senkosam]

As long as the plastic is hot enough, fusion will take place. For a hard plastic middle, I would count as I'm pouring and check to see how many seconds it took to come almost to half way. I'd heat two containers at the same time, pour the rear, pour the middle and then pour the rest.

Again, fish don't care about a different colored band of plastic - it could be clear.

[BigBassBo]

Where do you get the fine salt Senkosam? I hope at wally world or grocery store

Ive used Floured and table salt. Too fine and too big. Floured clouds bait too much and screws up my colors, and the table salt makes my baits hard to pour and very bad about bubbles and hollow spots.

Thanks

[Senkosam]

Diamond fine salt (in most supermarkets) is the cheapest (79 cents for the usual cylinder box) and the best at allowing translucence. LC and others charge too much for fine salt and popcorn salt is the most expensive.

Fine salt stays suspended longer, doesn't clog Lee pots and stays on corn without bouncing off!

[BigBassBo]

Thanks Sam:worship:I will try that.

[Senkosam]

A friend just told me about Kosher salt which he mixes with Diamond fine salt. He says the crystals are flat and thin (like mica) and also stay suspended. He usually uses both for weight and says it reduces the amount of stirring. As a big time producer that does a lot of business, he does what he can to save time. (BearPawHandpours)

[King Bait Co.]

I saw that guy (BearPawHandpours) on Lunkerville. Is that show still on Thats what got me into pouring my own baits.

[Senkosam]

I saw that guy (BearPawHandpours) on Lunkerville. Is that show still on Thats what got me into pouring my own baits.

You can watch all the episodes on:

Welcome to Lunkerville!

(I'm in the show 'MacGyver', where we catch fish and I demonstrate how to pour worms and fuse hybrid baits.)

[King Bait Co.]

I didn't know that was you. Thats what got me into pouring my own baits and finding out on how to make POP molds.

[Senkosam]

I didn't know that was you. Thats what got me into pouring my own baits and finding out on how to make POP molds.

The one and only. It was touch and go for the first hour because retakes (trying to remember what you just said and repeating it exactly) are a real pain! Plus, I gave a guarentee that I would catch five species on the same lure (flash-a-bou jig), as well as bass and picks on a handpoured stick. Thank god the post spawn lake cooperated.

I wasn't exactly sure what they were after before filming, but after seeing the dvd, there was nothing I was ashamed or embarrassed about given that it was over 4 hours of tpaed, unrehearsed improv. (Though I kinda do look like the mad scientist pouring sticks. Wish he would have edited that out!)

[King Bait Co.]

So Is Mike D really a nice guy?

[Senkosam]

Very professional and puts you at ease. His show targets only amateurs and he's considered doing a show about tackle crafters, by tackle crafters. Tackle crafting is an art and really a separate obsession tied to fishing, as many on TU have realized for years, but for the general public, hand crafted lures (especially those for sale) seem new. He had no idea.

[One Sock]

Ok here is the tip for your salted heads and middles but it is time consuming, pour your unsalted stick, remove from mold lay the stick on a table and mark off for reference where you want to cut, so all sticks look alike, cut it on an angle replace it in the mold, the angle cut will allowa better bond no matter how long you wait. pour your next color.... to get the hard parts just use an excessive amount of salt but not enough to clog the mold. here is an example. The black ends have 4x the amount of salt, the middle has none, but the action is great when wacky rigging:wink:....thank me later

[One Sock]

oh forgot to add, it's easier to just pour the whole sticks with the heavy salt then cut the tips, replace them in the mold and use the left over for more tips. I have bags of 500 counts in tips in different colors, i do specialty orders on these, like I said they suck to make but are great for personal use.