TU taught me this, its long, pics too.

[Piscivorous Pike]

I grew up living on the shore of a Pike lake and because of a lifelong affair with Northerns I pursued an education in wildlife management. Although they can eat a fish 20% of the Pike’s weight and ½ as long as the Pike it’s self; studies show the majority of their forage is 4 to 5 inches in length. This is the preferred food size. I found a Pike Killer Pattern for soft jerk bait but it is not available anymore. It works so very good that now I needed to find this obsolete or out of business soft plastic jerk bait pattern. Searching the Internet has brought me to TU.

Where I fish for pike the preferred colors are green for all species of game in that area but pike particularly love hot pink or bubble gum colors. I have been making Pop molds for years and melting down cheap plastics and pouring my own specialty colors in unusual patterns like an “8 inch” reapers.

Once I found in a dollar store the one and only package of a bubble gum colored Creek Town Pro Series Jerk Bait. I bought it for the color only; just to melt down.

Getting back to needs and wants; I fished NW Montana this June during a transition period for the fish and I watch the pike literally move out of the weed edges as water temps rose from 55 to 60+ degrees in three days. They entered their summer period and got lockjaw. They moved to the windblown rocky drop offs in substantial numbers. Using my entire repertoire of presentations I finally connected and landed a good number of them, 4 to 11 pounders. They would take only the one style 4-5 inch jerk bait; you guessed it, that weird one I bought at the dollar store.

I deciphered why it worked and what was the trigger. After watching a Banjo Minnow 006 info-mercial and keeping in mind the Mr. Wiggly creation of TV fishing host, Larry Dahlberg the “Ah-ha” light came on. The trigger was erratic movement, no mechanical vibration in the presentation and it was all due to nose hooking the lure. The common denominator is a very flexible body and nose hooking the soft plastic lure. The soft plastic would wave in the water much more freely than any jig, Carolina or Texas rigging would do.

This cute jerk bait has a bass assassin body but it has a long tail shank ending in splayed mermaid like flukes, the long shank makes it 35 mm longer than the 5-inch bass assassin. This is what the pike fell for over and over again. Often I used an attractor lure to cover water and fish fast and once I saw pike I threw back to any follows with this goofy little jerk. Sometimes 8-inch reapers would work nose hooking them horizontal like a beaver tail. This is a trick tried and true from In-Fisherman.

My searches for the odd jerk bait were not successful. It appears to be identical but longer than the LureCraft 5x736, there has to be some relationship between the two as the anatomies are identical. I think that the company, Creek Town, is gone and searching for it is how I found TU. The self taught mold making I had practiced years ago was on track but needed improvement, the knowledge base was right here in TU and I sure did benefit from it.

This is the story.

I ruined three of the last 4 remaining jerk bodies trying to make a hook slot in a new Pop mold. Therefore I grafted the tails of the ruined bodies onto the bodies of 5-inch bass assassins to make new models. (I created a freak monster)

I knew of DWP as we had a can of it in the tool room when I was a kid over 50 years ago! The last couple of years my wife discovered DWP and tried repairing any and everything around the house with it whether it needed repair or not. I never thought of using DWP to make a mold. TU showed me different.

I learned that I could make a 1-piece mold and since these jerks had flat tops I should glue them to a flat pan bottom. Why not make a two-piece mold, making the flat bottom one side of the mold? By casting a slab of DWP in the same mold-casting pan this can be done. Then you could use the mold as a 1-piece or 2-piece mold!

I mixed DWP with 1% vinegar to ice water by volume to slow its set time. I used a large therapeutic back vibrator to jiggle out the bubbles in the mix and then use it again on the mold just after I poured to get the bubbles out. I poured to the side of the model to avoid excessive bubbles. The bubbles all came to the surface, but this is the surface that was to be bottom of the mold so sanding was necessary when it hardened. I cut ½ inch hardware cloth and put it into the container before pouring the DWP. I reinforce all my large molds this way. Once it set up I sanded the surface glass smooth. I coated it with a solution of 1 to 3 part white glue to water, 25%. This was a 4-place mold.

To index the mold I decided to use the ojive portion of .40 cal. FMJ bullets. I could have use acorn nuts, or real acorns for that matter or other tapered protrusions. I drilled holes and mounted the indexing bullets. I glued in the four models and I put clay models of the pour holes up to but not connecting to the jerks as I like to finish the sprue connection with a diamond grinding bit to be as precise as I can and make the smallest possible hole. I can work up the diameter with some trial and error. The top half makes a good 1-piece mold.

I made hook slots out of a piece of aluminum. I measured how deep from the top of the jerk the slot is and then set a mark on a Dremel cutter and then like a router cut a slot to drop the hook slot guide into. I glued it there with slurry of DWP and 25% white glue water. This goes through a tapered plastic pointed syringe well. After it set I finished off the fit and any holes with the slurry too. This aluminum hook slot mandrel was too crude and I replaced it with a piece of brass shim from the hardware store that I polished with the Dremel and jewelry polish, (maas, flitz, semichrome, etc). Before settling on this I made the hook slot mandrels from two different plastics, cut aluminum sheets, two shims soldered together and finally with a brass shim of the correct thickness. 5 tries to get it correct.

I use a very small sharp conical diamond Dremel cutter and by holding this bit in my fingers, not as a drill, I cut air vents from the tail shank of long molds by scratching them in. In this case there is a lattice of venting channels around the mold that I connect a mere scratch channel to help get the plastic into the small cavity. I fill in any bubbles or depressions with a slurry of white glue, water and DWP in a syringe that has a long plastic applicator. I use a small pointed Dremel stone and by hand, not on the drill, use it like a micro file to finish off any rough spot or to open any depressions in the mold and then it all gets a coat of 1/4 white glue. This is great for any deformities or air bubbles. I put on successive coats of 50% glue to water.

After completely drying and setting and 16-20 hours of labor into this first mold I thought I could pour. I preheated the mold to 200 degrees in an oven; now I use 170 degerees.

What problems. I have always used new plastic soft baits and melted them down. I do not use enough baits yet to justify buying platisol. The mold could have been made a little better so eventually I made a 2 position instead of 4-position mold. I incorporated all the little tricks I will mention here and the mold was beautifully finished. I found Rubber Maid eating utensil organizers at Wal Mart, they come in various widths and lengths for about $2 and are nearly straight wall boxes. I cast a slab and reverse it using the smooth bubbless bottom as the top, I have to shave the sides a little to get it back into the box because of the reverse taper of the wall. I glued the baits to this slab. I tried and purchased 7 or so different glues until I found one that would stick but let me take back my preciously scarce model unlike super glue would do. I used clay to form the beginning of the sprue, which I would finish with a Dremel grinder later.

To fill up the hook slot on the soft bait I put silicone sealer in a syringe and injected it into the slot and smoothed with saliva moistened finger. I also found I could do this with Vaseline and put the mold in the freezer to firm it up and the cold mold would also slow the set time down too when I poured in the DWP. I do this to fill in under the curve of the bait and around the edges of the slab so to get a good smooth clean fit by the second or top piece of the mold. I filled a syringe with Vaseline and caulked the tight places around the model to fill around, to round out the mold. This fixes the junction between round baits and the top half of the mold. Before pouring DWP onto it I put it into the freezer that hardens the Vaseline and clay, which I use to pre-form but not connect the sprue opening. The cold mold along with ice water and vinegar slows down the setting of DWP. I pour it runny and shake out the bubbles with a large therapeutic back vibrator.

My pours of plastic would not fill out the tails. So I eventually cut a sprue into the tail. I tried injection by adding air pressure through a tube by blowing or by using an air mattress pump. It did not work so well but it worked. I read about someone tried vacuum injection. I tried this by hooking the air mattress pump at the tail sprue with some success. I tried filling from the tail. I even made an injector, see at this link:

Plastic Injector -- click it

All pours were poor, some were useable then I realized I was 100 degrees too cold and by using a thermometer I got it up to temperature and this made a difference in the pour outcome. “DUH”, is an appropriate comment of enlightenment at this point. I still could not fill out the end of the tail however. I enlarged the venting and tail sprues in all molds with little success.

I made a new two-cavity mold in the smaller utensil boxes. I tried pouring hot; I tried the injector I made. I cut it air release channels but the tail flukes and shank just would not fill out. Do you hear a sucking sound? You should; I used Vodkamans’ vacuum venting method! THANHKS, Mr.V. I tied the vent channels to a hole into which I put a tube connected to a $10 rechargeable air mattress pump with very little success but finally I used my shop vacuum and wow!! I wasted hours and days and made venting holes and channels larger than needed. I just needed more wind. My molds now fill out. Large pour sprues take a fast dump of plastic too. I connected the air vents to a port that a suction hose is put into. Since I made the top of the molds flat I also use two thickness of typing paper painted with Vaseline as a gasket between the mold and top. That makes very good seals.

I initially made the flat half of the mold too thin and it eventually broke in two. I glued it together and reinforced the back with a glued on paint stir stick then put it back into the casting tray and added a thick layer of DWP and reinforcement of ½ inch hardware cloth screen. Any flat material will work for this half of the mold because of the gasket idea. So this was not critical. I could just as well cast a new top in the box.

I remove the salt from the new baits by melting down by weight what I am going to use, a scale is handy to plan ahead using only what you need,; then leave it set and the salt settles. I cut the heavily salted plastic out. I put it into a blender with water and grind it fine, most of the salt dissolves out and the flakes then can be recycled.

This was so entertaining I decided to make a 2-piece 8” reaper mold. I have a one piece I made years ago that I added a weed guard section to. The two-piece reaper mold is 3D on each half; there were no flat surfaces like the jerk bait and Livin’ Eye minnow.

I pushed the model half way into the pour. Remember there is rebar in it too. After the set I added the bullet indexes. The top was cast and rebar added after set up I drilled in my pour hole. I use bicycle inner tube rubber bands to hold it together for casting.

I made a plunger from coat copper wire; I bend a closed loop in the end and bend in over in a Z to stop it from going deeper that a certain point. When I pour plastic I put this in and plunge it to make it go into the thinly veined but very large tail. From the tail to the outside I scratched air channels. It works well. Next time with the plastic heated to 350 instead of 225 maybe I will not need the wire plunger or I might add the vacuum to it.

For this kind of fishing especially if nose hooking I sometimes need weed guards. I have taken soda straws and made 1-piece worm molds of these and I cast this uniform “worm” of matching colors or black and I take a section and put it on the eye of the hook or leader, run the lure onto the hook then close the open hook by putting the short loose end of the weed guard on the point. Essentially this is an embedded hook arrangement; a Carolina rigged weed guard with the lure in the hook bend.

I like the texture of the finished DWP over the Pop molds. Great tip, thanks. I make soft plastic lures only to fill my needs. So if a mold or lure casting is not always perfect, so what. The fish do not care.

What was next? I have one package of 8 or 10 inch livin’ eye jerk baits now discontinued by Cabelas. I have it in pearl essence and never have had a take on it. The fish oil in them turned those ugly brown. It is a stiff stick and poor color.

I used that silverware organizer and made a two piece mold with one copy of the livin’ eye bait and one copy that had been modified into 6 segments so it will wiggle like a banjo minnow. I cut notches out of the sides of the body with a razor blade and soften the cuts with a surface melt using a pencil torch. It is floppy now and has that swimming action when nose hooked. A few in bubble gum color and lime green should give me some nice pike next time out.

You can see my progress with the photos here.

Thank you all for the help. I am done molding, maybe for a couple years now and maybe I will drop from TU, hope not, time will tell.

CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS TO SEE LARGER CLEARER IMAGES:

THE VERY LAST ONE AND IT IS PINK AND NEEDS TO BE COPIED.

MAKING THE 2-PIECE MOLD ON FLAT TOP

THE NEW JERK BAIT MOLDS WITH HOOK SLOT, VACUUM VENTS SHOWING

ALL THE MOLDS

VACUUM INJECTION-VACUUM PORTS

THE REAPERS

MY THREE SONS...

$35.00 WORTH OF PLASTIC MELTED AND REMOLDED!

Edited August 30, 2008 by Piscivorous Pike

[JSC]

Great !!!

I think this should be turned into a "How To" ..

JSC

[Vodkaman]

Great post. I learned a few things while reading it. Thanks for sharing.

[Piscivorous Pike]

Oh, my look what I just found, Back from the Dead!!!

This is the critter that infected me, started it all an took me to TU!!

Originally made by Town Creek, a company that seemed to disapear.

I found this paging through BP, enlarged the photo and even the little circles on the back are the same!,same details on the head.

Patience and it comes around. Now do I really need to make any more soft plastics since I can buy it again?

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10204754____SearchResults

Yep, not in my hot pink color and I use very soft plastic. What is very unique is the long tail and the tail shank is eliptical in cross section. I need to buy another pack.

I Just bought a gallon of RTV, smooth on 27t and am going to make new molds, I think a unique method, we will see when I post it.

I almost don't believe it! I wonder when my Frankensteined Franken Minnow made from two popular products will be commerial and I can buy it instead of making it to?

[softworm]

great reading thanks