BassMunn Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Hi There My first post here, my name is Shannon from South Africa I recently made a few RTV molds and have been melting down old baits to get some practice. Today I got my Stik Kit from Delw along with a few extra colors and a 5" SF mold. Firstly I have to say that melting old plastic baits down is terrible in comparison to working with new plastisol, the old plastics burn so quickly and they stink (gave me a migraine for 2 days:(). Anyway here is a shot of my very first attempt at making my own baits with Calhoun Plastics. I was trying to make Zoom's Mardi Gras which is basically a Watermelon with gold and purple flake, it came out pretty well. Not as translucent as the Mardi Gras, but it clouded up when I added the salt. Still a decent color that should fool a few Bass:D The stik mold is really easy to pour (Thanks to the tips and videos from members on this site). I do have a few with small dents in them, but I'm not too concerned with that as I will not be selling these baits. The SF Mold will take a bit more practice to get the tail right, for now I am just trimming the tail with a hobby knife. The frog is from an RTV Mold (Ribbit Frog). I now understand why guys call this a sickness, I couldn't wait to go and try these out, so this afternoon I took my 4 year old son for a quick line wetting and we managed to get 2 smallish keepers on my new baits from the side:) I did notice though that my baits are a little too hard, but they break very easily and they sink like a stone - am I using too much salt? Thanks Shannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drof99 Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Looks good! I've only been pouring a short time myself. It really is a sickness. Wait till your friends notice and they will "offer to test" you baits. Are you using any softner in your baits? That might help a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimcline Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Bassmun, welcome to the gang. Those are very nice first baits. You got nothing to be ashamed of. As far as the dents go, don't worry too much about it the fish won't care. If it persists though, you might just want to be careful pulling them out of the mold when they're still hot. They can get dented very easily. Also make sure you preheat your molds before pouring. This will greatly improve your success. Again, welcome aboard. JIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunn Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Drof99 - Thanks, yes I am using softner, I used the recipe off the Del-Mart site for stik baits (8oz Plastic, 4oz salt, 2oz Softner), I think the salt is too high, but being a Newbie I don't really know. Gonna pour a batch now with no salt for Frogs. Jim, Thanks for the kind welcome. Those small dents appear when I open the mold before pulling the baits out you can see them already, but they are small and like you said the fish don't care:), the mold was already hot (could hardly hold it). Might have had something to do with the salt. I've also got tiny little bubbles in the baits, how do I get rid of this? Last question - I want to pour some more flukes, do most guys add salt? I know the Zoom SF has salt, but not sure how much to add? Thanks Shannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Boys Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 nice work,, mold mite have been too hot..?? try filling the mold a little slower and check your dents .. keep up the good work,.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squigster Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 My one suggestion is leave some salt in the frogs I am not sure if they hold it longer once they get it but it helps them cast further. Dont put a ton in but experiment with it until you are happy. I also would not worry about the dents. If you examined most any manufactures baits you will find them in some of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunn Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Thanks Bass Boys Another question - I just goofed up Was heating the plastic in the microwave and was waiting for it to turn clear and it just went yellow instead, was I heating too fast? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunn Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 My one suggestion is leave some salt in the frogs I am not sure if they hold it longer once they get it but it helps them cast further. Dont put a ton in but experiment with it until you are happy. I also would not worry about the dents. If you examined most any manufactures baits you will find them in some of them. I'll try that, them frogs have to fly far:) I agree with the dents, I've gone through enough packets of well known brands and have seen it from most of them, as long as it is not a major flaw that will affect the swimming of the bait, I'm not overly concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outdooradvantage Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 When it turns yellow that usually means you cooked it to long. I always start out on 2 min. in my micro and start checking at about 1 min 30 sec. Hope this helps, Jeff. P.S your baits look great...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zbass Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 BassMunn, Baits look great, especially for first ones. The dents may be fixed by slowing down your pouring speed just a touch. As far as the salt in frogs go, squigster has a good suggestion. See what works for you. one of the nice things about the frog is it's ability to sink in the holes of the vegetation. Hollow body frogs can't do that. ODA is right on the plastic. If it turns yellow it usually is scorched. I don't ue a micro to heat with so I can't help you there. Almost forgot to welcome you to the "sickness"! Good luck and congrats on catching fish on your stuff! Zbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunn Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Thanks ODA and ZBass:) Luckily it was only 4oz of plastic so I played around with a color I wasn't sure about and then used the stuff to practice pouring my Fluke tails, still not perfect but looking much better. Oh Dear this is a sickness isn't it, I just wanna go make more baits. Don't think my gallon of plastic is going to last too long:drool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Bassmun, welcome to TU. There was an excellent thread on dents about 4 weeks ago. Here is the link. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/soft-plastics/15558-dents.html I agree with everyone, just a minor flaw, but still worth reading. Microwaves don't heat constantly through the plastic. You need to heat and STIR in stages, in order to distribute the heat throughout the plastic. You were probably looking at a cloudy centre, while the outside burned. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunn Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Thanks Vodkaman, that was interesting reading. I definately noticed that the dents only appeared when the mold was hot, but there weren't many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Boys Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 All great advice guys, a few small dents.. no problem,,, heat plastic in short burst and stir well before reheating every time always..... Jeff Home Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveh Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) Drof99 - Thanks, yes I am using softner, I used the recipe off the Del-Mart site for stik baits (8oz Plastic, 4oz salt, 2oz Softner), I think the salt is too high, but being a Newbie I don't really know. Gonna pour a batch now with no salt for Frogs.Jim, Thanks for the kind welcome. Those small dents appear when I open the mold before pulling the baits out you can see them already, but they are small and like you said the fish don't care:), the mold was already hot (could hardly hold it). Might have had something to do with the salt. I've also got tiny little bubbles in the baits, how do I get rid of this? Last question - I want to pour some more flukes, do most guys add salt? I know the Zoom SF has salt, but not sure how much to add? Thanks Shannon i add a cap of hardener to 40z of plastics and the flukes swim just like zoom. no salt. nice job on the baits. i use lc 502 and there hardener, Edited February 15, 2009 by daveh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunn Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks daveh, I'm thinking of trying some LC stuff on my next order just to see what it's like, although I can't complain about the Calhoun stuff. I was worried about smell, but the Calhoun smells just like Zoom (before adding scent), so I'm happy:) I'll try that recipe of yours for the Flukes, I've got to get that right, I go through a ton of Flukes every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
