patrick reif Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 I just got my tri-laminate fluke mold from High Rock Molds. The work is of exceptional design and a really nice mold. I have no complaints with this other than I can't shoot a decent bait. I've been down in the shop for two hours to produce exactly one bait that was what I pictured in my mind. The bottom portion shoots well. The top section of a two color laminate isn't doing me any favors. I'm using a recipe on the bottom section that is 1 cup salt to two cups plastic and heavy on the softener with a soft formula plastic. The top section is straight plastic, colorant and modest flake. The first two baits that came out looking good were more than ready to de-laminate, so my reaction was to super heat the plastic and hit the sides of the mold with my heat gun to maintain heat as the plastic slowly cooled, then shoot very hot plastic on top of that. I kept getting garbled junk with the top color mixing down to the belly and the nose of the bait folding up to the top. I can take pictures of the successful bait (SINGULAR) along with the multiple failures in the morning. The battery is dead in my camera and is on charge.. What am I doing wrong? This is my first laminate mold. Enquiring minds really want to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 I found that more than often if you leave the good baits set for an extended period they will continue to bond to the point that they won't delaminate. This drove me crazy as I kept pulling on them a few minutes after injecting and they just peeled right apart, same baits left to sit for a few hours and not by design and they were perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 See at times hand pours sure sound quicker. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick reif Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 I received a call from the owner of High Rock Molds to let me know what I needed to do to fix the problem. I hit the shop today and shot some very respectable baits after following instruction. The idea that the owner of a company would be so concerned about my success to make a personal phone call is enough of an incentive to make me a loyal customer. Side note. I have 3 fluke molds now. The action of this one is exactly what I've been looking for. I'll be putting my other two molds up for sale soon, but I won't be parting with this one anytime soon. High Rock Molds ROCK!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 So Patrick, whats the answer to the issue? Just asking as I may buy this mold in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick reif Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 When cutting the sprue end off at the injection point, go back about 1/16" and allow for the next color to come in. I also cut off the last 3/4" in the back of the bottom layer just because I like the look. It literally takes a few seconds with an Exacto knife. I used a mixture of 2 cups plastic with one cup salt and softener to "taste". The middle layer gets 2 cups plastic and 1/2 cup salt with slightly less softener. The top layer is straight soft plastic. The plastic should be around 350 degrees as well. I'm shooting two color flukes in a darkish grey bottom and heavy smoke top right now for stained water applications. I'll post pictures soon. Makes a very nice soft jerk and it does catch fish. The tail wobbles side to side when left to deadstick or just killed after a couple light twitches...good stuff. Fishing muddy river water on Saturday morning I caught 4 smallmouth with a single bait. They weren't exceptional fish, but there was a 14"-15" average. The guy I was with caught 5 bass but his sizes were all over the place with the biggest being about 14". Like I said...nothing exceptional was caught, but those little guys can be somewhat scrappy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelhains Posted May 30, 2014 Report Share Posted May 30, 2014 Sounds like a great smallie bait for the river I fish. Let's see some pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyc14 Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 I have this same mold and it was a pia to get use to but it is a a great mold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick reif Posted June 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) Edited June 10, 2014 by patrick reif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
