Plastic Advice

[texacan84]

In the past few weeks, I have been getting requests about using my baits in salt water. I have a couple of baits that I know would work in the ocean, I'm just not sure if they would hold up in salt water. Right now I'm using Lureworks pourasol, med/soft. If I use this plastic in the salt water would it hurt or damage the plastic or is their any difference between salt and fresh water plastics?

Thanks for any help on this.....George

[Kajan]

   Well, dem saltwater fish, they gona damage them LOL   Yea softer lures don't do so well with saltwater fish. You need to go at least a med hard combo.

[Slammingjack]

Saltwater don't seem to bother plastic at all. The thing about fishing in saltwater is that most of the fish have teeth. IMO nothing will hold up to Blues. lol  I tied Three different Saltwater plastics and found all of then lack good action. I use MF 464  50/ reg. and 50/ saltwater. Tough baits with real good action. Your med/soft should work fine. It all in how it holds up to teeth bites.

[texacan84]

Thanks for the info fellas. I did kinda forget about the toothy critters....lol. I have caught my share of blues, speckled trout, flounder, Spanish mackerel and of coarse sharks.. You are right about that it really doesn't matter what you use, it's not going to stand up to the teeth but I will be looking into the salt water formula. Thanks again.

[mark poulson]

Use your freshwater soft plastics, and just figure you're going to have to pour more.

Getting bit is a terrible problem to have.  Hahaha

[JSC]

Med is fine   .. my formula is very slightly harder   .   If its Spanish or Blues kiss them good bye  regardless of the hadrdnesss . 

 

Reds & Specs I have caught many one one tail.

 

Pin fish will cut them as bad as the Blues  .. 

 

[TroutSupport.com]

The Lurecraft hard is a nice durometer for saltwater use. 

[MonteSS]

Or add do-it HD which will keep them soft and add durability.

[mark poulson]

Or add do-it HD which will keep them soft and add durability.

 

That's a really smart idea!

[MonteSS]

Yup i'm a fart smella.....I mean smart fella

[texacan84]

Thanks guys. I'm liking your ideas. No matter what species you target you don't know what your going to catch. I do have to agree with everyone that the plastic won't last last. So in Marks words, i will just keep pouring...lol.. But the ideas are worth considering.

Thanks again and keep the ideas coming.

[alsworms]

Again, I'm gonna sound like a typical west coast guy here, BUT.........

 

I used to pour swimbaits for a guy who ran a charter boat out of Southern Cal.  His words to me were always........."I don't care if we're fishing in the ocean, the softer the better!!"  Believe it or not, I used MF Super Soft for those oceans swims and never had a complaint.  As previously mentioned, one bait might equal one fish, but you will have a ton more action.........plus you get to sell more baits. 

 

I think Mark nailed it when he said "Getting bit is a terrible problem to have."

 

LOL

[Kajan]

     I use Bears plastic, and I use it in the hard formula. I also buy some softener and add a little bit with the hard when I mix in the pot. What I like about doing it that way is you can make the lures exactly how you like it. But don't forget, it takes about 2 weeks for the lures to cure 100% and give you exact action your referring too.

   I only fish for Specs and Reds, except for when I test my lures in the pond with some bass in it.

[texacan84]

Kajan. You make a good point, which brings me to this. I know that plastics need to cure but I hear of people letting them cure for up to a month. Now I'm wondering what is the proper cure time for plastics? I've been pouring for a little over 2 years and the longest I have let my plastics set is 4 days. When I have a pretty good size order I only let them set for a day, by the time I have them trimmed up and packaged it's 2 days. I haven't really had any problems so far with a short cure time. Am I doing doing something wrong? Just a thought that crossed my mind. I would appreciate anybody else's input.

Thanks

[alsworms]

Wow.......I must be missing something here because my cure time was the same day.  I would pour all orders, then package them at the end of the day as they were poured.  Sometimes if it was a really long day, I might let the last order or 2 sit until the next day, but that was pretty rare.  I used to shake all my baits in popcorn salt before packaging, and that would really help the curing process too.  It might be an issue if you pour a lot of long, thinner type baits, but for the most part your cure time should be more than enough. 

[texacan84]

Well alsworms, that is what I was kinda thinking myself, but after reading so many people haveing a really long cure time, I started to question it. In all honesty, I really haven't had any problems with a short cure time. My impression was whatever your baits were on for a cooling period would be fine. Where I work I make solid surface counter tops which are made of 100% acrylic, it holds coolness very well, therefore I have a few of them on which I pour on and use for cooling. I normally pour my baits after dinner then the next night after dinner I go ahead and trim them then put them in a plastic bag with an attractant and let it soak in the plastic baits till the next evening.

You mention about using salt. I haven't used salt for my baits either for taste or packing. In saying that, I have read on here that a lot of people do use salt for a lot of things for their baits. Is this something I need to consider doing to my baits or is this a personal thing?

Thanks

[Bassinfool]

I use salt as ballast and nothing more. To me, there has been zero proof that salt in baits causes fish to bite or hold onto a bait any longer than a bait with no salt in it. For my personal baits, I rarely add salt with the exception of stick baits.

[rhahn427]

First, any plastisol can be used in salt or fresh. Salt formulas are usually harder.

Usually the softer the bait the better the action .......... With the exception that a harder formula is better for a quivering action ..........

If you make them harder you change the action .......... The whole point is to get the bite .......... You will always spend more on gas getting there than any bait you would use ........... It would be a shame to sacrifice a few bite to durability ..........

Many years ago I found that the sassy shads that worked the best were the 1's that had tails that layer all the way over ......they were also the 1's that didn't last long ...... I would pick over every bin or package to find and fish just those and give the 1's that didn't pass muster to people that wanted what I was catching on ........ Needless to say I still caught more using the same bait.

Question is .......... Do you want to build for durability or to catch fish? Which will create more demand for your lures?

[Kajan]

     I can only tell you what I have found using the hardness plastic I posted earlier. I allow my lures to hang or stand on a ss sheet for at least 2-3 weeks. At this point, if they are in air conditioned area, the smell is no  longer present and if you bag them, they retain their shape. If you prematurely bag these lures, they will take the shape of the bag, bent or smashed or what ever.

[crappiesnapper]

thats correct a dry bait will retain the shape of the bag . I always add sented oils to mine when i bag and dont have any probs .it lets my bait slide in the bag . oh and i love to put a pinch of salt in my worms but i use super soft plastic .I Really enjoy everyones input on this .And remember a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work

[alsworms]

I think salt packaging or oil packaging is a personal preference thing.  Salt on the outside of the bait is immediately washed off once it hits the water anyway.  I just preferred using salt to package because it was quicker and cheaper than using oil.  In other words, I used the lazy man's way.  LOL

 

As for salt in the bait, I agree with Bassinfool.  I was never convinced that it helps the fish hold on longer.  If anything, scent in a bait might do that.

 

Just my

[mark poulson]

I taste the salt in the baits, so I think the bass do, too.  I know I've been able to "lead" a bass out of a bush when it's holding a GYCB fat Ika, by pulling gently on it, so I could get a good swing on it outside the hangups.  The bass won't let go with gentle pressure.

I've never had that experience with a non-salted bait.

[Bassinfool]

I'm just going off of what I have experienced first hand and what my friends in fishery studies at Auburn have told me. According to them, a bass is stimulated to feed more so from sight, vibrations felt using the lateral line and hunger. Scent is used sparingly, mainly in dingy or dark water and the use taste is nearly non existent. The majority of a bass' brain that involves the senses are geared toward the lateral line, sight and feel with smell and taste having the fewest number of receptors in the brain.

I've always been a proponent of finding fish that are actively feeding or are stimulated to feed through a reaction bite. That fish you pulled out of a bush may have just been in a feeding mood and wasn't willing to let go because it wanted to eat. Whatever the case, to salt your baits or to not salt them is completely up to personal preference. If it helps your confidence like Mark, DO IT! If you don't think it does, don't. It's really that simple.

[texacan84]

I want to thank everyone for their input in all the questions that I have asked. I think we all have special talents that we possess and are very good at what we do and enjoy it or we wouldn't be doing it. That's what makes TU a great place to find out anything that anybody wants to know and great people that are willing to give advice. Everybody brings good points to the table. All of us bait makers do things very differently, we all have our own special unique ways of making baits. You all have given me some great advice and something to think about. I like picking your brains because you all bring out things that I or a lot of others would not have thought of.

I greatly do appreciate all the comments. Even though I have been pouring baits for a little over two years, I still consider myself a newbie and can't even come close to knowing what the veterans in this group know. That's why I count on everyone's opinion to help me out and maybe someone else can learn as well. So again I thank you all very much.

Thanks...George

[alsworms]

Well said, George.

 

Funny you mentioned pouring for a little over 2 years.  It took me that long to break out my first pouring kit again after my first try was disastrous!  As we get better, we learn to do more, and really never quit learning.  I guess we all have a little newbie in us.  Glad TU has helped you.  I sure would've been lost without it!