Bbob Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Hey guys. I haven't been on in a while, but I wanted to ask the experts. Recently I went fishing for a rare smallmouth bass( I live in Michigan so it it is very odd that I don't have a ton of smallmouth in my lake) and I caught seven in a row, starting with the first cast. I caught them all on a watermelon red tube and now I want to dip tubes. Can any one help me do this on a budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Search for articles and posts from Bojon, he was great at explaining horizontal dipping unfortunately for us all he passed away a few years back but his insight lives on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbob Posted November 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 (edited) I only dipped a couple of times, because a buddy wanted a particular tube he couldn't find anywhere. Basically, you need to find a rod the size of the tube you want's interior, and dip it repeatedly into your hot plastic, letting it cool enough between dips so the next dip will coat the first, and not just remelt it. Doing this repeatedly will give you thicker tubes. You can even do different interior and exterior colors by dipping in different colors. For me, a metal rod worked best, with the end slightly rounded over or chamfered to make the head stronger. You can redip ony the head to make it even thicker/stronger. I've seen setups with multiple rods mounted to a handle, so you can make more than one tube at a time. I only used one rod, and I sprayed it with PAM first, because I wanted to be sure it would strip easily. I cut the tails by hand, but there are tail cutters available. Use the search here to find some. Keeping the plastic hot enough is key. I found that 330+- was a good dipping temp., and I only got three dips before I had to reheat. This is one technique where Frank's hot plate and glass beakers would really help keep the plastic at the right temp to dip repeatedly. I think he has a video showing how he dips, and his setup. It was for hollow belly baits, but the principal is the same as for tubes. Edited November 4, 2015 by mark poulson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbob Posted November 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Thanks, Mark! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
