Bassachusetts Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 So I want to try making some swimbaits out of silicone, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing this. For all my last swimbaits (all made of hard resin) I've used silicone molds, but since silicone will stick together, I need to make the mold out of something else. I'm trying to make something somewhat like Realprey swimbaits, for reference. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 Any hard mold material should serve your purpose; P0P, Durhams or something similar should work. A smear of a mold release just to be safe. The problem you will have is the density of the silicone being heavier than water, in other words it WILL sink, and you will still need to add ballast weight to keep the bait upright. You could try making a hollow bait and/or adding micro-balloons, but I have never tried this. I have thought about trying this idea though. Good luck Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wchilton Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 Silicone will adhere tightly to silicone, glass, and porous surfaces. Sealed PoP should be fine. I'd give a spray of PAM as a release agent. If you're looking for toughness of the bait, I'd look into RTV polyurethane also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassachusetts Posted October 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 Thanks guys, I was thinking Plaster of Paris might work too so I'll probably start with some of that, if I still have any in my basement. Vodkaman - interesting about the density, I was under the impression that a "raw" hunk of silicone would float. Granted, I want it to sink , but I'll have to figure out a way to get the weight inside prior to pouring I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 I've only used silicone to make molds, not baits, so this is just a wild ass guess. I am a big believer in trapped air as a flotation device. I've used air chambers to slow the fall of some of my swimbaits. If you're using a caulking gun silicone, like GE 100% silicone, and an open top fill mold, you will have time to put some kind of flotation stuff into the top of the bait as you fill the mold. I'm thinking of something like ping pong balls, only smaller. Maybe you can get something like that from a craft store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cami Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 Perhaps the following link could be useful: https://www.youtube.com/user/CatchSeaFish/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=1 All their soft baits should be made in silicone: Shape of bait is of course the winning key: i.e. a thin profile, before a paddle tail, can give the right movement, but on my mind the silicone, even if with a real low ShA, cannot be compared with the flexability of plastisol. Bye Cami 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 That silicone looks like it would be great for making plastisol bait molds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
School Master Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 I'm very interested. Sounds like a fun project. My biggest question is how do you paint it? Using silicone dye doesn't seem like it would cut it for me. Would lureworks plastic paint work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 Looks like alot of work to make a bait. What is the advantage? Durability? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 I think it is more about the 'feel' when a fish attacks. If the bait has a softer feel, the predator is likely to hold on longer. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassachusetts Posted October 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 Cost. I can get a tube of 100% silicone for about $1 on sale at my local hardware store. I use this to make all my molds, so I know how to use it, but I want to make baits out of it too if I can. I found some plaster of Paris yesterday and made my first mold just to do some tests. If this works I think I should be able to make 5-8 inch soft trout and perch swimbaits (very similar to hudds or realpreys) for about 20 cents each. Also, silicone swimbaits swimsuits are very durable. I use a lot of Realprey swimbaits and they work very well, so I'm confident that silicone is effective as a material for these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FATFLATTIE Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 I think it is more about the 'feel' when a fish attacks. If the bait has a softer feel, the predator is likely to hold on longer. Dave That's one thing I have often wondered about. Most things fish eat are NOT soft at all in comparison to soft plastic lures. By I would imagine that a softshell crawdad would be much more appealing to a fish although I have no idea how they would know this before striking the bait? I have noticed that softshell crabs get eaten almost immediately when sheepshead fishing even if you were getting no bites on regular crabs so there must be some way they can tell. Even fish are not soft and squishy like our lures. I dunno, good point to bring up man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 That's one thing I have often wondered about. Most things fish eat are NOT soft at all in comparison to soft plastic lures. By I would imagine that a softshell crawdad would be much more appealing to a fish although I have no idea how they would know this before striking the bait? I have noticed that softshell crabs get eaten almost immediately when sheepshead fishing even if you were getting no bites on regular crabs so there must be some way they can tell. Even fish are not soft and squishy like our lures. I dunno, good point to bring up man! I'm guessing a molting crawdad smells different, because it has more of it's soft flesh exposed, and it is in the process of hardening it's outer layer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 I used to search all the rock pools at low tide, to collect the soft back crabs. The fish really munched on them, whereas with regular crabs I hardly ever got a hit. I think Mark is correct, it is the smell. I tried artificials, but never had any success at all. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Unless I'm mistaken crawfish turn a different color when molting. This would definitely be a visual clue. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FATFLATTIE Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 (edited) Unless I'm mistaken crawfish turn a different color when molting. This would definitely be a visual clue. Ben The softshell mudcrabs I use for sheepshead bait are also a lighter color and the legs are almost white in comparison to the hard shell crabs. Didn't really think about that until you mentioned it! So there may be visual and scent clues to let the fish know! Good conversation for sure! Edited October 28, 2016 by FATFLATTIE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse1378 Posted December 11, 2016 Report Share Posted December 11, 2016 Any updates? If it worked show us a video please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjlilfish Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 So I’m wanting to make hand poured swimbaits (soft plastic) but I don’t know what silicone to use for the mold. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert l davis Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 I believe it is smell. 60yrs ago i use ro use softshell crawfish for trout all summer when we could find them. One time i was tired and just threw my line out with a softshell on it and let it rest on the bottom at a tailout of a hole. I watched two sea run cutthroat come swimming up river moving in a sigsag pattern and they were searching for my crawfish the closer they got to my bait they started swimming directly to were my bait was laying in water. One of them took my bait and i caught the fish. These two trout came upstream fifty yds or more. Softshell crawfish is so much better than peeled crawfish tail, no comparison, like someone mentioned before about softshell crab working so well for sheephead. It is same for black drum soft shell out perform hardshell 10 to 1. We use to turn rocks over and catch softshell rock crab under the rocks. This was in florida mid 50's 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
