Saltwater soft plastic question

[Greenpointer]

Let me say first,  what a great resource TU is, longtime reader, first time poster.  

I've been making 5-7" shad style soft baits for about a year now, the primary target being saltwater striped bass in NYC. I've been using LC's extra strength 550 plastisol. The baits have been solid producers, and as durable as can be expected when hit by 15-40 lb fish, however the action on the paddle tail isn't quite where it needs to be on slow speed retrieves. So to get to the point, my question is, would it be better to switch to a medium plastisol, or just add some softener to what I'm already using? Also, I know there's been a ton of discussion on different plastisol brands, but is the Spike-it Lureworks plastisol worth even checking out?  Anyone used the M-F Saltwater? My production volume isn't huge, but that price difference has me curious, any savings helps the bottom line.  Any insight would be helpful on how to get best strength to action ratio.  

Thanks kindly in advance.  - Josh

 

Edited August 16, 2017 by Anvil Lures

[Frank]

Don't let the price difference fool you. The end product will be just as good. Every plastic has good and bads but they all end up making a great bait. Spikeit plastic is great and they actually make it there so there's no repackaging involved.  They make many varietys of formulas for anything you need to make. If you don't have the ability to vacumn out the air in it but the pourasol and you will get less to no bubbles. As for the question about adding softener you can but it would be much easier to buy medium try it then maybe compound it from there. 

[Greenpointer]

Thanks for the insight Frank, I appreciate it. It's easy to go down the rabbit hole with so much info out there. I'm hand pouring so the pourasol looks like it might just do the trick. 

[alsworms]

Unless my old mind is playing tricks on me again, I believe we had a similar discussion the other day.

I used to pour swimbaits for a couple charter boats in southern California.  They liked 'em soft, and I mean SOFT.  Started with saltwater plastic.  Too tough, and they weren't happy with the action, plus that stuff is miserable to work with.  Went to medium.  Still not good enough for them.  Added a bit of softener, and then thought, "Why not just try the super soft?"  Now SS plastic is probably the last thing you'd expect in a swimbait, but it worked for those guys.  They loved the action and didn't mind getting only one fish on a bait because of the lack of durability.   Might not work in your neck of the woods, but something to consider. 

[smallmouthaholic]

Spike-it plastisol in soft ,medium and hard  will produced as softer bait vs. MF. in the same categories. Experiment to find what works best for you.

 

[Greenpointer]

1 hour ago, alsworms said:

Unless my old mind is playing tricks on me again, I believe we had a similar discussion the other day.

I used to pour swimbaits for a couple charter boats in southern California.  They liked 'em soft, and I mean SOFT.  Started with saltwater plastic.  Too tough, and they weren't happy with the action, plus that stuff is miserable to work with.  Went to medium.  Still not good enough for them.  Added a bit of softener, and then thought, "Why not just try the super soft?"  Now SS plastic is probably the last thing you'd expect in a swimbait, but it worked for those guys.  They loved the action and didn't mind getting only one fish on a bait because of the lack of durability.   Might not work in your neck of the woods, but something to consider. 

 

Your mind isn't playing tricks, I did read that the other day.  Definitely something to consider. I'm targeting fish in fast moving water with lots of structure so I need them to have a little bit of backbone, not to mention these big stripers absolutely crush the baits when they hit. 

 

5 minutes ago, smallmouthaholic said:

Spike-it plastisol in soft ,medium and hard  will produced as softer bait vs. MF. in the same categories. Experiment to find what works best for you.

 

Thanks for the heads up on that, it's greatly appreciated. 

[Slammingjack]

I do almost all my fishing in saltwater. I started using saltwater or hard plastic.  Tired like 3 or 4 different brands.  Later on I went to MF 436 which is a more or less a medium. I liked the action so much better and so  did my friends.