Core Shot Stickbait ideas

[Tiderunner]

I've been wanting a core shot stickbait mold for sometime now, I'm finally ready to pull the trigger but don't know what I's actually make with it. Color Combo wise that is.

If you already make core shot baits, what color combos do you make? Or suggest?

C'mon guys, I need your help to justify the investment. I really like the way core shot baits look. But do they work any better. I need a better reason than being able to make cool looking senkos!

[Canga~]

22 hours ago, Tiderunner said:

I've been wanting a core shot stickbait mold for sometime now, I'm finally ready to pull the trigger but don't know what I's actually make with it. Color Combo wise that is.

If you already make core shot baits, what color combos do you make? Or suggest?

C'mon guys, I need your help to justify the investment. I really like the way core shot baits look. But do they work any better. I need a better reason than being able to make cool looking senkos!

they make a much cooler looking bait than a standard laminate, but IMO they dont catch any more fish than them. they do, however, catch a lot more fisherman!

[alsworms]

15 hours ago, Canga~ said:

they make a much cooler looking bait than a standard laminate, but IMO they dont catch any more fish than them. they do, however, catch a lot more fisherman!

Agreed! 

[Tiderunner]

On 7/28/2021 at 7:48 PM, Canga~ said:

they make a much cooler looking bait than a standard laminate, but IMO they dont catch any more fish than them. they do, however, catch a lot more fisherman!

 

9 hours ago, alsworms said:

Agreed! 

And who among us has not bought a new lure because it was all fancy, cool, shiny, etc? Isn't that part of what fishing is? Acquiring more stuff?

I'm sure we all have a collection of stuff we bought and threw into the bottomless pit of fishing lures that didn't work, but man did they look awesome!

Part of the reason we pour our own baits is the fun factor. And why not experiment? Make something new and "eye catching"?

There are tons of lures out there that do a better job of catching fishermen instead of fish. We all have 'em. I just want to make my own. And who knews, in the process I might actually make something that works. Oh yeah I already boxes and boxes of those.

So back to the original question. What color combos would you make?

[SlowFISH]

Take a look at Missle Baits - they have a bunch of really cool combos.  I always start by browsing what's out there.  They have a color that's amber/orange outer and green pumpkin core which is really cool.... and another with a watermelon outer and red core... I bought a bag of each just to see them in real life and they look great.

Personally - I like the look of many of the baits with a clear or smoke outer with some highlight or a light amount of glitter and then a vibrant color inside - green/purple/etc.... It's really hard to go wrong with core shots - they just seem to look cool regardless.

[Tiderunner]

2 hours ago, SlowFISH said:

Take a look at Missle Baits - they have a bunch of really cool combos.  I always start by browsing what's out there.  They have a color that's amber/orange outer and green pumpkin core which is really cool.... and another with a watermelon outer and red core... I bought a bag of each just to see them in real life and they look great.

Personally - I like the look of many of the baits with a clear or smoke outer with some highlight or a light amount of glitter and then a vibrant color inside - green/purple/etc.... It's really hard to go wrong with core shots - they just seem to look cool regardless.

Good idea! I have enough catalogs with color photos of their stuff. I’ll check them out

[alsworms]

I used to be big into making a variety of colors.  Core shots, split veins, hi-lites........you name it.  Then one day I got to thinking why??

I have fished our local river for about 40 years now and there are still 2 colors that dominate over all soft plastics in that water:  Watermelon - red flake for main river, clearer water and Green Pumpkin - red flake for ponds and more stained water.  I might throw an oxblood color or red shad from time to time, but those colors are about as solid as it gets for me. 

Now if I make a watermelon - black flake worm with a red core shot vein, am I going to catch more fish than just adding red flake?  I doubt it, but one thing I DO know is the bait will be much harder to make. 

If you are one to experiment (like I was once upon a time) and just wanna have fun with it, by all means do it.  But I would ask myself these questions......

Are core shots nicer looking?  Yes

Will they catch more fishermMEN?  Maybe

Are they harder to make?  Of course!

Will they catch more fish?  Possibly, but is it really worth the extra effort?

If you decide to make core shots, I think SlowFISH nailed it with a light smoke outer color, touch of hi-lite and a vibrant core.  Red, green, blue, or purple.  Another combo I'd like to see is maybe something that resembles a sexy shad pattern as I've been catching fish on wake baits in that color.  Maybe a blue smoke with a yellow vein.  Perhaps some white flake (if they even make it) or something similar? 

Whatever the case, I hope you have fun doing it and wish you the best of luck!

 

 

[Les Young]

If you want some cheap redneck core shot stick baits do like i did. I cut a pin flag shaft to the length i wanted & dipped it in worm oil for a release agant & then  hand dipped it in the color plastic  i wanted the core to be. I then stuck them in the cavities of an essential series 5" senko mold & injected. After cooling off i opened the mold & got ahold of the little bit of rod sticking out of the tapered end of the baits & walla a redneck way to do it, but do have a core shot stickbait.  And best of all i already had everything so it was essentially free & a good experiment.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Les Young

[Tiderunner]

On 7/30/2021 at 4:12 PM, alsworms said:

I used to be big into making a variety of colors.  Core shots, split veins, hi-lites........you name it.  Then one day I got to thinking why??

I have fished our local river for about 40 years now and there are still 2 colors that dominate over all soft plastics in that water:  Watermelon - red flake for main river, clearer water and Green Pumpkin - red flake for ponds and more stained water.  I might throw an oxblood color or red shad from time to time, but those colors are about as solid as it gets for me. 

Now if I make a watermelon - black flake worm with a red core shot vein, am I going to catch more fish than just adding red flake?  I doubt it, but one thing I DO know is the bait will be much harder to make. 

If you are one to experiment (like I was once upon a time) and just wanna have fun with it, by all means do it.  But I would ask myself these questions......

Are core shots nicer looking?  Yes

Will they catch more fishermMEN?  Maybe

Are they harder to make?  Of course!

Will they catch more fish?  Possibly, but is it really worth the extra effort?

If you decide to make core shots, I think SlowFISH nailed it with a light smoke outer color, touch of hi-lite and a vibrant core.  Red, green, blue, or purple.  Another combo I'd like to see is maybe something that resembles a sexy shad pattern as I've been catching fish on wake baits in that color.  Maybe a blue smoke with a yellow vein.  Perhaps some white flake (if they even make it) or something similar? 

Whatever the case, I hope you have fun doing it and wish you the best of luck!

 

 

I'm the same. Many colors, types of baits. Bit in my 50 plus years of fishing I find I fish a variety of waters, fresh and salt. Unless you and I are fishing the same waters, my needs are for different colors for the different baits.

I use glow colors for stripers at night. Clear stickbaits with bright glitter for my gin clear lakes. When I go out fishing, I go loaded for bear. I have no idea why the fish want a specific item on any given day. I'm on the east coast. Water levels are extremely high here. so I fish another different condition.  If every day were the same, if every lake were the same, I wouldn't need a full tackle bag.

Also I do like to experiment. So why not make all different stuff. For me, that's therapy to keep me sane in between fishing outings, and during the cold winters. And who knows? Every once in a while one of my oddball creations might actually catch fish! That's part of the fun of making your own baits.

Example, one Memorial Day I tied a bunch of bucktails using red white and blue deer hair, poured some red white and blue trailers and passed them out to friends, And they caught smallies on them. They thought it was funny as hell.

I make many laminates, and they all catch fish. I make stickbaits, grubs, craws, wacky worms, and the list goes on. I pour tin baits, lead baits. Tie bucktails, and share everything with fishing buddies.

So these are the reasons I make so many different things. The main reason I do is because I enjoy it, not because the fish want only certain things.

Now getting back to the core shot baits. I just like the way they look. It's the cool factor. Will they catch more fish? There's only one way to find out. Do I need core shot baits?  Doubt it. I mean really, a bunch of night crawlers and some hooks would do the job better than any of my baits. But making these baits gives me something to do.

I enjoy it, and come on, when you make a new bait, and it catches fish, tell me it doesn't give that bait and fish and little more of the fun factor.

I fish a different body of water every weekend, each requiring a different technique. So I'll continue to experiment, and have fun matching my baits to the conditions.

After my coreshot mold, my next toy will be a dual injector.

 

[Tiderunner]

21 hours ago, Les Young said:

If you want some cheap redneck core shot stick baits do like i did. I cut a pin flag shaft to the length i wanted & dipped it in worm oil for a release agant & then  hand dipped it in the color plastic  i wanted the core to be. I then stuck them in the cavities of an essential series 5" senko mold & injected. After cooling off i opened the mold & got ahold of the little bit of rod sticking out of the tapered end of the baits & walla a redneck way to do it, but do have a core shot stickbait.  And best of all i already had everything so it was essentially free & a good experiment.

I had my own redneck method for core shot baits. I ordered some 1/16"and 1/8" stainless rod from a company close by me. Cut to length to fit in my mold, Lubed those rod with WD-40, and shot away.

Seemed like the 1/16 was too small and the 1/8" was too big. Out of a four cavity mold, maybe two would shoot correctly.

Made some cool looking baits, but was too much work for so little return. One bait color I make I cal perch. Its an orange and green laminate. similar to Yamo perch. I used a transparent light orange outer color, with a green core.Oddly when using the greens, which were either dark watermelon, or baby bass colorings, the greens wouldn't show through the orange even though the orange was transparent. Best most vivid core colors were the purples, and the black. But again, a lot of plastic gets wasted if only 50% of the baits come out.

But the ones that came out...Man! did they look awesome. So ya see, even here in New England we have rednecks!

[Les Young]

I think we all have a little redneck in us.

[Painter1]

Is the method to shoot outer color first with rods in place, remove the rods and then shoot core color?  I guess that would need to be done quickly for the plasitol to bond? 

[mark poulson]

2 hours ago, Painter1 said:

Is the method to shoot outer color first with rods in place, remove the rods and then shoot core color?  I guess that would need to be done quickly for the plasitol to bond? 

If you get the core plastic hot enough, around 325, it will bond.   But the nice thing about core shot worms is that they seldom come apart, because the core is full enclosed by the outer plastic.