NJFishRGuy Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 I broke down and ordered 8 ounces of M-F Red Hi-Lite. It came today ( I can't try it because of a furniture project in the basement messing up my workspace) and I opened it. I was really surprised. Shouldn't it be, well, red? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 It won't look red until it's mixed in the plastic. Most of MF's hi-lites start out white in color. Don't be fooled though........it will definitely redden your plastic. Start with just a pinch in a smoke color and you'll see what I mean. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJFishRGuy Posted January 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Whew, that's good news... I thought it was the wrong stuff. I'm hoping this is the ticket to red shad sticks, which are turning out to be the Holy Grail that I keep catching and never catch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Don't forget; your best results will only come with a base color behind the highlite. eg: couple drops black or blue or green or brown, etc. without the background color you will use a lot of highlite before you see any effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJFishRGuy Posted January 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 OK, I'll be sure to use a base color... probably a little black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Start with 4 oz. plastic and 2 drops color at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJFishRGuy Posted January 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Well shoot, I'm unhappy... I'm trying to use the M-F red hi-lite to make some red shad sticks. I found a formula here that I scaled down for half the plastic, but all I'm getting is gray with a little red highlighting. I'm using: 4 ounces Calhoun's Plastic 1 ounce Calhoun's Softener 2 ounces salt 24 drops Del-Mart Black The formula (in the Cookbook from Nova) called for 1/8 teaspoon of red hi-lite; I'm up to one teaspoon and not seeing much of anything. The plastic appeared light gray with almost no red when I had 12 drops of black. I added another 12 drops of black, and the plastic became darker gray and I saw a little more of the red, but I'm expecting RED, not to have to search for it! Could it be that Del's black is not as black as other blacks and I have to add a lot more? This formula works for Nova, but not for me... to paraphrase "My Cousin Vinnie", "Are the laws of physics different in my basement than his?" What the heck am I doing wrong??!!!?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Charlie how dark do you want the baits to be? I know if I add 24 drops of black, I'm gonna have a black bait. But the thinner the bait, the lighter the color will be. I don't use a lot of red hi lite, but it seems to take a lot more red than most of the other hi lites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJFishRGuy Posted January 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Jake, What I'm looking for is the red used in Yamamoto Senkos red shad. (See http://www.baits.com/cgi-bin/order/900 for the color.) Everything I've read here before posting (to avoid the dreaded "STFF" comment) says there has to be a dark color for it to "work" against. In spite of 24 drops of black in 4 ounces of plastic, it's still only medium gray, probably due to two ounces of salt. AND this color combo (with only 12 drops of black in 4 oz of plastic) worked for Nova. This is my first attempt to use hi-lites so I don't know how they're supposed to work, except everyone seems to think 1/8 teaspoon is the right starting dose for 4 ounces of plastic. Trying to learn today since tomorrow will be spent shoveling snow. We have 4-5 inches already here in Central NJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 What you earlier discribed is exactly how it should look when using hightlights don't be worried. Highlight will just reflect that color at certain angles. It is not going to color your bait. It basically is going to give it a sheen just like on a fish. Like on a crappie when you turn it just right you see those green and blue highlights. If you are looking for red shad you are going to have to buy red dye to get a true red plastic. In the baits attached you can see the blue highlight in the all the baits but the overall color of passion purple or cinnamon is due to the dyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJFishRGuy Posted January 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Travis, I have various red colors and have been trying to mix them to the correct shade of red, but to no avail yet. I thought that the red hi-lite would help me get there, since I've read all these posts about how adding too much makes the hi-lite color so predominant. This is what the baits look like when I use just plastic with 2 drops of Del-Mart black and 1/4 tsp of red hi-lite with 2 ounces of Calhouns and no softener or salt. Does this look right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 I don't think you'll be able to achieve the red in the Yamamoto bait you referenced by using a red hi-lite. I'd try LC's strawberry red with a bit of black to darken. You can use the red hi-lite in the black half of the laminate. This will give you that red reflective look over the black base. JD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJFishRGuy Posted January 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 JD, Yeah, that's what I'm going to try next. That's a good idea with the hi-lite in the black; I'll give it a shot. Thanks to everyone for their help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassnG3 Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 This red shad stick recipe works for me: 1/2 cup plastic; 25 drops LC black; 1/4 tsp LC red hilite and salt to taste for top then on bottom try 1/2 cup plastic, 20 drops LC strawberry; 4 drops LC black; 1/4 tsp LC red hilite and salt to taste. It took me a while to figure this formula out but I like it alot. Hope this helps. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charkins Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Notice that BassnG3 is putting some red and a little black in the red portion. This is the way I do it, in almost the exact quantities. Good Luck Cal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 You have to start with a black bait. I use LC colors; I've never used Dels, it may be different. If you don't have the black background you won't get the full effect of the highlite. If you are trying to get to what I saw in the Yammie picture, that is a laminate. You can't get there from here,lol. The baits you showed are neat in their own right. You'll have to increase the black to really show the red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJFishRGuy Posted January 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 BassNG3, thanks for the formula. I'll try it exactly as you proposed it. Nova, I wasn't sure whose colors you used but you might be right; there might be a difference in how deep a shade of black is formed by a certain number of drops. I thought that the Red Hi-Lite would give me an intense red; I didn't realize it would give me a red sheen when viewed at an angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
