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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/13/2020 in all areas

  1. The joints are all lined up and moving freely. Just need to fill the cavities on the sides of the dowels and some final sanding and she’s ready to test swim and mold.
    2 points
  2. Well the Wisconsin River is a fine example of the effects of tannic acid effects. That lovely brown color of the river is from the Northern tamarack swamps of your state. The tannin leaches from downed branches, trees, bark, and needles and leaves. A diluted bleach solution or the oxyclean should remove most of the stain but wouldn't be worth the trouble. I would think a magic eraser kitchen scrub pad would get most of it off the bill if indeed tannin stains. About any of the solutions for cleaning out coffee, tea, wine should work as all are tannin related issues. The bills may not be stained from tannins and may be some of the finishes sprayed on baits yellow in time under long term exposure to the elements (sanding and buffing). For the body... just spray some shellac over it and good to go.
    1 point
  3. I have this mold from Fat Guys Fishing and it is awesome. https://fatguysfishing.com/2-2-little-swima/
    1 point
  4. If you are just making baits for yourself, basstackle.com has some very affordable single cavity CNC molds that will get you started. Thats how I started out, bought a few single shot molds for there and started injecting. They are great for personal use, but would take you forever if you were trying to fill orders. I also suggest only buying molds you are gonna use. Get 2 or 3 molds of the soft plastics you use the most. Get a handful of colors and glitter that you use the most. Keep it simple in the beginning, there is plenty of time to go over the top with molds, colorant, and glitter once you decide if this hobby is for you or not.
    1 point
  5. Yes contact Bob Lalonde at http://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/ Or Shawn Collins at http://shawncollinscustoms.net/ There's a few others out there as well but I'd try those two first.
    1 point
  6. Thank you both. I’m going to make one more go at “encouraging” them to work... but may end up getting a different option. Totally agree the large size looks too short on the one end... weird though... if it wasn’t meant to be bent into a figure 8 (but stay as is in the lure body as a joint connection, etc), why call it a figure 8!? smh.... crazy.
    1 point
  7. Thanks for the input fellas. Looks like I will run with the original thought - making a mold for both!
    1 point
  8. I used the 3/8" size from Jann's. No problem bending the wire, but still quite heavy duty. https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/plug-parts/310311.aspx
    1 point
  9. I am casting tin removable split-shot sinkers, no doubt they are not as easy as lead but OK with the right tool.Tin is hard, cannot be closed reliably not to slip by hand or ill-advised use of teeth. The answer is to use a snub-nosed pliers where the biting surfaces are close to the pliers fulcrum, regular long nosed pliers not so good. After some experimentation my choice the $1.99 pliers from Harbor Freight, clip the 20% coupon from newspaper or online, get the pliers for $1.60 and a free flashlight for your fishing bag. Stay away from large tin sizes above 5 or 7, larger sizes require bigger pliers. Lead under one ounce is illegal in Massachusetts where I do much shad fishing. I have been able to remove removable tin sinkers from line without trouble but I would not plan on using them a second time. I was designing bismuth/tin alloys that people could mix themselves if they choose. In the past few days of experimental trials, I have settled on two: Bismuth/tin 92/08 This alloy has 84.5% the weight of lead and can withstand 400F for over an hour, suitable for shad darts and jigs or any roundish lures intended for powder coat baking. Alloy has sufficient tin to lessen pure bismuth's brittleness of a champagne glass. Shopping carefully on eBay, this alloy costs about $7.50/pound to make. Bismuth/tin 80/20 This alloy has 82% the weight of lead and increased tin makes it more resilient than 92/08 alloy to bumps and knocks, suitable for sinkers and jigs/darts intended for painting not powder coating. Survives 350 degrees heat but barely with some tin bubbles, could be used for powder coat heating not to exceed 300 degrees. Shopping carefully on eBay, this alloy costs about $8.50/pound to make. I developed the 92/08 alloy with a good margin of error so anyone can set any toaster oven at typical 350 degrees and not have to worry about melting or softening jigs if toaster oven temperatures get more than a little too hot at 350 setting like mine does. I use a separate quality oven temperature gauge and do not trust oven settings. I came up with the 350 benchmark because that is what I read online or heard on YouTube in multiple locations. I personally have no experience using powder coat pint, just with acrylics that are air dried. I now have the means to replace lead in all applications with pure tin or bismuth/tin alloys so will now do so even where not required by law such as here in Connecticut. I will be selling my lead ingots/tackle for cost of materials soon. It is so nice not to have to worry about toxic exposure in casting lead or handling the product. I also will be recasting my stock of Rotometals Bismuth 281 to Bismuth/tin 80/20 to increase density and heat tolerance.
    1 point
  10. That pretty much sums up my take as well. I didn't like that any contours and features were "dulled" by the thick cover layer. I was trying to coat painted soft baits but have ended up changing the way I paint instead.
    1 point
  11. I'm not really big on Colorado blades except at night and for Northern Pike. The rise "up" and are tough to fish deep (at least for the impatient me!). You can "slow roll" them with a really heavy body and the discipline to move them (reel them) slow enough. I have had more success with the Indiana or big Willow blades for bass. It comes down to more thump...or more flash.
    1 point
  12. Slapped together this wing and put it on the rough body with hooks for a bath tub test and it paddles . unfortunately open water is limited with -20C and colder weather so may be a while before I can do a good test I think with a little messing around testing a few styles of wing and body shapes I will get what I am looking for. I will add in a joint for sure
    1 point
  13. Lakeland has a blade called a Royal blade or Royal Willow blade. I think they have more thump than a Colorado or Mag willow. https://barlowstackle.com/Royal-Willow-Spinner-Blades-P1956/
    1 point
  14. Thump = Colorado blades. If you want a "good thump" and but want to fish them deeper at a good speed, go with an Indiana Blade. Here is a link to a really good article on the subject: http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/spinnerbait-blades.shtml I really like HILDEBRANDT blades and I get mine at Barlow's Tackle. They ship international.
    1 point
  15. I've found that even the $25 Japanese jerkbaits, which are supposed to suspend, actually sink or rise slowly, depending on water temp, and line type and size, but not fast enough to matter. I've also found it's impossible for me to get a lure to suspend perfectly, so I settle for close. I get it to float really slowly, then paint it and top coat it, and hope the paint/top coat make it suspend in cold tap water in my float testing 5 gallon bucket. Then I can use the type and size of line, and the size of both split rings and treble hooks, to get them to either sink slowly, or float slowly. Worst case scenario, if the lure still floats once I'm finished making and rigging it, I'll add suspend dots/strips to the belly, or a little lead wire to the belly hook shank. But I don't think the fish care if it sinks or rises, as long as it is a really slow movement. Dying baitfish aren't neutrally buoyant, either.
    1 point
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