NJFishRGuy

Me, too!

I think a lot depends upon which bait we're talking about. I started by pouring soft stickbaits; I was going through several hundred dollars worth of Senkos and the like in a season (at $0.60 per bait), so the cost to get set up and to make my own paid for itself. I don't think it's cost effective to make your own tubes, for example, though if you want to make baits no one else has or like to experiment with colors, etc., it's great. It's also a bit addictive... I've got an entire backpack full of baits that I've made in the last year and haven't used. Tomorrow I have to sort them out and sell/give some away. No room!

I have all three sizes from Lure Craft and the concensus above is correct. They pour ok if you get the consistency right, but the most difficult thing is filling the flappers. But they catch fish regardless... I keep begging Del for the small size in aluminum but so far ...

I also found this thread, which is more recent... http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=5439

Funny you mention that... I opened a new gallon container yesterday. (It had been sitting on a table, not on the cold concrete floor.) I mixed it for 4 minutes with a drill mixer and put some into a smaller container I use. It sat for about a half hour, then I mixed it gently by tilting the container back and forth; there were no visible bubbles. But when I melted the plastic and went to pour, the first bait was completely covered with very small bubbles. They eventually cleared up but it took quite a while. There was a thread about something similar a while back; here's the link. Other than the bubbles, the baits I poured turned out fine. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=4757&highlight=calhouns+bubbles

But is anyone making aluminum Smallie Beaver Molds? I keep asking Del and Bob, but so far no joy...

Actually, I also add salt only for weight. But seeing some of the beautiful baits above , I'm going to make some without even if I do have to add some lead (or tungsten in CA) weight to make it fall...

I'm not sure I understand, but is this what you're trying to do? http://www.tackleunderground.com/modules/mx_kb/kb.php?mode=article&k=2

Those are some beautiful baits! I understand that they are (sometimes) supposed to be fished weightless for a really slow fall; for that, seems to me salt would be needed. The reason everyone wants to pour them is that a) they are not made in the colors that are needed everywhere, and they are often out of stock virtually everywhere you check. I like them better without salt; I think I'm going to start making more of them that way.

I've added a lot of salt to the beavers I've made so far, but I notice that many of the photos posted here are clear, translucent colors, so no salt. The originals sink on their own, that's why I added the salt, but what's the general concensus? Salt or no salt?

Half mask and no eye protection (though I do wear polycarbonate glasses).

Hmmmm... maybe that wasn't a very good subject title. Anyway, I went back and looked at the first group of baits that I had made, and the majority of them have the flaps filled out. The difference was that I used one ounce of softener to 4 ounces of plastic (with 2 ounces of salt). I would buy an aluminum one, but no one is making an aluminum smallie beav'r that I'm aware of. I asked Bob's and Delw.

I've never made tubes, but there was a good thread on here not long ago on the subject. Check out: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=4761&highlight=tubes Good luck!

I'm going to give that a try, along with adding a little softener and heating a bit more.

That's what I was going to try next. My first batch had much better fill and had the same amount of salt, BUT it had one ounce of softener to four ounces of plastic. This last batch that didn't fill well had no softener. I'm going to add a little softener, decrease the salt, keep the plastic hotter and see if I can improve the outcome.