Jesse9583

I am making some stick baits with salt. I only use about 25% salt, just my preferred fall rate. I'm not getting any durability or stretch in my baits though. I know the plastisol does not adhere well with the salt but i also know people use salt with good results. I am wondering if I need to use a soft plastisol instead of my normal medium plastisol or do I need to use more softener? How much softener do you use in salted bait? Am i using too much salt? Any other tips or steps I'm missing on this? Thanks in advance!

I'm having trouble getting a bold fluorescent pink color in my soft plastics. Flo. Pink just makes a very dull, almost transparent... like no color at all. I tried to use white first but still no real help. I was able to mix white and red and get a normal, pastel type of pink. I want to make a bright, bold pink for some ice fishing, any help is appreciated. Thanks!!

Hey everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has a good starting ratio for salt to plastic when making stick baits? I can tweak it as needed for my application but a starting point would be good. Also, any special instructions or tips that I may not know would be great. I've never added salt until now, I would like to make a batch that sinks faster. I'm thinking maybe I added too much, they do not seem very durable and have next to no elasticity. I thought the actual senko brand wasn't very durable until I made my first salted batch I've added no hardner or softner or any other additives except a bit of heat stabilizer. Any thoughts on getting a stick bait that contains salt but also retains some of its strength and stretch would be great!

Looking for ideas for soft plastic molds that are made for ice fishing. I love using soft plastics for ice fishing crappie but they need to be small. I was considering the Bait Junkys 1" arkansas Flash. Anyone have experience with that particular mold? Also, any other recommendations for ice fishing molds would be appreciated as I plan to buy a couple different options. Thanks everyone, good knowledge in this forum!

I just got my new plastisol and have no issues with bubbles. I do believe it must have been a bad batch from Do-it. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.

Lurecraft says they offer both, never had it tested myself of course. The original formula would be the one you are looking for if buying from them. You can call and ask them too, they answer the phone and are easy to talk to.

so you use both and add some heat stabilizer. I've got some of that on the way actually, should be here tomorrow. Thanks for the tips!

Hey all, I only have one or two molds for each bait that I shoot, it's a hobby. so when I want to shoot a bigger batch for a trip or for friends or whatever I have to shoot the mold, wait, rewarm the plastic, shoot again. This is fine except that after a few times it seems to be hard on my plastic as it starts to darken or burn a bit. Even when being careful of the temp it seems like it can only take so many re-heats in a row like that before the color shifts at least a little. I was hoping to shift over to using a presto pot for some of the bigger batches but I see things on this forum about those also being hard on the plastic. So my question is what is the best way to keep the plastisol at a consistent temp for multiple rounds in the mold? Feel free to get specific

There seems to be a fairly fine line between just right and oh shit I just burned it! LOL I'll test it out and stick the thermostat in it tomorrow and report back!

Yep, I've tried to let it sit and then reheated. I have fewer bubbles for sure but they are still very visible in the bait. I understand that it doesn't effect the fish, I just want to be able to achieve the same results as others, still figuring it out

So I think I have narrowed it down to 2 things, either the rate at which I heat it up or the plastisol itself. So I made a small batch on a low setting on my stove top instead of the microwave, took 20 minutes to heat up and as the plastic went from gel back into liquid the bubbles formed again. I'm assuming at this point it is the plastic since I've gone above and beyond what I and others normally do to simply heat plastisol. I'm going to grab another brand and try again quick. If nothing else it will rule out another possibility.

I believe so but I have a new thermometer on the way also just to be sure. If I let it cool and then reheat it I'm getting far fewer bubbles, but still enough to show up in my baits.

I'm using Do-it essentials regular formula. I am getting lots of micro bubbles in my baits. Ive searched and read prior threads here about this to no avail. I am using pyrex and a microwave dedicated to just this. Only clean metal utensils, and I'm in a climate controlled area with no abnormal humidity. I'm keeping stirring to a minimum. Mixed the plastisol very very well prior to putting it in the pyrex. I'm at a loss, no idea why I'm getting these bubbles still. I even wiped down the inside of the microwave before I started. The pics are prior to shooting, this is just from warming it up. Any thoughts on getting smoother results would be a big help. Thanks in advance!