Trying A Bait Or Bait Style Before Spending The $$$

ghostbaits, on 02 September 2010 - 10:07 AM, said:

I am curious how many try out the baits they are going to make prior to spending all the big bucks on the molds. Reason I ask, I have seen a lot of molds out there on the secondary market now, some only weeks old. Baits perform differently when we make them by hand injection or hand pour vs what you get out of a bag from a bigger manufacturer. Mostly due to our limited use of heavy salt.

When bringing on a new bait, I generally like to start out with at least the number of cavities I am going to put into a bag or think is reasonable for my personal use. At 10 baits per bag, many molds can run you $500+ (10 single cavity molds @ $50+), just to set-up a system to do 1 bag of baits per blast.

I have gotten in the habit of making a plaster of paris mold of a similar bait I am thinking of buying the corresponding mold for and fishing that bait for a week or so prior to making the final commitment. Of course, this just goes for molds that are not "ordinary" like a senko-type bait or trick worm style bait. Some that you fish alot, you know you have to have!!!

Here are a few I have recently done to try out. POP is a cheap way to really get an idea of how the bait performs with softer plastic and how the mold may pour or inject.

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Made a 6 cavity flick shake bait

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Frog

Skinny dipper with hook slot

http://www.ghostbait.../new%201644.jpg
Grass craw

After a couple weeks of fishing all of these, I really like the flick shake and grass craw. Not enough to buy the current aluminum molds avaialable in all these baits but certainly enough to continue pouring a few baits up for myself for further testing. I almost bought bait molds of all of the above baits prior to testing. Would have been a mistake on my part.

As a note, I do watch to avoid duplicating baits that are patent protected except for very limited testing purposes. If I like the style/action of a particular bait I test, I will go to an already available mold from the various makers or have a unique design created.

Do you guys go through something like this or just let the "mold monkey" have its way???

Jim

Jim
Sounds like you are looking for the next hot seller.

Me I do the research to figure out what will really work.

I made my own lures, like 30 years ago (and on, and off), just can't find what I am looking for any more.

So I am getting serious this time. POP molds are cheap, but they do take up a lot of my time.

You don't always have to go to full blown production, something I used to do.

Pour a new one cavity mold with left over color, charge more (for 6) because it is new and if demand increases, invest and buy a produciton mold.

Me if I sell mine it is at 6 baits per bag and when I have them. Don't discount yourself, especially if you have a unique lure that you hand pour, you are selling yourself short.

I do this for fun. Might have to resort to selling lures to pay the wife tax, she busted me spending a grand on stuff.

Said something about I have to sell them now, (holy crapholy when will I have time to fish, if I have to make lures to sell) working on a solution.

Back to research, what do you want to catch? What size? What is on the market, but not what you are looking for? Then put some money in a new lure you have faith in.

By the way, I spend the money for a mold and do the final tweaks myself, the die grinding of the aluminum to make the lure exactly what I want.

So there are no real copies of what I make available.

Regards

Mark

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