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Stock's Lures

Line-Thru Swimbait Inserts

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In the past, I've used hollow lead wire, and hollow mojo sinkers. Both should be coated before you pour, because the lead oxidizes and turns white over time.  Even some of the commercially available thru-line swimbaits have that problem.

One reason I stopped using the lead is I never found a coating that worked.  As I type this I realize I never tried brush on super glue as a coating.  Hmmmm....

Neither of those things have the anchoring ridges that help hold the insert in place.  I tried a few wraps of braid, anchored with super glue, and that gave it more grip, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as the original inserts.  If you take your time, I'm sure you could build the braid up taller.  I was in too big a hurry.  Surprise!

The upside to using the lead wire was I could make it as long as I wanted, to get a heavier insert and get my bait to swim more level at higher speeds.  I could even bend it to follow the belly of the bait and keep it lower in the mold.  The longer wire moved the hook back farther in the bait, too, which isn't necessarily bad.

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Thanks fishon, but I'm going to try and make the mojo sinker-type lead work for now.

 

Erick, I was thinking I might use egg sinkers, strung together on a piece of wire to get the weight and location I want.  The plastic should hold them once it's cooled, because of their shape, and that way I can move the weights to where I need them.  Now that I think of it, I'll probably have to ream the hole bigger and use a small plastic tube instead of a wire, to get a durable hole that's big enough to thread my line through.

Hmmmm.....another challenge!

Edited by mark poulson
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I think Bob La Londe may have made a mold for inserts. Maybe he will jump in here.

 

I have a couple for designed and ready for lead.  1/4 and 3/8 I think.  At them moment I only have 1 3/8 listed on ebay.  I'm pretty busy in the shop right now with custom work so it will be a little while before I cut any more of them.  The new machine is always busy, and I am in the process of rebuilding the Hurco spindle.  The work load might lighten up a little when I get that one back online in a week or two, but then I'll have it busy again soon.  I am building some machines from the ground up, because I don't think there is anything that is ideal for mold making that isn't over built to handle heavy milling as well.  Anyway, yes I have designs for 1/4 and 3/8.  

 

I would caution that I have been told lead can react with plastic over time and you should paint your weights with something that doesn't react with lead, or powder coat them.  I don't make that many swim baits for my own use, and I tend to go through them when I do, so I just spray paint them with anything handy that works with the color plastic I am using and go fishing. 

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I don't want to give too much info away here but I literally spent a year trying to find a product that would work well as an insert. We mainly use the 605 line through mold at Reflexion and started out with the inserts Basstackle made. I never liked how they would pop out of the nose after only a little use. 

 

I'm not kidding when I say I tried 15 different kinds of materials ranging from powder coated lead to aluminum rivets with varying degrees of success. 

 

I don't want to give away what we use now but one of the best things I found to work before landing on the insert we currently use was brass or nickel bullet weights in 1/4 or 3/8 ounces. We actually coat ours with a clear paint type material that helps the plastic stick to the metal better but if you reverse the weight (concave end facing upwards towards the nose) there is enough resistance from the plastic on the round concave end of the weight to keep it in place through multiple hooksets. 

 

I'd suggest using a split ring on the treble underneath also - keeps the hook eye from pulling into the cavity and pushing the weight up and out of the nose. 

 

Worked well for us for a long time!


And not sure why my computer corrected "push out" to "Plaster of Paris" but it did...

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