stephanec12

I started dipping swims as my first foray into homemade plastics last year. I too use a modified butter knife with colorado blade attached for the paddle. In my experience you won't produce professional looking baits, but if it's just for your own use you don't need to,my swims while not as attractive have out produced all my store bought paddletail tubes. The real advantage in making your own is customized colours to match local forage, and using softer plastic for a realistic action at slower retrieve speeds. My baits don't survive as long as store bought, but what does make it back to the boat just goes back in the melting pot. As for your questions, you definately need to lube the blade before dipping, I give mine a light rub with a paper towel soaked in cooking oil. You also have to experiment with timing the removal of the bait, you'll eventually know how long to leave a bait to set before removing from the blade. As for plastic, I use regular worm plastic, i find its softness is perfect for slower retrieves, although it does tear more easily and your baits won't last as long, but if they catch fish, who cares.

First off, I don't know whether to thank you guys or curse you. I stumbled onto this site a while back, and am a hopeless bait making addict now, thanks a lot. On to the subject at hand. I've been playing around with Husky's method for a couple weeks now. Took me a while to find a Silicone that would water cure, Wally world doesn't carry a house brand up here in Canada I finally found one that works last week. I too am trying to create a two-part mold, stick baits to be exact, and I think I've figured out an easy method. First I made a small cone out of pink insulation board and glued it to the nose of a senko. I made a mold form out of foam insulation board as husky described. Filled it with half a tube of silicone mixed with water, as per the instructions i've read here. I then placed my Senko in the silicone with the cone against the wall. I then filled the mold with the other half a tube of silicone and compressed the whole mess with a piece of insulation board I had removed to make the form. When its all cured I had a Senko encased in silicone. With a long and very sharp blade I made an incision along the side of the block, going as deep as the bait locked inside ( which was dark, makes seeing it through the silicone much easier). The incision ran from the mid point of the bait all the way to the end of the mold where the foam cone was. This incision allowed enough opening to remove the bait and cone. And voila, I have a stick bait mold. Just wrap an elastic around the upper part of the mold to hold the incision shut. Use the hole the cone made as a pour hole, and I'm in business. There is a little bit of flash from the incision site, but thats only 1/4 the flash you'd get on a fully two piece mold, and it doesn't seem as severe either. I'm just making baits for personal use so for me flash isn't an issue. I'm not sure how this method would work with more complex baits, but for more symmetrical baits with no appendages, flukes and sticks, it is pretty easy and foolproof IMO. Thanks again to the people of this community, and Husky for letting us in on this awesome method.

That would be a Power Bait. A Carolina Slug, if I am not mistaken. I do believe they have been out of production for a good few years now.