JBuff

Craws for me are the most enjoyable bait I've ever made which stems from my days of tournament fishing. At each event I fished I would walk the bank and turn over rocks in search of getting a craw or two to use in deciding which color trailers I would use for my jigs. As mentioned above there are so many sub species and color variations making them is never boring. I found the greatest challenge is imitating the molting version which involves semi milky opaque and translucent elements. I only hand pour so I have options as to how many colors I can integrate in the laminating process needed to create the illusion ranging from 2 to 4 with 3 being the most common. If I'm really energetic I'll pick up a few lake rocks and bring them to the shop for color matching since they molt to their surroundings. I put them in a glass bowl of water then start to match in plastic, I do dibble in making my own skirt material so this is beneficial for that as well. How I've always viewed making a craw in how I'm going to fish it first and what the fish is going to see while I fish it. 99% of the craws I make have a an opaque white/pink or peach belly/bottom. The colors I mix and match the most often are Amber, GP, Red, MF Blue Craw and Scuppernong. Flake colors most commonly used .015 black, orange, red, blue, copper, .035 gold, red, copper

I had a conversation with David Alexander about it, he told me his postmaster chewed him out because one of his shipments leaked and made a mess. He was told don't do it again, David shipped only UPS after that and even though it was more expensive at the time he said it was a relief to not have to worry about it.

For starters you can test USPS but I wouldn't if they catch you they may not give it back. UPS & Fed Ex will ship liquids. I generally ship colorants a box within a box when possible. I wrap it with electrical tape around the cap regardless if it's been used or not and then put it in a zip lock bag. Most of the time if there's a problem it has to do with the lid. I'd be interested in all of the Bears

As I see it you have 2 choices. Start with June bug and add red or Blue fleck with a reduced amount of black.

Never use a toothpick..it will absorb the colorant. Use either a big sowing needle or paper clip.

Time has caught up to me I knew it would as a hand pour only person. I've bounced in and out of TU over the years not to see baits to copy rather to see people & how they progress in their skill of making baits. I had a certain mindsets during my time with Fringe one being I wanted ownership the other to be the first. I realize the bait making world has and continues to evolve based on technology for one. I'll check in from time to time and no doubt I'll say to myself....wish I'd thought of that. Keep em flying...

Just works out this way...hit that one mix and you've got only 2 oz left the colorant...and it's no longer available. Either hunt down some or take whats available and make it work....never the same as the original. It's a challenge

I have no idea which I was informed and searched out "old" colorant for a period of time and accumulated what I have now. The most notable difference is the color of the flakes I use with it.

I hand pour only...what I'm working on is the illusion of a drifted cluster bait for steelhead.

You can thank our wonderful Gov't for this as it was they that banned the use of one of main ingredients. I caught wind of this early enough to purchase several pints of the "old" motoroil colorant. The main difference is the "old" had a red tint vs a brown tint when exposed to natural light. This happened quite a while back so newer bait makers don't know there was something different. I use motoroil pretty regular when I'm trying to affect colors in combination and it doesn't take much. Grasshopper is one of my favorite mixes.

Let me see your mold, looks like each egg is individual by the cut mark. I'm working on a cluster that will allow me to add skein.

I'm going steelheading in late Nov. out in Oregon & ID hopefully between now and then I'll come up with something I'll share. It won't be something complicated and achieve the illusion.

If you're considering I offer my experience(s) for thought hopefully usable. 1) Don't under sell yourself 2) Believe in your creativity 3) Every minute counts 4) Never surrender to the machine 5) Always keep your individualism Ask and I'll respond

If you want the "salt effect" without having to add salt use white in your recipe, this will allow the bait to retain it's buoyancy and be more opaque.

Depends on the bait your making, certain colorants have black added to them ie...green pumpkin, you can play on the colorant and reduce the amount of black you need to mix and still arrive at a good degree of opaque without sacrificing color. Don't exempt the amount of flakes you may use as well. Also depends if you're laminating 2 colors, one can be more translucent than the other, determine which one you want to be dominant.

Sad to hear this he was my first supplier and I still have several bottles of colorants I use sparingly. RIP

I see a constant in that the colors you list are translucent or slight bleed very little colorant in both. How I've mixed when creating a new color is a process of starting with a mix I already have a recipe for that's similar so I already have a base. If you don't have a base mix recipe then the best way to start is minimal colorant and work up. I start with the same amount each time 8 oz. I keep a mold handy of the configuration I'm making the color for so that with each additional color or drops I add I mix and will pour out a sample in the correct mold so I can see what I need to see. Yes it is trial and error but it's controlled so the error possibility goes down and in the process you'll find that along the way you may create another color you'll want to use later and you'll have the recipe.

What I see is the salt opaques and milks the limetruse bottom so I would start with 8 oz 1 drop of Avocado, 1 drop of Chart. If you don't use salt add 1 drop of white until you reach your taste of opaque. It does look like a Dirty Sanchez IMO.

Assuming you're familiar with taxes. Add up: Energy cost, raw materials cost, incoming shipping cost for raw materials, sq ft cost<tax write off, mold costs< tax write off, storage cost, packaging cost, incoming shipping cost for packaging/supplies, time to package, last but not least your time to make the baits. I'm sure I've missed a couple. Taking out the above I'd say you're going to need to Net around $23-28. an hour give or take.

My standard bone is 8 oz. 3) Drops of white and a paperclip drop of Scupp

Ask yourself 3 questions for starters and weigh your answers: 1) Am I willing to give up a good portion of my fishing time? 2) What do I deem as success monetarily? 3) Am I self disciplined?

I started Fringe Tackle out of necessity...I needed an income. I'd been making baits for myself as a hobby/competitive edge previously. That was then and through time I've experienced extremes good and bad. I have a few regrets but none measure up to the loss of time I've had to fish for the last 10 yrs. I'm nearing the end of my bait making for pay days, when I decided to sell off my remaining swimbait molds it dawned on me I'd better make some for me....I hadn't had the opportunity to throw my own bait...always making them for someone else.

In 2010 I went down the rabbit hole intending to locate and purchase the molds. After a bunch of phone calls and misinformation I gave up eventually thinking they had gone to scrap. I could've done with out seeing this thread.

What appears to be bubbles is actually the contraction of the plastic when you drip or miss center. By design the "rings" are cut to prevent capturing bubbles, I've poured thousands and can honestly say I've never had an air bubble in a ring. One thing though if you fill too fast you may see some air trapped at the top just below the reservoir. It should take in a 5" about 5-6 seconds to fill the cavity, fill backup and top off the previous pour (eliminates dents). As I posted previously practice hitting the center and you'll see this go away with repetition. A tip for success is to get in the habit of always holding your pyrex at the same height and always start with a narrow stream.

By the photos those are cold cracks caused by not heating the mold first and you didn't hit the center of the gate when you first start pouring. Try heating the mold and pour until you get the pour stream and center consistent, once you have those down you can go with a cold mold. It's all about repetition