New To Pouring My Own Worms

[fhsfish]

Hello everybody, 

I'm new to TU and looking to get into pouring my own worms and other soft plastics.

 

My main question right now is regarding molds.  I prefer to fish with a Culprit 7.5" ribbontail and similar worms and would like to pour worms as close to this as possible.  

I'm looking for advice on the best mold to do this easily and consistently.  Would I be better off buying a mold or making my own?  If I buy, what mold would you all suggest?

If I make my own, how should I do it? Plaster of paris? RTV? Should I make it one or two part?

 

Thanks, 

FHSFish

[basskat]

Hand pouring a ribbon tail can be difficult. It's hard to pour the tail thin enough with consistence to get really good action. For best results you really need an injector and two piece mold. Several sites have these and they're not too expensive. Try Caney Creeks, Bear's, BassTackle, etc......and you'll find everything you need.

 

Some of these guys may be able to hand pour them, getting old and my eyesight is not what it used to be.

[ipt]

if you want to really get into it as a hobby and have some fun, make your own from POP to start off, before you touch RTV.

 

If its a ribbin tail worm, you can get away with a 1 part mold, but making 2 part molds is more challenging and rewarding.

 

Aluminum molds are definitely worth it in the long run. I started with POP and made a few baits that i liked to get into pouring, now i use more aluminum than pop.

 

theres no wrong thing to do in my opinion, have fun and do whatever you feel like.

[Dink Master]

 

http://www.caneycreekmolds.com/7-Ribbon-Tail-Worm--2-Cavity_p_191.html

 

 

[daveh]

I pour 100`s of u tails and ribbon tail worms every year.Open pour molds.My best summer baits.Use a small pirex cup to pour.Great action.

[fhsfish]

Thanks everybody for the replies...I made some molds with POP after watching a few youtube videos and I think for the time being I'm going to be pleased with those.  I'm waiting on my plastisol to get here now.  When it does I'll report back with some results from my first few attempts

[omartinjordan]

Let me know how the plastisol works and how making the colors goes.  I
am new to this also.  I have made a few molds and they turned out nice. 
I have been using runners I bought from Carolina Mike and they work
really nice.  Easy to heat up and pour.  Plus, I didn't have to spend a
ton of money to get started.  I have a swimbait mold I working on and if
I can get it to work with hand pouring I am going to look into maybe
getting the plastisol and mixing up my own colors.  I think it's hard to
beat those runners though if you can get the colors you want. 

[fhsfish]

Another question for you guys, especially the ones that use or have used POP.  What is the best thing to use as a sealer for your molds so that my worms wont come out dull?  I watched several youtube videos and they had varying recommendations.  I bought some of the spray on Mod Podge Gloss at walmart but now I'm questioning whether its my best choice. 

[omartinjordan]

I mix elmers glue with water 50/50 ratio.  Seems to work pretty good.  It does tend to leave a dull finish and I haven't figured out how to get rid of it either.  I did notice when I use cookign spray as a release agent it's not as bad sometimes.

[Smallie]

Another question for you guys, especially the ones that use or have used POP.  What is the best thing to use as a sealer for your molds so that my worms wont come out dull?  I watched several youtube videos and they had varying recommendations.  I bought some of the spray on Mod Podge Gloss at walmart but now I'm questioning whether its my best choice. 

Don't use the Mod Podge - that was surpassed by a few coatings including the 50/50 Elmers mentioned above.

 

The Elmers is the easiest because you can take a container like a salad dressing jar, make the mixture and store it in that jar. When you want to use it, shake it well and then flood the cavity. I actually let it overflow slightly and use my finger to seal the flat portions around the cavity.

I let is sit for 15 minutes or so and then put the mold upside down on a piece of newspaper with a couple of dowels under the ends to keep the mold off the paper.

 

This makes a bait that is perfectly acceptable to the fish. You can make the baits shinier and thus more appealing to the fisherman by sealing with thinned epoxy such as Devcon Two Ton but it is more difficult to use and can wipe out detail if it goes on too thick. My opinion is it is not worth the trouble if you are only interested in making baits to catch fish.

[Smallie]

Forgot to say that I thinned the epoxy with denatured alcohol from Home Depot when I was in the "its got to look like store bought baits" frame of mind. I haven't used Devcon in a couple of years.

[fhsfish]

Hey everybody here are my first few worms from a test run.

POP Mold, sealed with elmers.

Caney Creek Crystal Clear medium plastic

Lurecraft colors (I mixed my own from basic red, yellow, blue, black, and white)

Glitter from ozark tackle

 

 

 

[yoda]

nice first pours looks good will catch fish for sure, now hope you have enough money because you've just enter the point of no return.

[daveh]

those will work.nice

[Ferree]

Looks like a great start!  Congratulations!