Custom Baits - Forum
Soft Plastic Bait Making => Soft Plastic and Plastic Baits - How To??? => Topic started by: Raynestorm on 02/05/19 20:04 UTC
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Hello everyone! I’ve been pouring lead for 25 years and recently have been stalking this plastic forum itching to get into it. I finally pulled the trigger, and ordered some molds!
I’m ordering a gallon of Essential Plastisol to start. What else should I order to go in the plastic (besides colorant and glitter)? Im intending on the UV blast for sure.
The molds I bought are the Ripper in 3 & 3.5”, twister tails 3 & 4”, and a 4.5” worm with spade tail. I will primarily be fishing Walleye with Smallmouth sprinkled in.
Now to colorants, what type should I order (essential, x2, or other), and what colors to make the variations below?
Other than that, anything that I should order that is worth the cost and useful/good?
Why will it not let me attach pics? I keep getting error saying it doesn’t accept jpeg only jpg (which I verified the image is jpg)
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Welcome aboard Raynestorm.
First off, get the thermometer Do-It offers and live by it when cooking. Next up, get a notebook and a couple sharp pencils and record every action you do....this will show your mistakes and will show your successes so you can learn from both.
The Essential colorants are going to be less potent but more likely more forgiving to get started with. I'll suggest some stabilizer to help keep temps in control. get whatever you think you'll be cooking up for walleye colors. Chartreuse is a must for walleyes. Purple is a great second choice for a walleye color, but you know what colors you like in walleye baits so order accordingly and if it isn't found in the Essential series the X2 product is always there
Glitters: green, black, red and blue in the .015 size.
On the uv blast powder.....it is super duty strong stuff so in a 4 to 6 ounce batch of plastic you'll need only a BB sized pile on the end of a stir stick. You'll be able to see it if you've OD'd on it.
Other's will chime in here to help too so I'll just say welcome again and enjoy your time here.
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Here is a link on a recent discussion of color choices (https://custombaits.com/index.php?topic=11503.0 (https://custombaits.com/index.php?topic=11503.0)). The point I would underscore is that these colors go a l-o-n-g way... so if I were in your position (starting out and focusing on walleyes), there is only one big bottle of x2 colorant I would seriously consider, and that is chartreuse; the rest of your experimenting can easily be done with smaller bottles of essential, and you'll likely still have most of them five years (or gallons) from now.
We look forward to seeing you progress in your plastic prowess!
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Excellent tip on getting chartreuse in x2. I intended on making a lot of chartreuse, so I was debating on 2 bottles of that in essential. But x2 In chartreuse makes more sense, as you pointed out.
I currently have in my cart: 9 colors of essential, 1 color of x2, 7 glitters in .015, UV Blast, pearl powder, Do-it thermometer, Dual injectors, Pyrex cups, Stabilizer in pint bottle, small bottle of worm oil, and 1 gallon of Plastisol.
What about scent? Upper hand Scents has some interesting looking flavors. Most look oriented for bass though. Anyone recommend scents at all? Any better choice for walleye? I don’t live far from their factory, it looks like they have a bunch more options from their website, than what Do-it has available.
A question about getting different opacities. If I want a translucent chartreuse one day, and an opaque chartreuse the next day, how do I achieve that with the one bottle of chartreuse? More drops in the opaque batch??? Or do I need something else to accomplish that?
I wish I could post pics of the baits I want to mimic
Thanks!
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If you want to scent your baits, add it to the bags. Cooking this stuff into plastics will create some smells that you may find your family opposed to. Cooking the scent in will compound your learning curve and there's already plenty for you to digest. If you want scent, just add it when you bag the baits. For walleye I don't think you're doing yourself any favors scenting other than maybe an anise scent as a cover scent but then too do it when you bag.
At some point you may want to add hi lite powders to your goody list but for now I'd say you're pretty good. The hi lite powders differ from pearl in that pearls work all the way thru the bait, while even though the hi lite is cooked in completely thru the bait its effects are on the surface of the bait...think of inside of oystershells and the rainbow effect they have in the sun....your hi lite powder creates the same illusion only in one specific color....cool stuff to work with once you've got the basics under thumb. Goond man....I see the thermometer listed there and you'd be an unhappy man without it.
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Where else can I order x2 colorant? Do it is out of the Yellow Chartreuse on their website.
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A question about getting different opacities. If I want a translucent chartreuse one day, and an opaque chartreuse the next day, how do I achieve that with the one bottle of chartreuse? More drops in the opaque batch??? Or do I need something else to accomplish that?
Generally, I add more chartreuse if I want more opacity because it gives a whole lot more 'eye-pow' than adding white, but adding white will make it opaque faster.
Make sure to read the thread I tied to my last post, in particular note the mixing of primary colors to get secondary colors. Besides the three primary colors, you should also have black and white (and of course chartreuse)... the reason I offer this thought is you might wan to swap some of the more similar hues of your nine colors for additional glitter colors/sizes (or hi-lites) and get a better taste of all this hobby has to offer... but don't let me talk you out of what you really want to do, this is only a recommendation to stretch a shoestring budget.
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Some of the patterns I’m trying to mimic
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I really like this shade of green
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Last set
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Colors I have in my cart from Essential series: Red, Blue, Black, White, Flo Orange, Flo Pink, Watermelon Green, Pumpkin Brown, Motor Oil, & for now, June bug and Chartreuse. I couldn’t find standard yellow (primary color)
I mostly use chartreuse and purple hues for walleye, so am thinking of getting the Chartreuse (out of stock) and the Florida grape (instead of junebug) in the x2.
Will I be able to get to that brighter purple from Florida grape? Or do I need June bug as well?
I have all do it glitters .015, all hylites, uv blast, and pearl powder, from do it’s website. Some of these baits look like they have larger black flake. What size would that need to be?
Out of the baits I posted, can I get close with the colors I have in my cart? Any other recommendations?
Thanks
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Lots of people use this worm for walleyes. Its one of my go-to baits up here on the Mississippi River during the cold water period.
https://store.do-itmolds.com/45-Ring-It-Worm-2-cavity_p_1115.html
Available right here at Do-It.
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Definitely an excellent bait! I use BFshN Tackles Ringworm on Pool 8 and Wisconsin River, and it NEVER lets me down! The colors I posted in ringworms, are my top producing colors in that bait.
I don’t know how I missed this mold on Do-it’s website, another thing to add to my list!
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I think once you get to working with the plastic you're going to find the Essential plastic makes a worm a whole lot tougher than the bfishin baits without giving up any suppleness.
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The bigger glitter is going to be .35 or .40 I would guess. So mixing .15 with the above should get you there. Just remember mix glitter after you get your plastic to 350°. Also, if you go heavy on glitter it will effect the overall color. Add a little until you’re satisfied. Try to get a set of these(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190207/ec9ab3385bb4682e0d21948083c55518.jpg)
This will allow for controlled and repetitive recipes when adding glitter
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I was looking for those on Do-it’s website. What is the official name of those spoons?
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i dont think do-it has the pinch, smidgen and dash spoons. i got mine from lurecraft, and they are very nice. i use them every time i pour, for both glitter and pearls/hilights.
for colorants, i tried the essential series, and did not like it. the x2 is great (though i wish they offered smaller bottles than 5.5oz for $10). lureworks makes great colorants, just be careful with their junebug and black grape as they discolor FAST. i just got the x2 junebug (as midnight blue to play with the junebug hue) hoping they are better about color degradation, but lureworks for every other color i have tried has been awesome.
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I was looking for those on Do-it’s website. What is the official name of those spoons?
Not sure about the technical name, but I found mine at a kitchen/cooking store in our local shopping mall. They have proven their worth and rank them up there with the thermometer.
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I found the pinch, smidgen , and dash measuring spoons just outside of our town at the Amish Variety store.
Welcome Raynestorm! Have fun in your plastic venture!
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Welcome to the family!!!! x2 purple is great. My primary walleye colors are flo blue with silver halogram flake motor oil with black and gold, purple with Canadian blue and silver halogram, flo yellow chartreuse with lime and copper, flo green chartreuse with silver halogram, glitter sizes for walleye size bait’s for me is .015 and larger. The ripper bait’s are awesome along with swim shad, ring it, flippin zip, super fry,and the essential single tail grub or the CNC ones. Just remember if you add a dark color glitter it will make the color darker. The great thing about making your own is you have total control of color, glitter, and weather the bait is super soft, medium, or hard for me I like super soft or medium. Essential medium plastisol gives you the tuff bait with out killing the flexibility And movement of the bait. Hope you get as much enjoyment out of the hobby as I have.
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Thanks for all the great tips so far! I told the wife to keep an eye out for those spoons when she’s at the store.
Is the essential medium good for both twister tails, ring its, and Rippers? I like a lot of movement in my twister tails, but feel like swimbaits should be a little tougher to handle the bigger hooks and abuse.
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Essential is only one firmness and it is very close to everyone's medium. Its tough and fairly elastic. I've never seen a thread here about the Essential plastic being a lightweight when it comes to taking abuse from the fish.
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If you want the twisters with more action, get a small bottle of softener, will make the plastic less durable but with more action, and you can season it to taste.