Brand New

[RLarson]

Is this as easy as everyone talks about???

I was thinking about buying the carrot mold kit, would this be to hard for a newbie?

thanks

[412BaitCo]

It can have it's frustrations at first like starting anything else but if you get the right stuff (CCM products) and read up on this forum and ask as many questions as needed everyone is always happy to help. After ironing out the kinks it's a ton of fun creating stuff and catching fish on it.

[andrewlamberson]

Welcome to the Forum....as you will see...you can get lots of help here!

There are a lot of good posts to search for questions on temperature, injecting slowly etc. etc. so take advantage of the excellent search function.

Above all...read the Safety section....and follow it! 350 degree plastic is VERY hot!

And to answer your question, the Carrot mold would be a great beginners mold. You can use it as a Texas Rig, Carolina rig, wacky rig and as a jerk bait! The main thing when injecting is to inject slowly ....with just hand pressure....to avoid flash on the bait (slowly...and hand pressure is a strongly recommended rule of thumb for any mold!).

Andy

[t-billy]

 Welcome aboard RLarson. Great advice from Andy and 412Baitco. I completely agree with Andy on the Carrot being a GREAT first mold. It's a very versitile, productive bait, and it's one of the easiest molds to inject. Like those guys said, the search engine is your best friend when you first start. Read, read, read and then read some more. If you don't find the info your looking for, ask away. There are lots of great, talented people on this forum who are always glad to help.------Tim.

[412BaitCo]

With the bigger carrots my number one piece of advice is once the plastic is up to 350 degrees stir it down to about 320 before shooting and it keeps it from denting for me.

[RLarson]

412,
i really likefishing stick baits i am hoping the carrot will replace the stick bait and give the fish a different look??

[412BaitCo]

Andy is your man for that conversation. He and Monte SS have become the resident experts on the HD sinking additive that you would want to use.

[412BaitCo]

http://www.caneycreekmolds.net/index.php?topic=2264.0

There's a whole thread on how to use the HD additive and how it compares to using salt.

[t-billy]

With the bigger carrots my number one piece of advice is once the plastic is up to 350 degrees stir it down to about 320 before shooting and it keeps it from denting for me.

Agreed. I've found that I can shoot all my molds easily in the 320 range except for ribbontail worms. There are others to be sure, but that's the only mold I've encountered so far that needs to be pre-heated and shot at 350.  I've been at this for 4 yrs now and I'm still learning new things all the time. That's a great thing. It keeps it interesting. You'll find it's very much a family atmosphere here.
 Let me add a word of caution. Making your own baits is HIGHLY addictive. You will invest FAR more than you think you will. You will make FAR more baits in FAR more colors than anyone really needs. You may aquire so many plano boxes and ziplock bags full of baits that your family will call the hoarders TV show on you. But....You will have lots of fun doing it.  Don't say you haven't been warned  -------Tim.

[andrewlamberson]

The other really good "stick bait" type mold is the Freedom Fry. They are my favorite wacky (and Carolina rig) worms...and SUPER easy to make! With the laminate plate you can easily make professional looking laminates (two color) baits.

By the way...One advantage of making your own worms is that they float...so you can go retrieve them after the fish throws them...OR....use the HD additive to make baits sink link a salted bait ...tuned to the sink speed YOU want. Plus the HD material makes them really durable!

BUT...Push the easy button first! Just make plain ole' floating worms in the color/glitter you want....before jumping on the HD bandwagon!

[Denny Welch]

Hey RL...Welcome to the forum.  Ditto on what everyone else is saying.  You might want to spend a little time watching some of the YouTube videos.  You'll find some of them in the CCM Store pages and some others on the forum and many others online.  If you have any doubts about something you might want to run it by the guys on the forum before you do something stewpid, cuz' stewpid hurts.

If you like catching fish on something you made, you're going to love CCM.

[Justin9j]

welcome RL. 

[kipbass]

And if you're really stuck send Jason a private message (pm), he's real good at calling by phone and talking you through the steps. It's one of the many reasons why CCM is great at what they do. A+ customer service. Jason may even talk to you before you buy and tell you the ins and outs of the molds if you ask him.

[MonteSS]

Welcome. Getting high quality CCM plastic and great CCM molds and injector is a great kit for newbs or advanced.

Best tip I can give is to get a thermometer.

The CCM HD sinking additive is fantastic and anyone can be an expert using it.

1 tbsp per 4 oz for a slow sink and 2 tbsp per 4 oz for a fast sink.

GL...Bill

[ctom]

Andy is your man for that conversation. He and Monte SS have become the resident experts on the HD sinking additive that you would want to use.

I'd have to second this statement. But keep in mind that their talents reach well beyond just the sinking additive.

Something you'll pick up on in the forums here is that everyone seems to have a niche and in it they excel well beyond anything that can be store bought.

Welcome to the greatest hobby in town Ray.