Thread: Question for the Pros

Not to my knowledge. Plastic has to be "cooked" to convert it from the raw consistency to what you get in your hand. It's what is cooked into the plastic that can make it tougher or a firmer plastic formula can be used. Once its cooked and injected, it is what it is. Most plastic baits found commercially are soft plastic in baits used for crappie/panfish. Some of those I have used are extremely soft and tear just about by looking at them. They are frustrating to use.

As hobbyists, we can add a hardener to the raw plastic to give it more durability, but doing so when the plastic is used in certain baits can affect the action of the bait. There's one medium plastic that's easy to get that has a whole lot more resiliency than in other plastics rated as a medium firmness plastic. Its Do-It's Essential plastic. The stuff is tough and stretches a lonnnnnng way before breaking. I soften the Essential I use by about 8% so the baits I make are full of action but still very soft. I caught a one pound sunfish that hit the tail on a paddletail bait and never got the hook in so much as a lip. The bait was stretched out about 4 inches and as soon as the fish and net was lifted out of the water it let go of the tail and the bait went right back to normal with no ill effects.

Lots of baits you see hanging on bait shop hooks are designed like lawnmowers are today. The plastic is so soft that each bait has a limited window of use before it goes to pieces. Lawnmowers are built to run for X number of hours. More often than not those of us who make our own baits are doing so because what we make at home is of higher quality than what can be bought at stores and colors are only hindered by lack of imagination. The same can be said about bait design.

Originally Posted by CTom

Not to my knowledge.

There's one medium plastic that's easy to get that has a whole lot more resiliency than in other plastics rated as a medium firmness plastic. Its Do-It's Essential plastic. The stuff is tough and stretches a lonnnnnng way before breaking. I soften the Essential I use by about 8% so the baits I make are full of action but still very soft.

Lots of baits you see hanging on bait shop hooks are designed like lawnmowers are today. The plastic is so soft that each bait has a limited window of use before it goes to pieces. Lawnmowers are built to run for X number of hours. More often than not those of us who make our own baits are doing so because what we make at home is of higher quality than what can be bought at stores and colors are only hindered by lack of imagination. The same can be said about bait design.

They call that "Planned Obsolescence" my friend just so they can sell more product. Spiderman. I am not a professional bait / lure maker but I have been making my own lures for over 50 years. I could not find the type baits I wanted at Wally World or Bait Shops and I just refused to pay the high prices elsewhere when I figured I would try to do baits myself. This DIY Soft Plastics forum is a neat place to learn and also you tube videos on soft plastic making. I'll bet you will be making some great lures yourself in the future.