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OUCH! That hurt. Be careful guys and gals
I am writing this because many of you have never made soft plastic lures before. I was one of them. Observe Safety Precautions! Don’t be one of those like me who had to learn the hard way. Let me tell you that 350 degree plastic when it gets on your skin does not feel good. Do not use anything that is water based in your hot plastic. It will explode on impact. Do not set your hot pyrex cup down on a wet, cold or hot surface. It will explode. I set my cup down on a ceramic tile. Wear long sleeves, long pants, and shoes instead of flip flops on your feet. Wear an apron or a laboratory coat to protect yourself. Wear a respirator because if you can smell the plastic fumes then there is a good chance it is getting down into your lungs. Ventilate the garage or work area where you are making and injecting soft plastic baits. You could use fans to blow fresh air into your work area and another fan to blow the fumes out of the work area. This will help eliminate the smoke that sometimes comes from the Pyrex cup. Sometimes in spite of all of these precautions you will be burned. If this happens immediately put Arm and Hammer baking soda on the burned area. Let it stay on the burned area for at least ten minutes. Always wear your safety glasses to protect your eyes. If moisture gets into the hot plastic it could explode and damage your eyes. Wear good oven gloves. I personally wear long welding type gloves that come up my arms a bit. Preheat your molds as well as your injector to prevent clumps. Most of all keep your work area clean and know where everything is.
Several years ago I was without any knowledge about making soft plastic lures. I had been soldering teardrop ice fishing lures for over forty years and had been tying jigs with chenille and marabou for about fifteen years. I was interested in making my own soft plastic baits but I was afraid to attempt it. I had no idea of what supplies to use, where would I even get the materials, what are the safety issues and how do you make a soft plastic bait. Hopefully after reading this some of those questions will be answered for you and you will know the pure joy of catching a fish on something you handcrafted yourself. You could make a mold out of Plaster of Paris but that is another story for another day. I learned the hard way that aluminum molds and injectors was the way to go. The two piece aluminum molds are more expensive but the finished product is more exact and in my opinion with less hassle than the molds you hand pour. I have made Plaster of Paris molds but the baits were always flat on one side because you are hand pouring them. You would always have to trim off the over pour areas too. Bob Hinkle, who is known as Snake River on crappie.com, is the individual who many years ago took me under his wing and taught me what he knew. I hope that after reading this I might persuade some of you to give it a try. Once you get into this hobby it can be quite addicting and also very rewarding.
These Lures.....
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Have caught these Crappie
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