The nice thing about pouring you own are the varible you can play with

Note: This is about pouring your own soft plastics or making lures in general. Any off topic replies I would suggest you ignore - I will - and I'll label them as off-topic. Some of the information goes back to my post concerning lure characteristics that may make a difference getting fish (of any species) to bite. Visual cues are IMO the most important by far of any lure's appeal.

Color
Color by itself may not be as important as color brightness. Many hues have the same brightness, so when pouring or dying a plastic you might want to consider carrying a small range of lure brightness you would like to choose from and rotate ever so often to keep things interesting.

My superstition: if a certain color has worked in a certain area and then not so much in another, I'll change to a lure of different color and color brightness and it seems to make a difference.

Attachment 221062

When it comes to the brightness fact, going to a bright lure is equivalent to increasing lure size. Of those pictured, the bright pink/chartreuse minnow grub is very bright. When you consider the physics of light underwater and depending on overhead light intensity, bright colors are always brighter than say green pumpkin or off white (bottom grub). Visually, a bright color is, IMO, challenging a fish to attack something that has a visual shock affect, causing it discomfort that something so glaringly obvious is in its space.

Contrasts within a translucent color or clear plastic may be bright or dark. When I add a bright sparkle to clear melted plastic, flash has the same effect as a solid-hue brightness except more subtle in affect. When I add black flake to the same plastic or one of a bright hue, the difference is something I believe a fish's eye can detect and that intrigues a fish to investigate with its mouth.

Chartreuse is a bright color in most water clarity ranges and when black flake is added, adds a different visual effect. Solid bright white is also a contrast color same as any solid fluorescent color except without a hue.
Both seem to glow in murky water.

Add black flake and a small amount of a flash flake to a translucent chartreuse plastic (top plastic) and you have the best of both visual worlds: contrast and brightness.

Size
When anglers think of lure size, lure length comes to mind. But, there are other dimensions that may make a difference as well as what I consider important: body to tail length ratio. As you can see in the photo, the tail of the grub in the bottom photo is 3/4 the length of the lure. The white grub second from the top is about 1/2 the length; and the tail 2/3 the length of the pink/ chartreuse grub.

IMO, the tail to body ratio is important when making soft plastic lures because the finesse factor come into play. Many of us have used a wide curly tail grub versus one with a thinner design. Tail action of the wide tail is extreme and whipping and that of the thinner tail, more of a flutter. Thin straight tail and prong tail grubs have the most finesse action of any soft plastic and are on par with that of hair or feathered jigs.

My personal preference is to always use a thin straight flat tail (or prong tail that comes to a point). Again, maybe a superstition, but slow is the way to go 99% of the time with jerks 1% of the time in the same retrieve and there's nothing better IMO to make a lure shine.

This is not to suggest that my preference of lure tail action and retrieve is for everyone, so let's not go there. All I'm saying is that you may want to consider both options as any of the other variables mentioned in the topic.

Also, when it comes to the consideration of size , the thickness of lure parts should be considered. As you can see in the photo, the bottom body shape is like that of a pill/capsule : much thicker than the tail. Thicker bodies break up the total profile of a lure whereas the flatter bodies of those pictured provide a taper from front to tail tip. Does it make a difference? Again, in my experience it may. This goes back to the idea of finesse and overall profile. A thin tail and body as seen against the sky by a fish looking up, is more minnow-shaped. (Is the simulation significant? I don't label what lures resemble - that's for others to do in order to have confidence in a lure's design or color.)

As for myself, the variables I consider included in the lures I make and use, make a difference 100% of the time and account for no less than 30 fish of different species per outing. Lure makers may want to consider the above for personal use or when offering them for sale. Sadly, major lure companies don't give you too many options.