Thread: Making your own soft plastics

One of the few fishing shows worth watching is Larry Dahlberg's Hunt for Big Fish. Every now and then, he will do a "Larry's Workshop" show where he makes his own lures. He makes both hard baits and soft plastics. Here's a video on how to make a killer dragon fly larva:


YouTube - Copy a Dragonfly Larva

Other similar videos and all necessary tools/materials can be found here:

Mold and Cast Fishing Lures - How To's

Thanks for the links.

Thanks for the links, although I do worry about any kids seeing them as they'res no safety. No gloves and the way it was smokin that could have caused some serious burns.

But it was some good lookin stuff, although I wish he would have said something about costs.

Fatman

Yea, that's a good concept but SOME BLISTERS WAITING TO HAPPEN!!!!!

So he heats it up to 350 then pours it into mold, between his fingers which are holding plastic mold open, no not me @350 degrees

Its alot easier then he made it look.

JJ

it can be an expensive hobby, but fun. aluminum molds are the way to go. you can make them out of many other products but they will all degrade over time unlike an aluminum mold. and you start with one and then another and another. before you know it you got a couple of thousand dollars in molds,plastics,coloring,glitters and the list just keeps growing. But I like the fact that I only fish with something I made weather it be jigs or plastics in some form. This is from my latest mold I just got. they are 1 inch long and perfect for gills.



There is a lot of info out there for those that want to get started in it at Tackleunderground.

AL has a low melting point too, I'm betting with some kiln bricks, a propane heat source (or natural gas), and a blower you could smelt AL and make your own molds... not sure how to make molds from anything other than sand tho... *shrug*...maybe could use clay.

Having a aluminum mold cut would be about the only way to get a smooth finish on your mold. might work on a 1 piece mold but not a full round 2 piece mold

Plaster paris is a good way to make molds cheap to start with. but i garuntee you will want AL molds witha injector before long

JJ