bassbandit2 Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Hey everyone, I've been bass fishing for years and always wanted to make soft plastics. (I know not much about-only what world's worst fishing/marling baits does on YouTube) I'm looking an injector, finesse worm , creature mold recommendations. I fish mainly soft plastics in ponds/lakes. I have LOTS of used/unused plastics I can remelt, what's the best practice to do this? I'm itching to start and thought I'd ask more experienced bait makers! Thanks for any help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looking45 Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 You're going to need plastisol, molds, dyes, flake, injector, breathing mask, microwave, gloves, pyrex containers. The plastral and molds will be your biggest expenses. Molds are not cheap and working with just one for each bait will be time consuming. You could buy a lot of baits with the money it will take you to get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfish Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 You can have a lot of fun doing it, which should be your reason because there are very few that make money. I haven't taken it past making resin molds and large saltwater swimbaits and squids. But when I pour I spend hours, making way more than I need, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbandit2 Posted October 10, 2020 Author Share Posted October 10, 2020 as far as the items I need I knew that, I was just looking there’s different molds and injectors out there I was just kind of looking what are the good molds versus the cheap quality and which ones to avoid. and no I’m not trying to make a business out of it I’ve been wanting to do it for years melt all my old plastics and reuse them I can make different kinds of colors I can’t buy in the store different molds that you can’t buy in the store for soft plastics it all just seems fun.And then I get to go fish the baits that I make Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Jig Man Posted October 10, 2020 Super User Share Posted October 10, 2020 Good luck. Plan to spend time and money. Cnc molds make shiny baits. Cast molds do not. Bass tackle, Angling AI make good molds. Tackle under ground has a section called don’ts for newbies. It is worth the read. A good mold will run you $100 to $250 for multi cavities. Your old plastics will remelt but be careful mixing colors or you will end up with brown. Don’t try to melt Elaztech baits. They aren’t pvc like soft most soft plastics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Phil Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Year's ago I was friends with Charlie Infinger of Charlie's Worms. At the time, he was known around South Florida as a great bass fisherman. He had a ten bass "Gold Stringer" of mounted bass each over ten pounds. Back then, this was like a bowler bowling ten 300 games. For those of you who have never seen one, here is an old Polaroid photo of one below. Thankfully, we not longer kill our fish. I remember when he told us he was going to make his own worms. He asked us to try a few and tell us what we thought. His first worms were so soft they wouldn't stay on the hook. It took some time before he got them right. Since then, he sold many millions of soft plastic baits through Walmart and other major retailers. Charlie died in 2005. I believe the business was run by his daughter for a number of years. The company was recently sold. If you want to make worms as a hobby, I encourage you. I make some of my own baits and love it when I catch a fish on one. If you are doing it to make money, I believe there are better ways to make a living. Fisherman are a fickle bunch. One of the problems with running a tackle shop is ending up with a wall full of yesterday's hot baits that no one wants to buy. I currently have a king size garbage can full of old soft plastic baits that I can't give away. The list of plastic worm manufacturers that are no long with us is lengthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PourMyOwn Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 I always tell new guys to buy a Bass Tackle injector. The 6oz is 124 dollars, but it's worth it. The nozzle can't come off accidentally which is a safety feature I really like. To remelt all your old stuff, cut baits into small pieces. I use a presto pot, it holds the plastic at temp longer. You could go the microwave route too, but it requires regular reheating. I also use heat stabilizer for remelts. As for molds, if you can buy a multi cavity, do it. I have a 4 cavity creature bait mold and it is much less time consuming than single bait molds. Lots of facebook groups for bait making, its a good place to look for molds. Also, if you don't like a mold or your injector-the good brands hardly lose value. They are very easy to sell. I've bought molds, put 500 baits through them and sold them in the same week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbandit2 Posted October 10, 2020 Author Share Posted October 10, 2020 1 hour ago, PourMyOwn said: I always tell new guys to buy a Bass Tackle injector. The 6oz is 124 dollars, but it's worth it. The nozzle can't come off accidentally which is a safety feature I really like. To remelt all your old stuff, cut baits into small pieces. I use a presto pot, it holds the plastic at temp longer. You could go the microwave route too, but it requires regular reheating. I also use heat stabilizer for remelts. As for molds, if you can buy a multi cavity, do it. I have a 4 cavity creature bait mold and it is much less time consuming than single bait molds. Lots of facebook groups for bait making, its a good place to look for molds. Also, if you don't like a mold or your injector-the good brands hardly lose value. They are very easy to sell. I've bought molds, put 500 baits through them and sold them in the same week. This is info I was looking for. I greatly appreciate your help. What heat stabilizer and where from? Where to get plastisol, color, and flake? I greatly appreciate your help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Jig Man Posted October 11, 2020 Super User Share Posted October 11, 2020 Do yourself a favor and go to tackle under ground and spend some time in the soft baits forum. There is a wealth of knowledge just waiting for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PourMyOwn Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 9 hours ago, bassbandit2 said: This is info I was looking for. I greatly appreciate your help. What heat stabilizer and where from? Where to get plastisol, color, and flake? I greatly appreciate your help! I've used every brand of stabilizer and it doesn't matter. I'm using Baitplastics right now because of the free shipping over 39 dollar deal. All the other stuff, Barlows or Lurecraft is a good place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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