any one pour their own baits?

Watched a few videos on you tube, have been thinking of getting a few molds to pour/inject my own baits. can anyone give me an idea of what it costs to get setup to start pouring or injecting a mold or two and what it may cost to get setup. I've heard it's typically not much of a cost savings cosidering time put in. Considering making junebug or watermelon red senkos, and maybe some craws. Would like a recommendation on what mold, plasticol, colorants, and glitter to purchase. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I’ve poured/injected for a few years now. Always used Bears Baits products, but last I’ve heard, the store has apparently closed due to the owner having heath issues. Haven’t ordered any supplies for a while as I’m stocked up, so I don’t have a recommendation on what brands to use now. Yes, it can be time consuming, but if you enjoy it, time isn’t a factor that I add into my “cost”. However, unless you find a particular mold for a bait that you can’t buy in a package, you may be as well off to purchase plastics off the shelf.

I pour my own from worms to brush hogs, super hogs, trailers, flukes, tubes, beavers etc & all of my own jig trailers too. It’s s fun hobby & being able to suit yourself is where it’s at in my opinion. It can be as expensive as you want. I’ve spent quite a bit, but the cnc aluminium molds will last indefinitely. You can also make your molds from plaster of Paris & it will be s lot cheaper. Hand dipping tubes is cheap too. Check out [url]www.tackleunderground.com[/url] & check out the soft plastics forum.

[QUOTE=Les Young;571746] Check out [URL="http://www.tackleunderground.com"]www.tackleunderground.com[/URL] & check out the soft plastics forum.[/QUOTE]

Will do, thanks for the info.

Lurecraft has what they call their essential series molds which are sand cast molds which are cheaper that cnc machined aluminium molds & they work great although the baits won't have as shiny a finish like they will with cnc aluminium molds. They have an actual Gary Yamamoto liscensed senko mold too. Basstackle.com & Enforcer bait molds are both nice . There's a sticky at the top of the page on tackleunderground that list most mold makers along with another to help figure out where to get glitter, colorant, plastisol etc. from. I personally like lureworks colorant & glitter. I've used both lureworks & baitjunkys plastisol & they're both top notch. You can also get molds made out of artificial stone on ebay. I have some from bugmolds.net. They baits from them don't have a shiny finish, but you can paint the cavities with high temp engine enamel & that will make them shiny. You can also make your own molds from plaster of paris too. As you can see you have a lot of options to choose from & can make it as cheap or expensive as you want. Also if you're like most of us that enjoy the bait making hobby be prepared because you'll end up buying several more molds. A lot more than you had intentions to begin with. lol On mine & my buddys most used summer time baits i bought a couple of each so i can make a bunch up pretty quickly. PM me if you have any questions.

[QUOTE=Les Young;571768]Lurecraft has what they call their essential series molds which are sand cast molds which are cheaper that cnc machined aluminium molds & they work great although the baits won't have as shiny a finish like they will with cnc aluminium molds. They have an actual Gary Yamamoto liscensed senko mold too. Basstackle.com & Enforcer bait molds are both nice . There's a sticky at the top of the page on tackleunderground that list most mold makers along with another to help figure out where to get glitter, colorant, plastisol etc. from. I personally like lureworks colorant & glitter. I've used both lureworks & baitjunkys plastisol & they're both top notch. You can also get molds made out of artificial stone on ebay. I have some from bugmolds.net. They baits from them don't have a shiny finish, but you can paint the cavities with high temp engine enamel & that will make them shiny. You can also make your own molds from plaster of paris too. As you can see you have a lot of options to choose from & can make it as cheap or expensive as you want. Also if you're like most of us that enjoy the bait making hobby be prepared because you'll end up buying several more molds. A lot more than you had intentions to begin with. lol On mine & my buddys most used summer time baits i bought a couple of each so i can make a bunch up pretty quickly. PM me if you have any questions.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for all the info. I have actually been looking into lure works for plastisol and colorants. Sounds like I have a lot of reading to do. From what I have seen its a big jump to go to cnc injection molds, but seems like the best decision for the long run.

Yes cnc aluminium molds are the best, but if there is something in do- its essential series that you like it will make a very good bait. I have their 6" finesse crawler worm mold myself & it makes very good baits every time. I see no reason why their senko mold in that series wouldn't.

Been pouring plastics for a number of years. As noted above, Lurecraft has a ton of molds in addition to plastisol, dyes, scents, and anything else that you would need. The stuff will smell when cooking/pouring, so you will not want to do it in your house. I have an old microwave that I use for heating the plastisol. It never sees food. Not sure that you will save any money doing it, unless you go through a lot of baits. Its fun as a hobby and lets you come up with stuff that is better suited for where you fish and possibly not being fished by others. I also like the fact that if I fish one day and notice they are on a certain bait or color, I can easily have a larger batch of that bait/color for the next day.

[QUOTE=apb;571811]Been pouring plastics for a number of years. As noted above, Lurecraft has a ton of molds in addition to plastisol, dyes, scents, and anything else that you would need. The stuff will smell when cooking/pouring, so you will not want to do it in your house. I have an old microwave that I use for heating the plastisol. It never sees food. Not sure that you will save any money doing it, unless you go through a lot of baits. Its fun as a hobby and lets you come up with stuff that is better suited for where you fish and possibly not being fished by others. I also like the fact that if I fish one day and notice they are on a certain bait or color, I can easily have a larger batch of that bait/color for the next day.[/QUOTE]

Good to see you are still living the dream.:o Hope all is good on your end!