Fun stuff in tackle making....

[MrTom]

I got a new mold the other day to make 2 1/2" Crappie Flukes. As soon as it got the winter chill off it I hit the garage shop and played with it a while. I did up some basic two color baits...body one color tail another. Then I did some core colors but the body color was too opaque to get a decent idea of what a core shot does. If you look hard you can see the blue core. The I did what's called a color drop. One fills one side of the mold by hand pouring clear plastic with a spoon. Then a couple small drops of raw colorant are dotted on each half, the mold is kept flat and clamped to the bench top, then the clear plastic is injected into the mold so that the colorant is spread as the plastic flows in. This is a totally random way to make baits but mixing colorant color dots can render crazy cool color swirls thru the baits. Here is a picture of the color dot in purple and the core in what was supposed to be a thin pearl and a blue & gold micro glitter core.

Yesterday I picked up the tail mold for the bait, cleaned it up and decided to shoot some Junebug re-melt plastic just to see how well the mold injected and looked for any little issues with it. Found none but as I trimmed the tails from the injection runner I started really looking at the tails and figured there was more there than just the tail so off I went in yet another direction.

I did a remelt on some chartreuse and dipped the cut ends of the baits in it just to cover the flat end. Then I dipped a second time and got a nice round "head", one that would support a couple eyes. I added 3mm eyes then dipped the head ends in a clear plastic cover dip to seal the eyes. Now I have a mold that makes a tail and a bait with just a little extra tinkering. Crappies will love this little "minnow" bait

 

[ENCORE50A]

As always, some good looking plastics.

 

[Idaholewis]

Them look REALLY GOOD Tom!! I miss Crappie Fishing, I don’t do any kind of Fishing these Days, haven’t in several years now.

These were my ALL time FAVORITE Crappie Jig for Around here, a Shad. The 7th one Down was ALWAYS my Color Choice, that Brown color just Worked, Day in and Day out! I even Caught a Few Northern Pike jigging these

 

[Rockman]

Tom, those plastics look outstanding! I was thinking I am going to have shake the dust off the ice auger, portable ice shack, and the ice rods in the next few days. Those look really good for crappies through the ice. Especially the lighter colored ones with the purple and silver in the center.

 

[MrTom]

LOL....what looks silver in with the purple is actually small air bubbles. I used plastic that was quite cold to make these and cold plastic being heated fast in the microwave creates bubbles. I keep my good plastic in the house where it stays warm and bubbles are a thing imagined. If you're going to under the ice for fish you'll likely want to size down even more than what this tail mold makes.

 

[Rockman]

What length are these baits? I've used some good sized baits for suspended bigger crappies. It depends on the average size in that body of water, and their mood in striking a bait. A bonus walleye, or northern pike is always fun on bigger baits for panfish, too.

 

[MrTom]

The fork tailed baits are 2 1/2". The stingers that Lewis has pictured are 1.5".

The 2 1/2" fork tails are great summer crappie baits.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

The fork tailed baits are 2 1/2". The stingers that Lewis has pictured are 1.5".

The 2 1/2" fork tails are great summer crappie baits.

I would use those 2-1/2" blue green forktails here for walleyes icefishing. I bet they'd be great.