I wanted to do something a little different and bring my joy of creating soft plastic baits that I fish regularly off my Jackson kayak Big Rig Hd Fd. This can be a very rewarding and time killing hobby for those cold rainy nights or days where the wind is so bad its not fun to fish. You can get started pouring your own soft plastics with items you already have at home, but I would suggest investing in some equipment to help you make a better quality bait and have better results.

Items needed-

Microwave- one that is dedicated to soft plastics only, you will not want to use a microwave that you cook your chicken nuggets in- Not safe
1-2 cup Pyrex glass measuring cups
protective breathing mask
protective gloves
hard resin molds or rtv rubber molds
scissors
exacto blade
I use Dead on plastics soft bait plastic
Soft plastic bait colorants
Heat resistant Glitter
a good hard level surface that can be easily cleaned up

First off you will want to measure your plastic out to the desired amount- for this I used ¾ a cup of Dead on Plastics Craw and tube plastic. Make sure to shake your plastic well to mix it up. The plastic has additives that will separate. This will incorporate air bubble into your plastic which can be fixed by letting the plastic sit or using a machine to take the bubbles out which I currently do not have.

Plastic your Pyrex cup and plastic into the microwave and heat in 30 second increments when your first starting out. Mixing after each heat. I have used this plastic long enough I know I can fully heat the amount used in 3 minutes. Make sure during this whole process you are wearing your protective mask as the plastic fumes are not good for your health. If you do not have access to a mask you must do this outdoors or in a very well ventilated area but I suggest a mask at all times just to be safe.

Once the plastic is fully heated to 325-350 degrees – you can test this with a digital thermometer you can add your Colorant- I used M&f plastics watermelon and bait plastics amber for this run. I used 25 drops of watermelon and 5 drops of amber- this weekends tournament the fish are feeding on craws and I wanted a brownish watermelon bait and this recipe has done a lot of damage in the past. For my glitter I used M&f Red glitter.

Mix your plastics very thoroughly with the colorant and the glitter, the glitter tends to sink to the bottom as its slightly heavier so mixing right before your pour is needed. I tent to reheat my plastic for 30 seconds after this point to bring the cooling plastic back up to temp so it pours easily and smoothly and gives the best result.

Once the plastic is back up to temp its time to pour- today I used 2 of my custom molds I molded from baits that are currently out on the market. If there is a want I can show how to mold baits in the future for you to make your own custom colors of baits already out on the market. When pouring I tent to pour the thin areas first- tails flaps and claws. The reason I do this is if I over pour the extra plastic will suck down into the main body cavity and give you a better result and not overly thick appendages. Once this step is done I pour the main body cavity and top off any areas that may have gotten to thin and set the mold aside to cool.

Once the plastic has cooled its time to pull the bait from the mold and see what your hard work has given you. I use small strips of hdpe to place my baits on once I remove them from the mold. This is to help the bait fully cool and allows me to see what areas may need to be trimmed from over pour. I will either use scissors or the exacto blade to remove the over poured areas.

Once this is done I sit my baits out and let them cool for 24-48 hours before I used them. Each plastic is different and cooling times differ from manufacture to manufacture. Some baits may feel tacky to the touch and letting it rest will firm the bait up and allow the best results for use.