Soft Bait Dippin' or Injecting

Been watching a bunch of videos and reading tutorials, seems pretty simple just need a few things like Plasticine, colorants and glitter.

Does anyone have any experience they can share with someone looking to maybe start making their own?

Thanks in advance

Here's my first foray into tube baits. I'll try fishing some with eyes and some without to see if I find a difference.

I've read here and there from various lure makers that eyes make a difference, so that's why I'm trying them. It's one of the things Chad from Hookup Baits has said is important, so I'm not going disagree.

I looked into the idea of trying to make my own Hookup style baits last year but never pulled the trigger. One of the main reasons is that all the commercial tube bait molds require using an injection setup and it all seemed like too much trouble.

However, this time around I found this guy who is just dipping them by hand and I can see the potential. You could, in fact, use this method to make exact replicas of Hookup Baits if you wanted.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

You could do two color baits by pouring a second color over one side of the base color tube.

In fact, Alakai, your enthusiasm has infected me and I just ordered everything I need to start making these soft plastic tubes from scratch. Naturally, I let you know how it goes and most likely make a video or two.

This current project is what I guess you could call "proof of concept." I glued some eyes on some Gitzit tubes. They actually look pretty good.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

WOW Bob those do look great! I think eyes are very important. I just don't understand why HUBs have them on the lead and then "divot" the plastic around it rather than just make the plastic with the eyes on them. The cost for the eyes on the leads seem to be more expensive but what do I know.

I'm going to try the same thing you are when my new tubes get here and paint them on, see how that works.

I saw that same video and it does seem remarkably easy. Looking to give it a try as well after I see how tubes perform and if I like them.

Looks good bob. I am thinking of injecting my own tubes too. Looked around and found a few styles of molds. Most of the difference is are they molded tentacles or not. Plastic is the most expensive part of the equation...and trying to convince the better half to tolerate microwaved plastic fumes lol.

Thanks kin,

Besides color combinations, I think its playing with the skirt area that offers the most fertile ground for experimentation. You have Hookup Baits style, which is basically a trimmed solid skirt, or the conventional tentacle skirt. I think it will be fun to play around with that part of the lure.

I like the tenticles lol. I think the fun part for me is to play with plastic and stumble upon a tube that I have 100% confidence in. If anything, just knowing that I made the tube and caught fish with it is super satisfying already. I used to tie my own spro style buck tails and was super happy with the results....then I got lazy and purchased them from someone else

I do eventually want to pour other plastics. Some colors schemes and designs are harder and harder to come by these days.

Oh yes, I've caught trout on flies that I tied and that feeling is definitely what is driving me on this deal.

I forgot that of course formulating the perfect plastic is also part of the deal. Pretty steep learning curve ahead.

Totally agree. I am still new to all of this so really have no idea what kind of baits I like to use and have confidence in. If I don't know that then making any kind of investment seems silly for now. I am sure I will find something over the next few weeks.

Looking forward to making something up and catching my first fish on it.

One thing I just thought about it will be really interesting to see about your tests. Tubes are supposed to look like little crustaceans or something. Eyes don't really play a role in that emulation and it is iterated on the Red Crab version of the HOOKup baits not including eye "divots" on them.

Thing is that people are always telling me that HUBs are just longer tube baits AND Chad confirmed that they they do better with eyes. Contradictory and confusing.

I am eager about all this review and testing. I love this stuff!!

It's really how you are going to fish the bait. If i'm going after bottom grabbers, I don't see a need for it. But if i'm working open water/Kelp canopy/bait ball situations, then yes. Eyes would be nice. In my opinion, if you work your bait fast, it doesn't matter about the details. If you are a slow/finesse type, then all the details matter.

I agree. Where it can get confusing is that both dying fish and crabs can act in the same way, ie hopping around, moving up in the water column and then drifting down. The little green crabs you see on the rocks don't swim much, but other kinds are good swimmers. In fact red pelagic crabs spend their whole lives swimming.

Speaking of trying to imitate natural foods, I'm getting some banana jig heads that will make the tubes rest upright with tentacles up and head down. No eyes needed on those guys.

When you watch the underwater videos of fish taking baits, you see how its all over the map. You get lookie loos, nibblers, smash and grab, you just never know, so you do the best you can to entice them all.

Not counting the supplies like the plastic, colorant and glitter.

For dipping it looks like all you need are the tubes and then you hand cut whatever shape you want your tails to look like with scissors or a razor blade

For injecting I think you are looking at about $150 initial investment to have only a single mold with a stringy type tail. You need the end piece that is attached to a tube in a mold and an injector. One of the most expensive baits to inject.

I have been doing a lot of research on tube baits and I'm glad to see that others have come up with the same conclusions. I am fairly new, but, I found that my natural color swimbaits/finess tubes with eyes, work best casting and emulating bait fish. My HUB redcrab tubes work best pitching the pilings, but eyes have not made much of a difference in hits.

I ordered some plastics last week because I am interested in making my own tubes for pitching baits. I love that my float tube has opened the door to a new type of fishing. I can't wait to get that feeling of catching a fish on my own bait.

Blackninja wrote:I have been doing a lot of research on tube baits and I'm glad to see that others have come up with the same conclusions. I am fairly new, but, I found that my natural color swimbaits/finess tubes with eyes, work best casting and emulating bait fish. My HUB redcrab tubes work best pitching the pilings, but eyes have not made much of a difference in hits.

I ordered some plastics last week because I am interested in making my own tubes for pitching baits. I love that my float tube has opened the door to a new type of fishing. I can't wait to get that feeling of catching a fish on my own bait.  

That's really great, many of us are looking into doing our own but you and Bob are totally on it already. I'm in the back trying to figure more stuff out still but we have the same conclusions thus far.
Good luck! Let's all figure this stuff out together

Well, after a couple of days of making tubes, I've discovered a huge problem. Its impossible to stop until you run out of plastisol. Way too much fun.

There is one legit drawback. You need four or five inches of dipping depth. That's about a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup full, which means half a quart. As soon as you dip 6 or 7 tubes, its time to top that off, so you basically need half a quart of dipping plastic at all times. In a sense, you have half a quart of plastic, but only a few ounces of that are usable.

So I ordered some tall, skinny, Pyrex lab beakers to minimize the amount of plastic tied up in "depth."

I must say, making a passable HUB imitation isn't very difficult, and at about a 25 cents a piece, its hard to stop. I'm getting about 4 to 5 baits per ounce of plastic, so while you can save lots of money by buying the plastisol in bulk, even just a gallon is going to yield about 500+ baits and I think ill be dead before I go through that many baits.

So here's an early example. A little on the short side, but I've already got that sorted out. Still playing with techniques. The eyes are glued on and then the whole head is dipped in clear to seal them on good. Clear body with glitter, and sardine green on top.

The "super soft" plastic is too soft. It works, but I can't imagine them lasting more than one bite. Good for the top layer of color, though.

Anyway, more to follow. I'm sure ill be giving these away soon... before they take over the house!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Looks amazing Bob!! Great job, I ordered the hard. I was told that it's what you use on tube baits. Guess I will have to see how it works out. When I get it in. Thing is, I am looking to heat it over a flame and not use a microwave so I can keep the temperature consistent.

Looks amazing Bob! Count me in for testing these guys out! Really impressed with how it came out, and the idea about the clear over the eyes is great! So do you think medium or hard is the way to go if your not adding that soft top coat?

Sent from Topic'it App

Hey Logan,

I've got some worm bags coming on the slow boat, but as soon as I get them, I'm going to be sending out some freebies.

I bought a quart of the Lurecraft formula 500, which they label specifically as being for tube baits, and from what I can tell, it's simply a 50/50 mix of the regular and the super soft. It works great by itself or with a color overlay. When I order more, I will go with that.

I wanted to see how the super soft would compare because it's my experience with plastic baits that softer plastic catches more fish.

When you first make the super soft tubes, they are incredibly soft and are easy to tear. But after 24 hrs of curing, they become more firm and are actually usable. But you can tell they won't last. It makes sense *maybe* to make them yourself, but that's as far as I would go. If you paid for them, you'd be pissed off when you get a good bite and it just rips the bait in half. If you make them yourself for a nickle or so, it's not so bad.

I'll be offering the tube bait formula of these un-rigged and un-trimmed on purpose. That way you can rig them how you want, with whatever jig head you want, and trim the skirts how you want. Two snips for HUB style or six snips to make a tentacle skirt.

One thing I've discovered is that single dip thickness tubes in one color are basically hollow worms. You could load that inside cavity up with fish attractant, rig it Carolina style and go nuts.

Stay tuned!

Phew! I got the same LC 500 stuff coming to me as well. Good to know it is what you are using also

Thank you Bob for all the details, very much appreciated. I also blew a sigh of relief because I have the LC 500 as well. Now I know the gallon should be plenty.

I'm glad you mentioned the issues with pyrex containers and keeping enough depth. I watched a video a few weeks back in which the author used smaller pyrex containers (2 others) and poured them into the smaller container as it ran low. I like your idea better.

I may have missed it, but how many dips did you find to be your 'liking'? I have seen the average at 3-4 depending on the plastic.

Thank you again for sharing.

I'm still playing with every aspect of this deal, so it could all change tomorrow. Lol.

Dipping is still definitely being explored, but I've learned a few things. First off, you can definitely do the whole thing by pouring, but it's significantly harder to get an even coat.

With the tube plastic, one constant motion smooth dip, down and up will make a hollow worm, or a very skinny tube bait.

If you do a slower dip where you hold the rod fully immersed and pause for a few seconds, you get a better coating that will work well as the base for a color pour on top. If I was cranking them out, I would probably do it that way just because it's easier.

But my preferred results so far come from a slow, thicker first dip and then a second constant motion dip. I'm using a microwave setup and I'm dipping them one at a time, using four separate rods. I will wait to put them in a fixture for the "four at a time" deal when I feel like I know what I'm doing.

I'm pouring the second color, as opposed to dipping, so its a different technique. The plastic needs to be a little hotter because I'm only using like 1/3 cup in a one cup measuring cup and it cools down as it comes in contact with the side of the cup as you pour.

When you dip, you watch the plastic dripping off the end and it will eventually hit a viscosity where you can shake it to break the thread and flip the tube upright. But if you try to dip a second tube in the same spot, you'll get boogers from that thread that dripped off the one before, so you need to dip in a fresh spot.

When you're mixing just prior to dipping, don't touch the walls. When you're mixing between coats, don't touch the walls.

Because the glass of the thick measuring cup isn't heated by microwaves, only the plastic gets hot. But while the plastic next to the glass is trying to hot,the glass is acting like a heat sink and slows it down. This means when the plastic comes out of the microwave, the center is always much hotter than the sides. So you scrape the sides to cool the plastic and avoid them to keep it hot.

I'm using a clear base coat (with glitter) for now and when you get it all nice and hot, the heat in the plastic sets up convection currents and they make the glitter dance. Very cool.

I am sure I have an uphill battle in front of me but like I mentioned, I am planning on using a hot plate and heating up the plastic that way. I got one for $16 and it's in the mail right now. Also got to get a respirator and a laser thermometer from Harbor Freight as soon as I can get over there.

Been researching colors and technique all over, looking forward to giving this all a try.

Looking to make Long Tubes, 3" tube jigs, Keitech swimmers (hand pour) and maybe even some jerk shads (hand pour)

You're going to have lots of fun!

Hey Bob, are you using just regular tube jig heads in the creations or re-using the HUB style. Wondering if a generic tube head will have the same action on the drop. Since we are both gluing eyes to the tube, should not matter much if the insert has recessions but still curious about the weight distribution and shape