From the Oct/Nov 2010 Hints & Tips Issue of Susquehanna Fishing Magazine. Download this and other back issues free online:
http://susquehannafishing.com/
By John “Toast” Oast
If you have a little time on your hands, and some old soft plastics, try this one…
Next time you’re at the store, pick up an aluminum disposable bread pan and some silicone caulk. Next, fill the bread pan full with the caulk. Grab a favorite soft plastic bait (Stick baits are easiest). Then place the bait gently in the top of the silicone, leaving it there for the duration of the drying process to create an impression. Make sure it is not totally submerged and covered up under the silicone. Be sure the silicone is totally cured before continuing (This may take several days). Once cured, remove the imbedded bait.
Then take your old and worn out soft plastics and melt them into an old pan. To maintain specific colors heat similar colors at the same time. Make sure you don’t heat the melted plastic too hot, or it will burn. Carefully pour the melted plastic into the mold impressions. Allow the plastic to fully cool and harden. Then simply remove the new baits and hit the water.
Just be sure of the following…
1. Be careful, the plastic is VERY hot and thick, therefore it REALLY hurts if it gets on your skin!
2. Don’t use your wife’s pan to melt the plastic, unless you have a really comfortable couch!
John “Toast” Oast is the publisher of Susquehanna Fishing Magazine and a member of the Johnson Outdoors Pro Staff and Ocean Kayak Fishing Team. His kayak rigging videos have received thousands of views, and been linked to websites around the world. For more information, visit http://fishyaker.com/ and his Youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/fishyaker.
