Pouring Senkos

[openfire]

Hey Snypa, I was wondering how much I can save by pouring my own senkos?

Something like these:

What's involved? Equipment, materials...$?

 

[Snypa]

Well it depends on a few factors, will you be buying plastic to sell (in quantities) or to keep for yourself (very small volumes), and if you are buying plastic, will you be buying it from the Canada or the US (which there will be customs fees), I used to get my stuff from the states, not sure if there suppliers in canada yet for buying liquid plastic. But its worth a shot asking on TU (Tackleunderground) if anyone sells it in Ontario, as I know there are many in ontario that pour plastic, you should be able to save some $$$. Another factor to keep in mind, is with the actual process, do you have a good place to pour plastic such as a garage, does it have adequete ventilation (a exhaust fan) and heating for winter etc. During summertime, its much easier to pour plastic since its already hott outside, therefore the ambient temperature in a garage will be okay, the plastic wont set as quick, but during the colder months it can be a pain in the ass. For example, getting the plastic to the proper temps (350 degrees) will take a little longer, and also worrying the garage temp being too cold, can effect these are some of the things that make it a science, then you have the art side of it, glitter, colors etc, getting new molds etc, which is actually quite fun.

most of the materials needed:
- pyrex measuring cup
- plastic : theres MF Plastic, Lurecraft plastic, and Calhouns, all have their own characteristics
- optional: liquid plastic hardener or softener
- colors (1000's of recipes on TU + u can also make ur own combinations)
- glitter (many colors)
- scent :
- cooking thermometer (great to have)
- reading up on a lot of soft-plastic tips on tackleunderground.com (lots of very useful info on their search engine)

Here's how the procedure would go: I would start off usually pouring 1/2 or 3/4 a cup of liquid plastic into the pyrex glass, now at this point, I'll decide to myself what colors I'll be using, you can actually add any of the regular transparent colors like "watermelon" coloring or "Pumpkin", "MotorOil" etc at anytime, the only catch is, if you're using florescent colors, you have to add at the start since they're brighter colors. While the transparent colors you can play with a little more, adding a drop here or there earlier in the process. Now comes the microwave, get or buy another microwave thats powerful enough in amps/watts (don't use ur kitchen's micro, this stuff leaves a little plastic films inside) buy a cheap but decent strength microwave. I used to pour plastic with a small 1 stove element to save cash, there are downsides to this method, so I recommend using a wave since most of pros use strictly microwaves anyway. Its better for getting the plastic to that 350 degree temp, you'll intially zap it for a while, soon after it should be ready, u may also want to zap it again for another 5 min just to make sure its fully syrup, the plastic should turn more into a thinnner syrup that should resemble the colors you added, and thats when its ready to pour into the mold. Quite a process, but the results can be great, but as a hobby it can get expensive, so a lot of guys will offset the cost by selling some themselves to friends, local fishermen etc.


Can't think up of anymore for now, but Ill add more when i do

 

[openfire]

Thanks Snypa. You provided a lot of info to digest.

I guess I will have to wait for summer to try this, as I don't have a garage. When it gets warm enough I can try on my balcony.

So I need a microwave just for this. I'm thinking probably $100 right there.

Snypa, what about the mold?

I want to replicate Yamamoto senkos to a tee. Do you know if there is an exact Yamamoto senko mold?

Also, do you know if people who have done this have been able to get the same softness/weight/texture of Yamamoto senkos?

You mentioned that it can get expensive... I was thinking that maybe initially the cost for the equipment might be a little costly, but the money could be recovered in the form of not having to pay $9 for a pack of 10 senkos each time. I can go through a whole bag in one afternoon, so the $ adds up.

Check your PM's

 

[Snypa]

Thanks Snypa. You provided a lot of info to digest.

I guess I will have to wait for summer to try this, as I don't have a garage. When it gets warm enough I can try on my balcony.

So I need a microwave just for this. I'm thinking probably $100 right there.

Yeah I was in the same position 2 years ago when I used to pour baits (I live in a condo too), originally I had intended at doing it at a buddies garage, but after a while I started doing it on my balcony, I probably would have stuck with plastics tho if I had a garage, I would've be able to make them throughout the year, which is 1 part of the reason why I got out of pouring plastic. That little problem, and also having the plastic worms not come out properly was a pain in the ass if you weren't keeping track of the plastic temp, for example sometimes I would pour a little too early, and the plastic would be too soft after I took the worms outta the mold (10-15 min after pouring) which is a good sign of the process wasn't complete, it needed more heating. Also using a stove heater on a already hott balcony during summertime, was grueling to say the least lol So it was more because of that I got out of it, and the fact that I wasn't using a microwave, instead of a small stove heating. Eventually I got more into spinnnerbaits etc, and realized I was more into that than the plastics, way less cost, easier on labour, more of a ability to pump out larger volumes of baits throughout the year made spinners (for me at least) more preferable. Though I may decide to get back into it one day as a business, the amount of work & cost and the limitations of not having a proper workspace kinda turned me off of it, not enough return if I can't make them year round. Then on top of that although I enjoyed the actual pouring aspect of it & coming up with new color combinations, it was just a pain in the ass trying to budget out how much u well sell a 12 of sticks for in a pack because of the US duties tax that they would charge at the border, mind you I had plenty of interested customers, its just that with the amount of work involved it turned me off a bit. So if you're good with accounting taxes, have a decent place to pour, and have a decent microwave, you could probably avoid the experiance i had

Snypa, what about the mold?

I want to replicate Yamamoto senkos to a tee. Do you know if there is an exact Yamamoto senko mold?

Also, do you know if people who have done this have been able to get the same softness/weight/texture of Yamamoto senkos?

There are molds just like it, delmart.com sells one thats quite like it, I know theres this guy that sells one thats the closest too it, he even sells a version thats a little fatter than that i think, i posted the link below. There's also CNC guys on ther, thate will make custom molds more $$, which is what a fair amount ppl do.

http://www.bobstackleshack.com//images/ ... 20stik.JPG

http://www.bobstackleshack.com//index.p ... ucts_id=20

You mentioned that it can get expensive... I was thinking that maybe initially the cost for the equipment might be a little costly, but the money could be recovered in the form of not having to pay $9 for a pack of 10 senkos each time. I can go through a whole bag in one afternoon, so the $ adds up.

Check your PM's

Yes that's exactly how it is, the initial cost is a little steep, but the benefits of making custom senkos at a good price for yourself will outweight the cost, thats if you're really thinking about getting into this. Some ppl have a hard time going thru the learning curve, but most figure it out on the first few pours + theres plenty of info on TU + or just post a question on there directly.

 

[openfire]

Excellent info Snypa.

That mold from Bob's Tackle looks almost identical to a Yamamoto Senko:

Actual Senko:

Impressive.

 

[MikeyMikey]

Looks like BPS brand too...

Well many of these baits do look alike...

I guess it's the softness? firmness? that is hard to duplicate?

Hmm... can you stamp out your own those jelly to eat? in shape of senkos?

Haha that would be funny... show someone you'll eat fish bait !

 

[openfire]

I guess it's the softness? firmness? that is hard to duplicate?

Well the Yamamoto Senkos are so soft that you can squeeze them apart in your fingers. That's probably the difficulty in reproducing them.

I would like to know if anyone has figured out the exact ratio of plastic/sotfener/etc.. to get a good replica.

 

[MikeyMikey]

When it comes to softness & durability... nothing comes close to Strike Kings 3X. Now that thing can literally stretch multiple times it's length. It's plastic is so unique that it stay on the hook very well too.

I am sure some of you have used it before.

 

[Snypa]

Yeah gary uses a special formula for sticks that is hard to replicate, it specifically falls at a very certain rate (i think 1ft per second), now comes the hard part, whats hard about it is that you have to do some testing with the fall rate of your baits, from what I remember tho, someone (on TU) figured out that if you put x amount of salt into x amount of liquid plastic, you can get it falling at the same rate, which is kinda what I did, I just experimented. As for that strike king 3X material is great but the process is expensive from what I heard. And its limited to Strike King's colors, the good news is ppl started pouring/using stronger saltwater plastic as a alternative to 3X, I almost did that The only difference is they add more hardener into the liquid saltwater plastic.

 

[ght]

the process of making soft plastics at home seems a little complicated and seems to be rather costly with all the mold and different plastics and very time consuming. Talking about soft baits i was looking to purchase actual senkos but i couldnt find any? i was at bps. i ended up by some gulp and some bps but do you guys think that senkos actually produce more fish? and is the bps stuff any good?

 

[MikeyMikey]

Screw Senko!

Make me some of that Snake soft bait

 

[ght]

lol yeah good idea can anyone on here make those things?

 

[openfire]

the process of making soft plastics at home seems a little complicated and seems to be rather costly with all the mold and different plastics and very time consuming. Talking about soft baits i was looking to purchase actual senkos but i couldnt find any? i was at bps. i ended up by some gulp and some bps but do you guys think that senkos actually produce more fish? and is the bps stuff any good?

I use Senkos and Gulp sinking minnows. They are both fantastic. I have no confidence in BPS brand... that doesn't mean that BPS doesn't work, I just won't waste my time trying BPS when Senkos and Gulp are so darn effective.

BPS don't have the softness of Senkos, nor the scent of Gulp sinking minnows... so there is your answer.

As for the complexity of trying to reproduce senkos at home, it might be worth it if you go through enough senkos in a year. @ $9 a pack for senkos, well...do the math to figure out if it's worth the effort. There's also the satisfaction of catching a fish on a lure that you made with your own hands.

 

[ght]

i know that if you talk to anyone that works at bps and you ask them which is better the bps worms or the senkos.. they actually look at you with a straight face and say bps. Not only that the jack the price up on the senkos so ppl will be leaning on buying the home brand insted. Not many small tackle places ive seen carry senko's BUT I PLACE called fishing depot does and there ab out $2 dollars cheaper then bps sells them for.

also having asked the question about the baitcasting reels.... fishing depot has the quantum tour edition pt for 179 but you get a $50 rebate... bps has it for 220 and the rebate. The energy is 139 and you get the rebate bps its 199.

 

[openfire]

i know that if you talk to anyone that works at bps and you ask them which is better the bps worms or the senkos.. they actually look at you with a straight face and say bps.

If they were on the witness stand and said that under oath, they would be guilty of perjury. :?

There is absolutely no way that BPS brand are better than senkos. Sorry. Simply not true.

 

[ght]

thats what im saying but hey maybe they believe there own b/s. But what can you do there sales guys trying to push there products.

 

[disspatcher]

Ask them which is a better reel, Shimano or BPS...BPS of course!

 

[openfire]

OK, getting back to pouring senkos... I was at BPS a couple of days ago and ran into Charles "The Bass Dr" Stuart, the Canadian rep for Gary Yamamoto. (he was there for a demonstration) We had a nice long chat about eveything senko.

The reason why Yamamoto senkos are so effective is the amount of salt they use. They basically put waaaaaaaay more salt into their baits than any other manufacturer. And the salt isn't on the outside, it's mixed right into the plastic.

That's why your can litrerally squeeze them apart... because of the salt.

Aparently when bass bite it, the salt content is so high that it makes them freak out!

 

[MikeyMikey]

So... how will the plastic react when you add more and more salt ?
Less durable ?

I guess all those cheap plastic lures with salting outside is useless since once it hit the water... salt will get washed off.

 

[Esox lucius]

is there a walk in store where u can get these molds. i really dont like to order online, id like to see it in my hands before i get it. its somthing i wanna try out for myself up at the cottage. the senkos i get work great at the lake i fish out of most of the year