I have about 25 molds and a few gallons of plastisol but also a ton of soft plastics bought over many years. The T-rigged worm doesn't do it for me nor a Slugo, though I've caught hundreds of bass on them. My challenge now is catching any size fish on 10# test braid hopping for some brutes in the mix. So far so good.
When it comes to reusing plastic, hybrid/ unique shapes come to mind meaning:
Hold the ends of two end-cut lures over a candle flame and then hold them together for 6 seconds. A battery powered soldering iron smooths the seam.
examples:
I wanted to increase the length of a thin body grub (minus curl tails) thereby making a mini-stick. Light jigs and the twitch & pause retrieve catches everything, The lure in the middle used the front of a plastic worm and grub body. Guess what! mini-sticks can be wacky rigged and are one of the best lures I've used in and near weeds as seen on the right. Fish can't tolerate the ends wiggling all over the place!
Some say I've copied the NED rig. Totally untrue if you do research of the NR. Small, twitched small plastics minus action tails have a unique action and can be fish super slow.
These look like a light bulb but works just as good as thin sticks:
One shape I stumbled on last year was a grub body with tail cut off. A fish ripped it off so being lazy I cast it out and worked it like any mini stick. Man, did it catch fish! The one on the left the very first one caught: The lure on the right had body ridges and the colors looked cool. Another classic shape and action. Last week it caught 2 - 2 1/2 lb bass an 18" pickerel and a bunch of panfish.
I don't know if any of you used Uncle Josh Pork Frog jig trailers. but for years they were the only trailer I used. I even made the shape of one in plaster of Paris so I could make different colored plastic frogs. Since they worked as good as the pork trailer, I made more and stopped buying Uncle Josh. But a few weeks ago I had an idea based the the action tails of the trailer. Granted the bass skirt contributed to the jig & pig design, but why not rig just the plastic on a light jig? Another great discovery fish of all kinds smashed! The lure was worked horizontal to the body to allow the thin tails to flap uo & down while the body gave the fish a nice chunk target to strike.
I attached a crawfish lure claw on grub body and French Fry stick segment and though the action was different, they caught fish. Same light jig head and imparted action.
I know this is an older thread, but this kind of innovation is timeless and deserves another look.
SenkoSam, this is top-tier work right here.
The real value isn't just pouring plastic; it's the innovation of creating new shapes from scraps and then immediately proving them with fish on the bank. The photos tell the whole story.
Respect the ingenuity, especially with those old-school plaster molds. Solid post.
I think there are no absolutes in fishing. people that tell you, "this is a for sure thing" better be talking about taxes and death. if it is a bait, yea...whatever.
for numbers, I have had days on rattle traps!! or topwater. there are no rules set in stone with fishing.
I too use small plastics at times if the bite is tough. For years before Senko it was always a zoom centipede watermelon red or cotton candy have caught thousands of bass from 1 to 8 pounds in the Everglades. A 4" Senko would be my second fav small plastic.
Guido Hibdon taught me the importance of innovation in lure design. Something I continue to work on after 44 years. Oh yeah- I still use PORK FROGS, and always will!
Dale
This thread gets to the core of what real tackle craft is all about. SenkoSam's point about melting down old plastics to create unique, effective shapes is spot on. And D.W. is right—that spirit of innovation is a tradition passed down from legends like Guido Hibdon. Some of the best-producing baits I've ever seen didn't come out of a factory mold; they were born on a workbench out of necessity and a "what if" moment. It's a reminder that ingenuity often outweighs a big budget.