SENKOSAM

One way I've found a bit easier to melt old plastc and prevent some of the smoke common with old plastics is to buy a qt. of new plastisol from any of the luremaking companies on line. The process stated above is the same except you submerge the small chunks in the new stuff. You don't need much and it is the safest way to reheat old plastic directly from old lures. Once the unused plastic is saved, you don't need to add new plastic unless you want to extend, change or dilute a favorite color. Diamond the finer salt is sold in the supermarket and it seems to suspend much longer. A corn cob against a red background is on the outside of the container. Plastic never needs to be heated above 300 degrees and heating over that temp will result in color changes you might not like. The darker the color, the less a noticable change. Plus, especially with old plastic, the smoke is a dangerous and occurs to a greater degree above 300. Keep the temp to one you are just able to pour and zap again for 15 seconds to pour more. A meat thermometer gives you an idea of the lowest pouring temperature possible.

I really miss Riverside and Old Bay Side soft plastics. They produced some of the best quality, colors and best unique designs of any company and far better than most. Glad I stocked up when clearance sales were going on. I hate to use them up knowing they will never make lures again.

Agree with Dink. Bass hit plastic worms in many different positions. As a jerk worm on top or at mid depth, horizontal fall (Senko tip wiggle), standing off bottom and on bottom (T rig or behind a C rig). I could be wrong, but the pause & motion presentation usually do the trick. How much motion is the key: shaky or neko rig twitches, 1' hops, slide & pull, dead stick, etc. Aggression levels determine how sensitive a bass is to different actions. Once I've got its attention, then what? But can anyone answer this question: why would anyone want to use a salt heavy senko on a dropshot? It can't stay horizontal and hangs down after a few seconds. The stick that I poured floats upward on the stand-up jig and stays horizontal on a dropshot rig. That's what I expect of any bait I d/s rig unless I expect it to move horizontally with fewer pauses (which is also a good technique for covering more water and for more aggressive fish).

I never heat plastic above 300 and usually around 280 even for injection pours. My microwave is located in an unvented basement and I don't have a problem with fumes as long as the plastic is 'clean' - not containing additives of some used plastics - and never overheated. Stirring between 15-20 second zaps is important. Also, never heat wet plastic. Water explodes into steam and ruins plastic, creating a big mess.

To keep the kitchen free of fumes, DON'T OVERHEAT THE PLASTIC!!!!!!. Besides, the process I'm going to email doesn't heat all of the plastic in the cup - just enough to pour & dip. Other than my moldless super minnow/worm creation, www.Lurecraft.com has a slew of cheap silicone molds (i'm talking well over 100!) for around $10. MY 7" swimbait mold came from and only cost $15, it poduces excellent shaped lures with great action for a fraction of what a large swimbait costs. I also have an A-rig swimbait mold in aluminum that does great.

I would take it off your hands, but I also have about 20 # of used plastic - most of which has been remelted at least 5x and remolded into many designs. There is a simple process of making the most fantastic action finesse worm or minnow and trailer from your used plastic - all you need is a pyrex cup, a microwave, a straight edge razor and smooth hard surface you can cut on. If you wish, I can send it.

That test is a good one. I pour my own plastics and from experience have found that buoyancy depends on hardener and additives such as salt. Jerk worms usually are floaters as are XXX plastics, but most sink once they get wet. Add a bronze hook that extends 1/3 the worm or lizard length and it will fall flat on bottom. It always amazes me when I see and article about the Carolina rig and the assertion that it keeps the plastic off the bottom. The videos I've seen say different.

I did a show with Mike. It was fun though a bit stressful. He actually caught some fish!! LOL

I always carry bass gear but mostly slow down and downsize for other species including bass. With the severe drought and fewer weeds in the northeast, summer patterns have changed drastically and locating deeper structure holding bass is becoming harder. Rather get 40 fish and 100 bites than few bites and zippo bass. Love those 12" crappie on light gear! FrankM

Another idea I had though quite messy, is applying autogrease on the outside of the fuse box and around the wire harness. Even if it bites through, the indigestion would be terrible!

Moth balls sounds like a plan and maybe some sticky pads attached to the outside of the fuse box to prevent gnawing their way in or trapping them by leaving one instide the box where I found 1/4 pound of seed shells. thanks everyone Frank

Jim, the problem with poison is that if the mouse dies on the lawn, one of my dogs might eat it and die. (Dogs do eat dead mice - I've seen it,) Also, the attractant in the D-con might attract other critters.

It was driving me nuts that the only trailer lights I had were backup lights. I tested bulbs, I tested the trailer wiring and tested the 4 way plug. ALL GOOD. Finally I brought my truck to a mechanic and he found a mouse had nested in the fuse box near the engine leaving seeds and crap all inside. Worse - it ate wires leaving bare copper resulting in shorts and causing a 2 yr old battery to lose it's charge within 24 hours. This is the third year the mouse nested there, though the trailer lights worked before now. Any suggestions?

I've been a co-angler at times with different parnters and its sometimes tough to adapt to a boater's style of fishing and boat positioning, though it has helped me be more considerate of the angler in the back of my boat. If you're fishing with someone who fishes totally opposite the way you do and has to be reminded every 10 minutes to slow down, get closer to potential target areas, fish deeper or fish shallower or just try fishing structure you're confident fishing, etc. GOOD LUCK! It's even worse when your fishing new water and have to depend on the boater to put you on fish or a pattern. It can make for a V-E-R-Y L-O-O-O-N-G day. Good luck!

I came to the same conclusion as bigbill years ago about similarities in cat aggression vs fish. Though cat's have a much larger brain, the fact they playfully grab an object when in the mood,translates into a trait predators have in common: right stimulus = aggressive reaction regardless of the object (hich may not resemble, taste, smell or act like anything they normally eat or hunt). I believe fish are not selective and that if its aggression level is raised (like that of a cat)and sustained, they will grab anything that moves right (action and speed) and size range. "It sometimes takes one fish to strike to get the frenzy going with the rest also." I discovered that fact last year when trying some of my new handpours in my pond. Perch started coming over, started hitting the lure and soon enough a bass came out of the shaddows and took a swipe at it. The bass tried to get the lure three times before it gave up. (I took the point off half way down the hook curve.)

Bass cruising around in my pond usually keep to themselves unless bass and panfish are feeding on the same thing. I have seen solo bass with a few sunfish and perch nearby but no activity. Bass in the pond are not shy when they see me and in fact one of them (of three) came within a few feet to check out my dog's nose in the water. Another observation is that when I'm dropshoting small lures and getting hit by panfish, a bass will inch closer and finally decide to strike maybe to see what has excited the others. If it misses the first time (with me taking the lure away), it doesn't give up until the third try.

Catch & Release has always been controversial and depending on the water quality, climate change, state environmental department funding/ shocking program (if any)/ record keeping, angler pressure/creel numbers, genetics, pollutants, etc., one can only guess if C&R helps, hurts or does nothing. B.A.S.S. has published many articles, pro and con, with supporting evidence for each. The question we ask ourselves when the fishery seems to yield lower quality fish or fewer keepers is why. In southern NYS there are two large fisheries that seem to have declined in the last decade and no one seems to know why. Overharvesting, pollution, population and pattern shifts...who knows? Tournament clubs in any case haven't come in with many large bags of five fish. NYSDEC hasn't come up with any reasons or solutions, especially now their funding has been cut and anything to correct the situation may be too late. One thing most agree on - the annual rape of a lake's quality fish will usually result in smaller fish caught overall. I've seen it first hand and it saddens me.

Aglia with #4 or 5 blade. A large Road Runner/ worm is also an option I will try in the next few weeks.

I've been using spinners and plastic worms for years with good results, especially in spring. My best plastics are Zoom Speed worm and a slim Senko-like stick I pour myself. In-line spinners are easy to make and I use a few beads wtih a #3 Colorado blade and attach the rig to the usual worm hooks I use for those baits. The technique I use calls for the hook to exit 1/3 from the front of a white or bubblegum worm. Technique: For early pre-spawners and fish entering into a second spawn, I cast the rig out and jerk-&-pause, varying the time paused. Jerk worming is usually a given in spring and especially productive when adding a bit of flash. It works best in shallow weedy water and over wide rocky flats near wetlands or forest overhangs. Other than using a homemade spinner, I use a large Mepps with an exposed straight hook (vs. a treble) and a 7" worm. Pickeral can't ignore it - unfortunately.

Lake Fork Frog Houdini Shad Rage Tail or Zoom Speed Craw Zoom stick

Two thinks: An 18 lb carp last year and a friends brow with a jig. Good thing I had a surgical blade and a steady hand. Never even left a scar.

Hope this clarifies. The keepers presently on bass jigs are embedded in the lead head, are too short and the wire bend to small to do much good. The longer 'L' of the coated wire sticks deeper into the trailer body and can be stuck in at different angles (top or side). another veiw:

I already have (including Rage Tails) from plaster molds I made and now pour my own.

Note: Stabil Marine is $20 for 32 oz. on Amazon - much cheaper than buying the smaller amounts from Walmart which came to over $34 for 3-10 oz containers. S/H for me was free because of Prime membership ($79/yr).

My usual fishing buddy and I used them yesterday and slammed bass in 4-12 FOW. Color didn't matter much and we used Rage Tails or pork frog rubber copies, holding them in place with the pictured wire trailer-lock. The 3/8 oz and 1/2 jigs were king!! Six bass on onejig and trailer and then rocks claimed the jig.