Casting soft baits; my 1st and best pike-perch shad!

Lately I have been caught by the Softbait virus myself. And I especially mean making it and of course fishing with it! 1 homemade softbait stands out in my opinion. That explains the title of this Blog 'Casting soft baits; mine. number 1 shad'.

The versatility of this lure really appeals to me. You can use it vertically, cast, drop shot, troll. And it also has a 'natural feel' for our rovers. It is soft, which makes it feel natural…

Before I go any further, let's ask the question: 'Are colors important?'. My answer is for pike-perch 100% YES! There are days when they seem to be completely focused on green or brown, for example. It is therefore important to have different colors with you. In addition, the action is very important. One day a shad with a tilting action is preferred, while the next a stationary V-tail leads to devastating bites.

With this in mind I have developed a number of models. I want to share the highlight with you, The 'BAMM Elst'.

Model 1. The 'BAMM Elst'

I hear you thinking, huh BAMM Elst?? Were we out of fancy names or something? Well nothing could be further from the truth. This name is derived from Lunkercity; a very well-known name in the softbait world. Lunker here means big fish and city is of course city. So since Elst is my hometown, and 'a big BAM' is an expression for big fish, fishing buddy Frans came up with this name.

This shad was developed more than a year ago. I sculpted a model from clay (FIMO Clay) and baked it at 100 degrees for 30 minutes. Then I shaped it with a dremel and sandpaper until I was satisfied. I then drew a mold with the RTV Mold Silicone Kit from our range. And then cast a few test models.

The first and certainly not the last at the BAMM!

I will never forget the first fish on this shad. That was in the boat with good friend Johan Caneel. It was a day when pike-perch were quite keen on the color green. But what I did about it did not get the desired response from our spiny friends. I then decided to give my own construction a try. I had made an agreement with myself to fish with it for at least an hour. Then I could compare it with my buddy's catches and possibly draw conclusions... 5 minutes later I was already standing with a bent rod! Crazy if that works J

Experimenting with casting soft baits

And well, that makes you want more of course. The next opportunity I started making new colors. With the range of colors on our site you can create endless colors. 1 drop of this and 2 of that color and you have a new color. I will share a very good pike-perch color with you below:

Natural Brown Gray Belly

A lovely natural color. One that I like to start the day with. And a color that is easy to reproduce when casting soft baits.

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Beautiful snorkel on the BAM Elst (Natural Brown Gray Belly)

Compound:

Pyrex Cup 1

-50 ml plastisol. (50% Soft and 50% Medium)

-7 drops Brown Coloring

-Medium Glitter Black (large dash)

Pyrex Cup 2

-50 ml plastisol. (50% Soft and 50% Medium)

-3 drops of Silver Gray Coloring

I stir the Coloring through the plastic in advance with a teaspoon. Then I heat it for 3 minutes at 750 Watt in the microwave. After 3 minutes it thickens and then I heat it again for 1 minute. Just before I start pouring, I carefully stir in the glitter. Then, when the Plastisol has liquefied properly, I first pour the belly and 30 seconds later the back and tail. Success assured!

Advice

The most important advice I can give when you start making your own soft baits is: Have confidence! Don't switch to something familiar too quickly. Is the action to your liking and the color too? Just persevere and you will be rewarded. And then YOU too will soon be addicted to home-made shads!

Do you like casting soft baits? There is a very nice one on the site starter pack. also look at this Blog Agree on casting large soft baits for pike!