Mountainryan Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Hey SU, so in my last post I was molding a real rat. Gross but pretty cool until I wrecked the master mold. Again I am no artist but I think my ideas are good ones so I took a different route. I commissioned a coworker who is a great sculptor but not a fisherwoman to make me a "stylized rat". This is what she gave me: Its epoxy clay and funky but awesome. Goal of this project is like the title says, a weedless big bait along the lines of a giant hollow body frog. Throw it into pads and wood and slop where the big girls live all summer up here in the northeast. Places where no big treble hooked baits go. This summer I had been sticking fish on a baby possum literally casted into this stuff and stuck, just twitching and the bass would hit it while it was stuck. (not an efficient technique). I love frog fishing but I love big baits more so the slop rat idea was born. I took my master and did a two piece mold process using smooth on mold star 30: Then I poured some master copies using feather light resin so i could tweak and remold and the mold came out really clean. (tan is copy) I wanted this lure to be light and soft so I used smooth on soma foama which is an awesome silicone expanding foam. Its great but challenging to use. Its too soft to hold hardware (think slightly tougher than plastisol but ultra buoyant) so I needed to make a replicatable harness that would be the same every time. I used square wood to make a master then molded. This mold was then used to pour resin harnesses (not fully worked out, resin is either too brittle or too stretchy so i am remaking with thicker stock and playing with different products). Yet another challenge is making the bait as weedless as possible and still getting hookups. Frog hook is out due to size. A possible answer came from Ceaser from toxic baits rat video and my own fishing. Most of my rat fish seem to hit the rear hook like the bass are keying in on them like "legs". That and seeing the cool dual assist hooks Japanese guys are using. My idea is an offset weedless dual assist hook possibly molded into little rat legs (moved forward from current location).hook size ect all to be worked out but this is what i had to show concept. Here she is moslty together just for a proof of concept (slight under pour so the harness is sticking out) I am removing useless material from the top of the back and maybe making it narrower. its about 7 inches in the body and 6oz without hardware i would like to get to 5oz max. (eyes will be added). I also am playing with the idea of a paddled tail that would kick on a retrieve like a rat swimming. I would be stoked on feedback as this has been and IS quite a process. I also plan on pouring with color and painting hair with silicone but need the basic function done. Tight lines, Ryan tHeINFamoUS, massbass10, jrdbrmr and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massbass10 Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Dude... I'm speechless. That is such a great idea. I know how you feel about needing a giant frog type lure for that super heavy slop. The way youre going about it is great too. The harness and stinger hooks are a great idea. I bet if you narrow it a little bit and take a little off the back you could get it to around 5oz . Im kickin myself for not coming up with this idea myself. Way to go Mountainryan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountainryan Posted November 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 There is a bullfrog in the works after this too. One at a time though! massbass10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zsneezes Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 This project is coming along great! I really like the new mold, could you carve the master a little bit to give the fur texture? Keep it up man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountainryan Posted November 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 I could, but the foam wouldn't pick up the texture that well and could make it stick and wreck the mold (just like the real rat mold ) the painted fur will really help. Thanks zach! Keep the feedback coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 That looks sweet! Hope it turns out they way you want it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 I like this...I like this a LOT! Awesome work, Ryan! Mountainryan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingRaptor Posted November 16, 2017 Report Share Posted November 16, 2017 Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynem Posted November 16, 2017 Report Share Posted November 16, 2017 I'm really curious about what kind of a hookup ratio you get with the double weedless assist hooks. It would be sweet if that works! Keep us posted. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrhodesBassin Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 Love this idea man, can't wait to see a final product. Also you might be able to use the weedless wacky hooks that have the wire loop that bends under the barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountainryan Posted November 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 Thanks guys. I'm still playing with design, waynem, I was debating going two sets of the assits for two pairs of legs, just depends on how weedless they actually end up. Brandon l, that's a good idea I just grabbed some ish off my shelf to mock up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Bendhard Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 I check back on this thread every few weeks haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountainryan Posted December 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 Haha in the process of bulking up the harness and trying to tame the silicone foam stuff is rad but a bi@tch to work with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountainryan Posted February 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 Ok SU, managed to make the harness strong enough now working on some other aspects. First is some “legs†to keep the assist hooks in the most weedless position and give the fish a target. This one has a through hole to pull silicone skirt though and the white is just to see if it work. It’s a little derpy but works. Should keep the hooks off the bait and the weeds. Next I thinned the whole rat down because I was up to 7ish oz and that won’t work through the thick stuff well. So I changed the shape and will have an internal sectiona that will be poured in a different ultralight hard foam to make it weigh about half as much. porkmeatballs and Rod Bendhard 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 Very creative! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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