Missing some tentacles 🐙

[gstours]

Yesterday I finally got some halibut to bite another Dave's jig.   It's his computer generated design in the 12 ounce little package.   The jig got about 5 fish and proved that if they don't like the slab minnow patterns the octopus 🐙 is what they were holding out for.....
  The tentacles are missing and can be replaced quite easily back home.   These are poured on a flat plastic sheet and cut with a scissors the next day.   A byproduct of the silicone mold used in casting lead.
  Thanks again Dave.👍

[gstours]

The red color of the silicone seems like a natural presentation for my fishery.    🐙🎣🤷‍♂️☔️

[jurelometer]

Yesterday I finally yet again got some halibut to bite another Dave's jig.  .👍

FIFY

And I am going to have to rescind that offer for VP of Marketing

But seriously, thanks for all the test pilot work and feedback.  I started out rigging with a very streamlined skirt to facilitate the drop (rule #1 - get the jig to the fish),  but in part due to your feedback, have  been moving to more and more splayed out skirts with thicker strands.  So much of a real  octopus profile comes from the legs and the web between them. Your construction looks very octopus-ish.

As per the color, true red is going to come out as black i where those halibut reside.  There is a lot of violet in your red, which might  make it that deep, but only matters if the halibut can see violet (unlikely). Black would probably work the same, but nobody likes black jigs.   

Nice work!

-J

[gstours]

Thanks Dave for sharing your thoughts using different colors,   I've used some with brighter (to my eyes) color combinations butt the purple one worked last year better than any others,  that is what started this.
   I'm including your 12 and 16 ounce patterns in the photo below.

[gstours]

Lastly is a more crude 19 ouncer of my doing.   That's getting heavy for jig rods and old jiggers🎣🐙😏
   I'm also looking for some pourable more flexible silicone for making these tentacles 🦑.
Got any ideas or recommendations?   Just wondering if I could make something sort of similar this winter 🥶......
?

[Dominick]

Gary have tried using a real octopus in a cast?  It might work.  cast the tentacles.  Dominick

[jurelometer]

You could make a mold of tentacles that are very lifelike, as  Domnick suggested, but unless you are only casting individual legs, the mold has to get fairly complicated  and more than two parts if you want it to be reusable. But maybe we could come up with something that allows single legs or pairs too get lashed to the head with a zip tie, so if one leg gets chewed off, you don't need to replace the who mess

And motion wise, a cast copy might not be as lifelike as something a bit flatter and curly.

I had played with some mold designs for a octopus leg set that would use plastisol ( that swimbait/rubber worm plastic). I have come to the conclusion that it might require pressure or vacuum to get the mold to fill properly, but I could be wrong.  I don't get a lot of pleasure pouring plastisol (PVC) as it is pretty nasty stuff if it gets just a bit overheated, and really should be poured (preferably outdoors) using a properly fitting respirator with a fresh organic vapor cartridge.  Lots of folk do pour their own worms/swimbaits/scampis,  and most haven't died (yet).  This is probably the easiest option.

For RTV silicones, I have not  found any that has decent cut resistance and tear strength.   The more stretch, the better.  The best stuff that I have found is used for costumes and special effects.  It is semi-clear, but can be colored if you buy compatible dyes or paints.  This silicone is also not that durable and is expensive.

If you just want to play with something cheap and easy, and not very  durable, you can mix cheap silcone caulk ( it has to be the right brand /product) with glycerin or corn starch and get a silicone that can be shaped  by hand, or hand pressed into a mold of your favorite octo leg. I haven't tried this stuff myself, but the DIY maker crowd does a lot with it. I think they call it "oogoo" or something.

Urethanes are  tougher, and  some come in two part blends that we can pour.  I have used urethane castings on projects that needed mechanical elastic parts and have been quite satisfied, but not sure that they make anything elastic enough for wiggly lure legs.   The other thing with urethanes ( and some RTV silicones, especially the clears)  is that some are reasonably safe for pouring in  non-industrial settings, and some are downright frightening, but they will sell you both.  You gotta do your safety homework.

Those commercially made, reasonably durable lifelike elastic octopus/shrimp/squid lures that we see nowadays are probably made from TPU, a urethane formulated  to behave like a thermoplastic, meaning that pellets can be melted into goo and injection molded, just like nylon or ABS.   This will not be an option for us.


That is all that I can think of so far.

On those matte purples and violet reds,   - Most likely the halibut are not picking up on the color itself but seeing something dark that is not quite black and not not too shiny, which could register in those tiny brains as something that food (octopus) typically looks like.   How light the color is and how reflective might be more important than the actual color.   When I am doing my best to avoid bias while testing lure finishes, light vs dark and reflective vs matte seems to make a difference.  Color comes in a distant third, and mostly  closer to the surface.  What humans prefer to buy is something else entirely.

But if you have found something that works for you, no reason not to keep riding with it, whatever the underlying reason might be.

-J