Saturday, January 7, 2023
Is It Worth Having a Custom Mold Made
Honestly. For most people. No. A lot of people don’t even actually want a custom mold. They just think that’s what they want.
Image courtesy of: CNC Molds N Stuff
( https://www.cncmolds … perior-bump-hog.html )
What most people want who contact me about a “custom” mold is a knockoff. They want to either profit off of the hard work, time, and money somebody else spent making a bait popular and successful, or they think they can save money by making their own version of that bait. The first reason may be unethical and if its a current production commercial bait runs afoul of my policy regarding knockoffs. The second is a little bit misguided.
About Custom Molds:
I do make custom molds. I make a lot of them. My policy is I will not make an exact copy of a non-generic current production commercial bait. When I make a custom mold its for somebody who wants a real functional product improvement or has their own unique way of solving a problem. Not, “Well what’s the least I have to change?” I do make what I call “nostalgia molds” once in a while. A nostalgia mold is a mold that’s very close to a long out of production bait. Usually for somebody who says, “I used to fish with this all the time, I haven’t been able to find any for many years, and I’m down to my very last pack. Can you help.”
If you have a real significant product improvement or a unique idea it might be worth it to have a custom mold made. Especially if you are in the bait business. Maybe even if you just want it for fishing and you can afford it. The thing is a custom mold is expensive. It takes time to setup the job. Time that can’t be recouped over dozens or hundreds of molds over the years. You have to pay for that time. Something like a relatively simple 2 cavity creature bait mold that might be able to be sold “en masse” for under a hundred dollars might cost five hundred to a thousand or more as a one off custom. If you get multiples the same the cost may drop dramatically, but you can’t buy the second one before you buy the first one.
About Saving Money
If you value your time at nothing or you just want something fishing related to do when you aren’t working and you aren’t fishing then making your own baits might be a great hobby. Its fun, and its even more satisfying when you catch a fish on a bait you made yourself. If you think you can make knock off Senkos(tm) and save money you are probably fooling yourself. There is the cost of the mold and the value of your time. Then there is your other equipment, and the cost of materials. You have to make thousands of baits to make it worth while. If you just picked up those same extra hours at work you could probably buy the same number of baits. If you have a well paying job you might even be money ahead just working a few extra hours.
Is it Worth Making My Own Baits At All Then?
Yes, absolutely, and I will be writing an article about that soon. Reasons You May Want To Make Your Own Fishing Lures.