float in plastic baits

[denzil]

can you cast microballones in soft plastic or is there an additive that will work to float a large hook

[Mike - Alumilite]

Yes, you can add microballoons to Alumisol to make it float but it will harden it up a little. The more you add, the harder it will get. To keep the softness, you may need to add some Softener as well.

Mike

[eriksat1]

How good do the micro-balloons work in soft plastic? If you used a lead jig head for extra weight for long casting could it then make the bait neutrally buoyant?

[aka anglinarcher]

eriksat1 wrote:
> How good do the micro-balloons work in soft plastic? If you used a lead jig
> head for extra weight for long casting could it then make the bait
> neutrally buoyant?

No, and maybe, but probably not.

For a lure to be neutrally buoyant, the overall density needs to be 1.0 g/cc, the same as fresh water. Alumisol has a density a little less then that, but lead has a density much higher (11.3 g/cc). This means that for every cc of lead, you would need to replace 11.3 cc of plastic with microballons.

So, if you have a really small lead jig head, and a really large bait, then yes. But, for more practical applications, it is not reasonable.

Adding microballons to the plastic can float hooks, etc., so the concept works. It is a matter of scale.