Do-it mold into plastics

DENVER, Iowa — For more than 50 years, one of the world leaders in the tackle crafting industry has conducted its business from a modest property on the outskirts of Denver.

If you’ve purchased jigs, sinkers, spinnerbaits or any number of other fishing tackle items at a local retail outlet, chances are it was manufactured using Do-It molds and/or components. If you’re among the growing legion of anglers who enjoy crafting their own tackle, you’re probably familiar with Do-It’s products, as well.

The company is growing significantly under the ownership of Jason Haefner and Ryan McBride, and it made another significant move last winter with the acquisition of Caney Creek Molds, a company based near Lake Fork, Texas, that specializes in manufacturing molds for soft plastic baits.

The brainchild of a retired aerospace engineer with a love of bass fishing, Caney Creek incorporated feedback from other anglers to develop a unique line of molds and soft baits.

The company really caught on nationally when a record bag of bass was caught during an FLW tournament.

“He’s a really talented designer,” says McBride. “A lot of it is geared toward bass, but he has gotten into some crappie and panfish stuff and some ice fishing baits over the last year.

“There is some really interesting stuff that you can make, and it’s totally different than anything you can typically find on the market.

“It was a perfect fit for us, really.”

Manufacturing plastics isn’t for everyone. The initial investment is significantly more than what it costs to get into pouring your own sinkers and jigs, the plastisols aren’t cheap, either, and the production process is more complicated.

“It does require a little more skill than pouring lead,” notes McBride.

On the other hand, there are also anglers who love to tinker and create lures that might give them an edge over their friends or their competition on the tournament circuits, and individuals who mass produce soft baits for retail outlets.

“You can have some stuff that not everybody out there is pitching and some different colors and color patterns,” says McBride.

“You have the ability to layer colors, add glitter, glow in the dark, UV enhancer … You can create highlights and irridescence that you see in a lot of custom baits but not in a lot of store-bought products.”

This was a huge move in a good direction for Do-It. I’ve been dinking with the plastics for three years and use primarily Do-It/Caney creek products. I’ve toured the Do-It plant and can say that there is way more to the company than what has been mentioned here. They are huge and reach into many aspects of the bait/lure making industry. For the hobbyist, they are a treasure trove.

Ryan is a great person to work with. At the get-it-done level within the company, Jerry Van Sickle is a real asset. Since the Do-It family acquired the Caney Creek company, both of these persons have shown a solid business ethic in getting the merger done smoothly. And the “customer first” ideology stands tall everywhere inside the business.

Plastic are a spendy start-up hobby. And there is a learning curve with plastic that has to be met. Safety provisions that aren’t a part of working with lead are a must, ventilation being first and foemost.

I’m always willing to show people what all is involved in the plastics making game if they are willing to get to my door, but I do not want children around the hot plastic. The working temperatures are in the neightborhood of 320 to 380 degrees depending on what and how I am doing and any contact with the plastic at these temps will result in 2nd degree burns at best. As a rule, working the plastic is safe, accidents can a do occur and with the plastic that hot it tends to stick to anything it touches and skin is not a plastic to have it land.

I’ll be happy to answer any questions regarding plastic injection as a hobby. I am a product specialist for Do-It Caney Creek.

As Ryan has mentioned above, a few benefits exist that set the hobby plastics maker ahead of even seasoned anglers by having colors and profile options that are not a part of the open market.In my opinion it is the color factor that really sets pace. Color combinations and split colors are relatively easy to create and not being on a store’s display hooks really does give the plastic shooter an edge.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the processes involved in either jig making or plastic injection they can pm me and I can provide a link to a whole new world.

Thanks BK for bringing this back up!Your my favorite cat guide in all of Mn.

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Thanks BK for bringing this back up!Your my favorite cat guide in all of Mn.

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Brian beat me to it. Thanks for putting this back Brian and from Do-It thanks also go to you Stuart for posting the original thread and article.