How to Make Plastic Minnows

Creating Plastic Minnows

• 1

  Coat your minnow mold with a layer of worm oil or petroleum jelly. Both minnow molds and worm oil can be purchased at fishing and sporting goods stores. If you do not want to purchase a mold, see Section 2 for instructions on creating your own.

• 2

  Follow the instructions on the bottle of plastic worm mix to mix the plastic in a microwave-safe bowl. Plastic worm mix can be purchased at fishing and sporting goods stores.

• 3

  Heat the plastic worm mix in the microwave according to the directions on the bottle -- usually 15 to 30 seconds.

• 4

  Remove the bowl from the microwave and add any desired color or glitter effects to the melted plastic.

• 5

  Pour the melted plastic into the mold and allow it to cool. Once cool, the plastic minnows will pop easily out of the mold.

Creating a Minnow Mold

• 6

  Mix some plaster of Paris, follow the instructions that come with the plaster, in a bowl. Plaster of Paris can be purchased at craft stores.

• 7

  Fill a disposable container, such as an old margarine tub or aluminum baking pan, half way with the plaster.

• 8

  Press 1 to 4 -- depending on the size of your container -- premade plastic minnows into the plaster so that they are halfway submerged in the mix.

• 9

  Insert two Popsicle sticks into the plaster alongside the submerged minnows. The Popsicle sticks will serve as alignment guidelines for the second half of your mold.

• 10

  Allow the plaster to harden.

• 11

  Place several strips of aluminum foil along the plaster, forming the edges so they fold up alongside the inner walls of your container. Avoid placing the foil over the submerged minnows. The foil will make separating the mold easier.

• 12

  Coat the entire surface of the mold -- the plaster, the foil, the minnows and the Popsicle sticks -- with a thick layer of petroleum jelly.

• 13

  Mix another batch of plaster of Paris.

• 14

  Pour the plaster into the container, on top of the first half of the mold. Allow the plaster to harden.

• 15

  Carefully pry apart the two sides of the mold. A dull knife or wide, flat screwdriver work well for prying mold halves apart. Discard the aluminum foil and remove the plastic minnows.

• 16

  Use a pocket knife to carefully carve a pour hole from the minnow indentation to the edge of the mold. You only need to carve a pour hole in one side of the mold.

• 17

  Coat your mold with sealer and allow the sealer to dry. Your mold is now ready for use.