◆ Soft plastic

Curly tail grub lure mold, 3 inch

Eight 3 inch curly tail grubs per pour, a ringed body and a flat tail curled once round. A silicone lure mold.

3D render of the printed caster for an eight-cavity silicone curly tail grub lure mold beside the silicone mold it pours, with chartreuse soft plastic grubs in front
Soft plastic ~66 g

A hand-pour mold for eight curly tail grubs: a ringed 38 mm body, 12 mm across, and a flat tail about 50 mm long, curled once round, that kicks on the slowest retrieve, about 3 inches of bait in all. Each set of four takes about 11 ml of plastisol.

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Made with our tray mold generator in its flexible silicone tray mode: print the caster, pour a heat-rated mold silicone into it and peel out an eight-cavity lure mold. Plastisol goes in at 160 to 180 C, which no printed mold survives, and the curled tail peels out of silicone without tearing.

The grubs are open-pour and flat-backed, as every hand-pour mold makes them. Put one on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz ball head jig for bass, perch, walleye and pike, or behind a spinner. The zip carries the printed caster exactly as the tool exported it, one set of four grubs as an STL, the master uploaded to the tool, and a print and pour sheet with the silicone figure the tool measured.

Shown as a 3D render of the printed caster with the silicone mold it makes and chartreuse curly tail grubs in front, not a photo.

Curly tail grub lure mold, 3 inch at a glance: every printed part with its size, print time, filament, print settings and the three steps to use it

What you need

4
  • About 288 ml of mold silicone rated for 200 C (400 F) or more, tin or platinum cure (mix it in one batch)
  • Soft or medium plastisol: about 11 ml fills one set of four curly tail grubs
  • Plastic lure colour, fine lure glitter and fine salt if you want them
  • A microwave kept for plastisol only, a heat-proof pour cup, gloves and good ventilation

How to cast it

6
  1. Print the caster as exported, open side up, no supports. It only ever holds silicone, never hot plastisol: PLA softens at about 60 C.

  2. Mix 288 ml of a mold silicone rated for 200 C (400 F) or more (most tin- and platinum-cure mold silicones are, check the datasheet) and pour it into one corner of the caster in a thin stream until it covers the shapes to the rim. Tap out the bubbles and let it cure for as long as its datasheet says.

  3. Peel the cured silicone out of the caster. That silicone is your lure mold: lay it flat on a heat-proof board.

  4. Heat soft plastisol in a microwave you keep for plastisol only, in 30 to 60 second bursts, stirring between them, until it is clear and runny at 160 to 180 C (320 to 350 F). Stir in colour, glitter or salt now. Work with a window open or under an extractor and wear gloves: hot plastisol burns, and it smokes if it goes past 190 C.

  5. Pour each grub from the pour cup in one steady stream, starting at the tip of the tail, which cools first, and fill each cavity slightly over the rim. Never pour lead or any metal into this mold.

  6. Let the mold cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then peel each grub out, the thin end first. Trim any flash off the flat back with scissors, and keep the mold for plastisol only.

Print details

2 h 10 minPrint time
~66 gFilament
1Printed parts
127 × 155 × 20 mmSize (W x D x H)
All print details
Print details
Cast materialSoft plastic
Printed parts1
Size (W x D x H)127 x 155 x 20 mm
Print bed needed155 x 127 mm, 21 mm tall
Filament~66 g
Layer height0.2 mm
Infill15%
SupportsNot needed
DownloadZIP: printed caster (STL) + one set of four curly tail grubs (STL) + tool master (STL) + print and pour sheet
Added2026-09-28
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Free for personal use. Selling the pieces you cast needs a commercial licence (Pro or Founder); passing on the file itself is not permitted on any plan. Full terms.

New to casting? Read the ice cube tray mold guide.

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Questions about this design

What fish do curly tail grubs from this mold catch?

Almost everything that eats small fish: bass, perch, walleye, zander, pike and trout on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz ball head jig, and crappie on a lighter head. Cast and retrieve slowly just off the bottom so the curl tail keeps kicking.

Why do my curly tail grubs come out with half a tail?

The plastisol cooled in the thin tail. Pour the tail first, from its tip towards the body, in one steady stream with the plastisol at about 175 C, and pour a first throwaway grub to warm the mold. A softer plastisol also flows further before it sets.

Can I add glitter to the curly tail grubs?

Yes. Stir a fine plastic lure glitter into the hot plastisol just before you pour and keep stirring between cavities so it does not sink. Avoid craft glitter made of metal foil or paper, which burns in the hot plastisol.