Best clay (or material) for replica bed?

https://www.mckenziesp.com/HF10-P20339.aspx

 

I'm just curious if you have tried this new stuff? I have heard it isn't as good as the original, folks have talked about a lot of substitutes. What is your opinion?

~S

 

What size fish are you molding? I use different materials for small fish vs large vs very large.

 

Trout for me. I once used sand, but it always was a pain, buggering up the mold! When I tried High Fiber it was great, but I've been reading the complaints about the replacement being not nearly as good!

~S

 

I do a lot of molding so sand works best (cost effective)for me.
If you’re getting sand in your mold you’re doing it wrong. Wet and pack the sand first as you would hi fiber. Then use a thin layer of plaster for the mold shelf and keyways (see pic)

30” speckled trout.

 

I've noticed when landscapers blow seed a lawn the stuff they use looks like a soft clay....however I saw a bag of the stuff they use and it was dry, ground-up paper. It's just mixed with water and they add grass seed to it. Seems to me that it would also work well as a bedding for molding a fish, and you could adjust the water to end up with a suitable mixture for your application.Same as we did with High Fiber.

 

I use soft sand mixed with china clay powder, it does go hard once used but is easily broken up again. I mix with a paddle in a drill with water just like mixing plaster, you get a nice smooth mold.