I started making soft plastic baits because I wanted a bait I could trust without paying more for fewer in a pack which feels like the current industry trend. I’d seen rough edges, uneven colors, and bubbles in store-bought baits, and I wondered if I could do better. What began as an experiment became something I genuinely enjoy. Making small batches lets us try interesting colors, fine-tune how each bait fishes, and offer a carefully made product at a competitive price.
The Materials
Soft plastic baits start with plastisol, a liquid material that becomes flexible plastic when heated. Getting the formula right matters: too stiff and a bait loses action; too soft and it tears. We dial in the formula for each bait style to get the right balance of feel, action, and durability.
Some baits are made in a floating formula, and that's a deliberate choice. It's why the Kickin' Finesse Worm 7"'s tails lift off the bottom while the bait is resting. Our Stick Worm uses a neutral formula instead, giving you the choice to fish it weightless or add a 1/32 oz or 1/16 oz weight to dial in just the right fall speed for your presentation.
Colorants are mixed into the plastisol before injection — concentrated pigments that stay vibrant even after repeated use. Some colors include glitter and mica for added flash. See the Essential Lineup color guide for details on some of our most common colors and when to reach for them.
Translucent colors do something similar. Light passes through where the bait thins out while the body stays darker, giving fish contrast to key in on.
The Molds
Every bait starts with a precision-crafted mold that defines the body profile, tail shape, texture, and every appendage. Finding the right one is harder than it sounds. Before settling on our grub molds, we bought at least a dozen retail brands of grubs and fished them. Then went looking for the right mold. Our first set of stick worm molds wasn't right, so we sold those and kept looking. We turn molds down for being too thick in the body to get a clean hook set, or too thin to hold up to a hook keeper. When you see the thumping paddle tail on The Ringer 3.8", that's a mold we went looking for on purpose.
The Injection
Injecting plastics is equal parts science and feel. The plastisol is heated to a precise temperature — too cool and it won't fill the mold details; too hot and the plastic degrades. Once it's ready, it's injected into the mold under pressure, filling every cavity. Each bait is removed by hand and inspected once the mold opens.
The 48-Hour Cure
Once a bait comes out of the mold, it needs a full 48 hours to cure before it’s bagged. During that time, the plastic shrinks slightly and remains very soft. Bagging baits too soon can cause tails or small appendages to fold or bend. Heat can do the same thing, so avoid leaving soft plastic baits in a hot car. Soft plastic baits can change shape whenever they get warm.
If a tail does bend — especially on a paddle-tail bait — you can usually reshape it. Heat a cup of water in the microwave until it’s around 130°F, roughly warm coffee temperature. Place the bait in the water for about 30 seconds, then lay it straight on a paper towel to cool. It should return to the shape it had when it finished curing.
Quality Control
Every bait gets a visual inspection before it goes into a bag. We check its form, appendages, color, and any bubbles. Our regular packs are held to our appearance standard, and no bait goes into any of our products if a defect would keep it from being fished as intended. Any bait with a bubble bigger than the head of a pen is culled.
A minor cosmetic quirk is a different story. A color that came out lighter or darker than planned, flipped laminate colors, or a tiny microbubble at the tip of a tail may keep a good bait out of a regular pack without keeping it from fishing properly. I set those baits aside on commercial baking trays, along with perfectly good extras that don’t quite fill a regular pack.
Those trays become part of our Scratch and Dent Packs. When a pack is ordered, I look at the other baits in the order and choose a mix with some familiar styles and something new to try. It’s a way to reduce waste and give good baits a chance to make it to the water, without compromising how they’re meant to fish.
Small-batch production makes this hands-on attention possible. When you're not running thousands of units an hour, you can actually look at what you're making.
Why Small Batch?
It means we can experiment — and we experiment a lot. We're constantly out at the water testing action, color, and different plastic formulas to see how small changes affect the way a bait swims and fishes.
We love running into other anglers at the lake, sharing what we’re working on, and hearing what they think. We also enjoy posting about our baits and how we make them on social media. Making baits is fun, and fishing with them is even better.
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