Hand-poured soft plastics: how a small-batch bait gets made, with [FISH]rx

Most soft plastics in a tackle shop came out of a factory injection line by the thousand. A growing number of the ones Southern California bass anglers actually trust did not. They were poured by hand, a few at a time, by someone who fishes the same harbors you do.

[FISH]rx is one of those. It is Daniel Dahlin's small-batch bait company in Los Angeles, built for calico, sand bass and spotted bay bass. This post looks at how a hand-poured bait gets made, and why a one-person shop would bother, through the lens of how Daniel does it.

A slug nobody sold in LA

Daniel grew up in the South Bay and has fished since he was three, starting with trout in the San Gabriels and bat rays off the Newport docks. Around 2018, while working on a whale watching boat, he started bringing a rod and found the inshore bass fishery. Marina del Rey has been his home water since.

In late 2020 he wanted a particular slug that nobody sold in LA, so he made one. Then he made a craw. The first bait he made caught a spotted bay bass, and that set the bar he still uses: if it does not catch fish, it does not ship.

The business started as Dahlin Baits. In late 2024, as it grew into bladed tackle, lead and merch, it became [FISH]rx. The name came out of four years of interviewing anglers on his podcast, where guest after guest described fishing as their therapy. A prescription, with no doctor needed: rod, reel, line, hook.

What pouring a bait actually involves

Hand-pouring sounds mysterious until you see it. At its core it is melting liquid plastic, coloring it and filling a mold. The craft is in all the small decisions along the way.

The plastic. Soft baits start as plastisol, a thick liquid that turns into a solid, flexible plastic when heated and cooled. Makers adjust it with softener or hardener to change how the finished bait feels and moves.

The heat. Plastisol is heated, most often in a dedicated microwave, in short bursts with stirring in between, to roughly 325 to 350 degrees. When it goes crystal clear and silky it is ready. Too cool and the bait stays sticky and tears. Too hot and it scorches, turns yellow and is ruined.

The color. Colorant goes in a drop at a time, because you can always darken a batch but never lighten it. Glitter and flake go in the same way. Salt adds weight and changes how the bait falls. Scent can be added before pouring or after.

The mold. Open-pour molds are an open cavity that you fill from a cup. Injection molds are closed, two-piece molds filled with an injector. Aluminum molds hold detail and cool fast. Silicone and plaster are cheaper ways to start. Two-color baits, called laminates, come from pouring one color, letting it set for a moment and pouring a second over it.

The pour. You pour slowly from the head toward the tail, slightly overfilling because the plastic shrinks as it cools. Five to fifteen minutes later the bait comes out of the mold. Then it cures, gets trimmed, and gets fished.

That is the recipe. The difference between a bait that swims and one that does not is in how the mold is cut, how the plastic is mixed, how the colors are layered and how many times the maker is willing to start over.

How [FISH]rx does it

Daniel's approach comes down to a few rules.

• Small batch, on purpose. [FISH]rx runs limited pours and deliberate restocks. The store closes when he is at events and reopens when there is stock.
• Refine everything. Every mold, pour and color pattern goes through rounds of changes for lifelike movement and durability on the water.
• Fish it first. Every bait is tested on the water before it reaches the shop. Daniel fishes both the baits that pass his standard and the ones that do not.
• Touch every bait. Each one is hand-trimmed and handled before it ships.

The lineup is built around the way inshore bass actually eat: the RX Paddle Tail swimbait, the RX Slug, the RX Skeleton Craw and the RX Dragon Tail, with limited colorways like Chovie Death and White Monster. Some colors are only sold through collaborations with local shops and builders, including Performance Tackle in Los Alamitos, Bait Slingers and Deek's Jigs.

The latest drop sold out, collaboration pieces included. It paired [FISH]rx baits with work from other local builders, Reaper slow pitch jigs, Toxic Baits and Bite Time Customs. Orders from that drop are shipping now.

Where the baits get fished

These are harbor and kelp baits. They are built for:

• Calico bass on the kelp and the breakwaters. Our calico swimbait guide covers leadheads, sizes and retrieves.
• Barred sand bass on the flats and around structure, especially in the summer spawn. See sand bass and the summer spawn.
• Spotted bay bass in the bays and harbors, where a slug or craw worked slowly is a classic. See spotted bay bass on light tackle.

Daniel also writes Field Notes on the [FISH]rx site, practical guides to SoCal inshore fishing like matching the hatch and rigging a slug, drawn from the harbors he fishes every week.

If you want to pour your own

Plenty of anglers try it, and it is a good way to understand what goes into a bait. Take the safety side seriously:

• Ventilation. Work outdoors or with a fan pushing fumes away, and wear a respirator.
• Burns. Plastisol at pouring temperature causes severe burns fast. Wear gloves, eye protection, long sleeves and closed shoes.
• No water. Moisture in hot plastisol turns to steam and can spit plastic. Keep the area dry.
• Dedicated gear. The microwave, cups and tools you use for plastisol should never go back to the kitchen.

Then pour a few batches and fish them. You will quickly see why the people who do this well spend years on it.

Time on the Water

Daniel co-hosts Time on the Water with Charly and Luke, a live fishing show on YouTube every Tuesday at 6 p.m. Pacific. It covers inshore bass, harbor and back-bay techniques, sportboat trips and more, with guests from charter captains to bait and jig builders. It is well past its hundredth episode.

Find [FISH]rx

You can buy baits at fish-rx.com and at local shops including Ace Fishing Tackle in Gardena, Anglers Tackle in Vista, Fish n Fools in Granada Hills, Performance Tackle in Los Alamitos and Tackle Cave USA in Sunset Beach. Follow along on Instagram at @fish.rx and catch the show on YouTube at @TimeOnTheWaterProduction.

On Fish or Pass, calico bass is one of the species the Bite Score grades, which tells you whether the conditions on the kelp are worth the trip. Which bait to tie on once you are there is still your call.

Got a story worth telling?

Caught a fish you chased for years, pour your own baits, build your own gear, or run a shop or boat the local fleet should know about? We feature Southern California anglers and makers here on the Logbook. Send us your story with a photo or two, and we will be in touch.