The Problem
SA bass fishing is not the same as bass fishing in the United States. Our dams are different. Our water colour is different. The forage that our bass are feeding on is different. Yet every lure on the market was designed for American conditions.
You could walk into any tackle shop and find the same imported soft plastics in the same watermelon red and pumpkin seed colours. Colours that work in Florida. Colours that work nowhere near as well on the highveld in Gauteng.
"We were spending thousands on lures designed for someone else's water. It made no sense."
The Solution
Ian Pienaar started hand-pouring soft plastics in his garage in 2018. Not to sell them — just to fish with. He wanted lures that actually matched what was in the water. Green-tinted colours for algae-stained impoundments. Brown-olive mixes for muddy bushveld banks.
Word spread the way things spread at the dam — slowly, and then all at once. Other anglers started asking. Custom Bait Shack became a business not by plan but by demand.
The Community
Today Custom Bait Shack ships to anglers across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Mozambique. Every colour in the range has been tested on local water. By real anglers fishing their home dams.
"The feedback from the community drives new colours and new shapes. We fish the same water you fish."
Where We Are Now
Custom Bait Shack now offers over 50 products — soft plastic swimbaits, stick baits, creature baits, worm baits, and custom colour orders. Every single lure is hand-poured in South Africa.
We offer fully custom orders for clubs, tournaments, and individual anglers. Minimum order 20 lures per colour. Every batch tested before it ships.