I’m not a pro. I’m a student of the bass.

I’m Alan Vojtech. I fish city ponds around Dallas, Texas, from the bank, with no boat. I’ll be honest: I’m a newer angler. Nobody handed me a tackle box and a lake. So instead of guessing, I went straight to how a bass actually works.

The first thing I noticed: almost everything on the peg is built for clear lakes. My ponds are green and murky. In the Dallas ponds I fish, I usually lose sight of a bait at 2 feet or less. When I asked what to throw in water like that, the answer was always “black and blue.” That works, but it’s one answer for every pond.

So I started reading. How do bass see color? What does green, stained water do to light a few feet down? The more I learned, the more it changed how I picked baits. Eventually it changed how I wanted to make them.

That’s Vojtech Fish Lab. On Instagram @vojtechfishlab I share what I’m learning as I go: pond sessions, color experiments and catches, the wins, the skunks, and the stuff that didn’t work.

VOJTECH soft plastics are where that learning ends up. I hand-pour them myself in small runs in Dallas, and every colorway is designed for a depth and a kind of water. I drop them in limited runs because I’d rather get a small run right than mass-produce something average.

I’m not claiming to have bass figured out. I’m claiming to pay close attention. Come learn with me.

— Alan Vojtech, founder, Vojtech Tackle Co.

How we build a bait

1. Start with the pond. Green, stained or muddy water, 10 ft or less, fished from the bank.
2. Pick the depth. SHALLOW (0–4 ft) or MID-DEPTH (4–10 ft). That’s Fish The Spectrum.
3. Design the color for that water. Hues bass are most sensitive to, plus a strong outline. Read the science →
4. Build the rest of the bait. Vibration, fall rate, profile and scent: every bait is scented with V-Garum.
5. Prototype and test. I hand-pour every test batch myself and keep adjusting the color until it’s right for the water it’s built for.
6. Drop it small. Limited runs, real feedback, a better next batch.