Ep. 75: Caesar Chavez of Toxic Baits on Spinner Bait Frames & 2025 Updates

Guest: Caesar Chavez (Toxic Baits) | Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

Caesar Chavez has been making baits for over 15 years and the SoCal inshore community has grown up fishing Toxic Baits. Episode 75 is his first appearance before the more technical Ep. 115 conversation — covering spinner bait frame selection, belly-weighted swimbait hooks, and the 2025 direction for Toxic Baits including new spinner bait development.

In This Episode

• Small frame vs. large frame spinner baits — Caesar’s breakdown: small frame for finesse applications and tighter vibration, large frame for bigger profiles and more blade movement. He fishes both and the choice depends on bait size, water clarity, and whether the fish are eating on the drop or on the burn
• Belly-weighted hook for swimbait rigging — Caesar’s tip: adding a weight on the front of the swimbait hook changes the action profile. In shallow water or when fish are feeding upward, the belly weight pulls the head down and creates a different falling angle. Texas rig with a belly-weighted Beast hook as his go-to for weedless swimbait fishing
• Bait being in the system post-rain — Caesar described bait going nuts in his boat’s transom during a session after the rain — so much bait that it sounded like it was raining. They caught 30 fish in a single hour during the bait push. The bait activity as the trigger that moved the whole bite
• Toxic Baits 2025 direction — Caesar finishing up slugs in the bubblegum pink color. New spinner bait development underway with specific blade combo configurations. Growing Toxic toward a more complete lineup rather than just swimbaits
• Spinner baits for largemouth — Caesar’s large frame spinner bait preference for freshwater largemouth as well as saltwater bass. The crossover design philosophy — build it to fish multiple species rather than specializing for one
• Beast hook sizing — Daniel makes Beast hooks in sizes Owner doesn’t produce. Caesar referencing the Beast hook as central to his weedless swimbait rigs — the availability of specific sizes through [FISH]rx filling a gap in the market

Beyond the Rod & Reel with Toxic Baits

Caesar’s first appearance on the show is worth comparing to his Ep. 115 appearance. In Ep. 75 he’s talking product direction and technique. In Ep. 115, which came after, he went much deeper on hook set mechanics, knot selection, and match-the-hatch logic. The arc across episodes shows a guest getting more specific over time as the show’s format matures and the hosts know what questions to ask.

The bait-in-the-boat story is worth noting beyond the entertainment value. When bait is so dense it’s physically getting into the boat and it’s been going for over an hour, the fish are in the water beneath it eating. That’s a window. Caesar caught 30 fish in the hour the bait was up. The lesson: when bait activity is that intense, nothing else matters. Get in the water and fish it.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.