About Us

We are an artisanal, high quality lure manufacturer from Brazil specializing in wood baits.

We don’t necessarily aim to produce more lures than anyone else, we just aim to make a better product for the truly discriminating angler.

We combine American cranking heritage, Japanese attention to detail, and the Brazilian need for ultra-durability into a single package that we believe makes our products indispensable. We’ve built up to this moment through over thirty years of experience in the sport fishing industry, starting with South American gamefish including Peacock Bass and the Golden Dorado and now taking everything we’ve learned into the bass market. Using our lures gives the avid fisherman and competitive angler every conceivable advantage on the water.

We strive to provide you with the best handcrafted wood baits we can make and we’ll spare no time, effort or money to get us done. Remember, Not all Baits are NOT created equal!

While many bait builders rely on balsa wood, plastics or other materials for their crankbaits, we use the Marupá Pedra  wood from the wetlands of the Amazon Rainforest, it is the ultimate choice when it comes to durability, consistency and action. It’s not necessarily easy to obtain, nor is it inexpensive, but we know it’s worth the extra effort.

“Pedra” means stone, and this wood is the ultimate combination of balsa-like buoyancy and rock-like durability.

There are at least 17 different varieties of Marupá growing throughout South America, Central America and the Caribbean, but the species that we employ grows in the moist, humid portions of the southern Amazon basin, in several Brazilian states. It is highly sought after, and difficult to get, and with good reason – it is very important to all Brazilians that we maintain our precious natural resources. Accordingly, all of our Marupá is legally, ethically and sustainably harvested pursuant to a license from the Brazilian government. We are proud that we can show the origins of every single piece that we use.

We understand that when spending your hard-earned money on a premium lure you expect the very best from start to finish, and we are confident that all of our components are the best available.

The Marupá Pedra wood isn’t the only construction material that distinguishes our baits from the rest of the field. For example, we take pride in using heavy-duty 304 Stainless Steels Wire. It may be harder to work with, and take a little more time to construct perfectly round eyelets, but the result is a product that’s much less likely to bend during the fight or when bounced off of a rock. That means on tournament day you don’t have to spend nearly as much time retuning your bait, which allows for more casts and bigger catches. Similarly, we rely on lips made not just of regular circuit board material, but of CB G10, the same high quality employed in many precision firearms. It requires a more careful cut, and specialized tools to accomplish perfect, but we believe it’s worth the extra time and our extra cost.

Marcos Malucelli the founder of Water Wood Custom Baits, have spent over three decades in the fishing industry as product developer and bait designer, first in native Brazil and more recently here in the United States.

In parallel Marcos spent 17 years as a boat captain and professional fishing guide in South America. In the springtime, leading anglers to trophy Peacock Bass on the waters of the Amazon Rainforest and the rest of the year chasing offshore species like Blue Marlin, White Marlin and other saltwater species.

In 2006, led by his passion for bass fishing he migrates to the United States, where I quickly became immersed in the culture of national and regional bass tournaments where he realized that there were substantial similarities between our fisheries, but some differences remained.

Also being an outdoors writer, fishing journalist and member of the tackle industry in Brazil, Marcos saw that while American bass tackle industry had a storied history and produced many great products, there was not always the attention to detail or durability that is truly necessary to make state of the art products. That’s what led him to create Water Wood Custom Baits. He was determined to build the best products possible so that every day on the water reaches it maximum potential. 

After a lengthy career in the corporate world, in which he gained a keen understanding of manufacturing, distribution and supply chain issues, lifelong bass angler Steve Summer decided to enter the fishing and marine businesses. His first foray into the space was to open Rock Outdoors, a 35,000 square foot boating and outdoor lifestyle store, which deals boat brands including Vexus and Caymas. From his base near Lexington, North Carolina, one of the historic crankbait capitals of the world, he now brings his considerable expertise and passion to Water Wood Custom Baits, where he will advise us on all business-related matters while still playing a critical role in research and development of new products.

While my Brazilian heritage is an integral part of who I am, I am extremely thankful to America – and in particular to the American bass fishing community – for making me and my family feel so at home. My wife and I came here in 2006 and it took us a full decade to get our citizenship, but we have no doubt whatsoever that it was worth the wait. I am proud that our children were born here and I’m proud to have launched my business here as well. The freedoms that we all enjoy are incredible and I thank the Lord every day for leading me to this wonderful country. 

We believe quality should never require a compromise. Accordingly, we provide a 100 percent guarantee that each bait will run perfectly and will withstand anything you can reasonably throw at it in the regular course of fishing.

We welcome your questions about our process and our products, and we’d love to see catches you’ve achieved with our lures. Accordingly, please feel free to get in touch at any time! We want to earn your business so that you’ll continue to fish with us for many years to come.