Swimbait Review: Wooden Swimbaits Wake Rat 125

Swimbait Review: Wooden Swimbaits (WSB) Wake Rat 125

Happy New Year! A fellow Universe member sent over a large box of swimbaits for me to shoot video of, and this WSB Rat was one of the occupants. The WSB Wake Rat is a 2 pc hand made Wooden rat, featuring a wide polycarbonate lip, swivel hangers, and a long dressed rear feather in place of a traditional plastic worm tail. The WSB comes in at 5 inches in length (body) and 2.25 oz of wood.

Due to the wideness of the bill, the standard straight retrieve causes the head of the bait to roll, which forces the rear of the bait to sway back and forth behind. There is also a bit of head hunt left and right, but the head portion certainly is more of the rolling variety. This causes both the hardware and the joint halfs to contact one another and create a subtle click and knock. The Wake is apparent on the surface, with a slight bulge and a defined V wake trailing the bait.

The WSB Wake Rat 125 also excels as the retrieve is slowed, and maintains its action, albeit slightly more subtly. The Rat can be fished nice and slow on the surface, as the wide bill catches alot of water and doesn't need much resistance to get the head rolling. You do lose some of the audible knock, but the surface commotion is still present.

Next, I walked the Rat, and I noticed a consistent full 180 degree turn with rod tip inputs. The bait was very easy to walk, and was quite intuitive as well. The bait stays relatively in place as it walks, and can easily be fished around cover. The walk does not really produce a loud splash or tons of surface commotion, as the bait turns and glides on the surface and doesn't catch much water on the turn. The walk can be sped up, but I found that the slower consistent walks tended to fit the bait more.

Last, I cranked the WSB down, utilizing a medium to medium fast retrieve and rod tip down at the water. The Rat will dive down about a foot (2 ft on a full cast) and has a tighter but similar action to the wake retrieve. The bait transitions easily from walk to crank, and either speed or rod position can cause the bait to alternate between each. I also noticed that I could crank the rat down, and then walk it underwater with rod tip bumps. Keep in mind, the WSB floats pretty fast, so you cannot twitch it in place subsurface for long.

I threw the WSB Wake Rat 125 on a Leviathan Heavy, paired with a Tranx 400 and 20 lb Copoly. With the bait only weighing 2.25 oz, there are plenty of options on the market, or you might even try a heavy flipping stick if desired. My setup was definitely overkill, but I personally prefer to throw rats on heavier-than-needed gear!

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year! See ya next Sunday.