Our site is about fish—the pursuit of fish and the appreciation of fish. We take pictures of fish, videos of fish, and write about fish.
Today, we are talking about rats. Specifically, the Spro BBZ-1 Rat.
Winner of “Best New Hardbait” at ICAST 2014 and designed by Bill Siemantel, Spro pro-staffer, lure designer and famed big bass hunter; this bait brings together all his experience in one fish catching package.
We have been using rats—well, rat imitations—on the west coast for a number of years. Unfortunately they have been, up to this point, expensive, hand crafted, and difficult to find.
The BBZ-1 Rat 50 has broken the rules for a lure like this. It retails for a very reasonable $30 with two additional sizes that debuted at ICAST 2015 that will be less than the 50 size.
For the time being, we’re going to focus on the 50 and take a look at the spec’s for this bait.
The Specs
This Rat has a total length of 10” with the body accounting for 5.25” of that. It weighs a reasonable 2.5 oz which means that although you will want to use some hefty gear to throw this bait, you won’t have to invest an extraordinary amount of money if you don’t have the necessary equipment.
The Rat has a single-joint separating the two segments that make up the body that consists of two heavy duty hinges.
The tail has a total of 8 segments. The front one is almost completely hidden in the rear. The rest get smaller as you go down the tail with the last one being long and slender to mimic the point of the tail.
Each bait comes with a replacement tail that is a different, complementary color.
Both body segments have molded in details that include feet, ears, eyes, shoulders and a nose. The paint job accentuates all of this detail with both realistic patterns as well as a few that you would never find in nature that just happen to be our personal favorite.
The rattle system in the Rat is possibly one of the most under appreciated features of the lure. In the rear, there is a single knocker set-up that sounds as if it is made of wood. In the front of the bait there is a more traditional, multiple ball rattle chamber.
Furthermore, this bait produces a knock as its being retrieved when the two body segments collide. This combination of sounds calls fish from distance and is something they simply are not conditioned to avoid.
The split rings, hinges, bill and hooks are all very heavy duty-quality components. The body is constructed using multiple composites that took 2 years of experimentation to get just right.
It really is impressive to think that with all that went into producing the BBZ-1 Rat as well as the quality of the separate components, that this bait retails for as little as its existing price tag.
Swimming with the Rat
The action of the Rat is an ultra-realistic interpretation of a live rodent swimming in the water, especially on a slow to moderate constant retrieve. The way this bait snakes along the surface is a thing of beauty.
While this retrieve will certainly catch fish, it is only one of many that will put fish in the boat.
Bill designed the rat to not just handle but to excel at any number of retrieves. One of those that we have found particularly effective is a walk-the-dog type presentation. You can keep the bait in a small area while it walks back and forth, and quite easily. Firm twitches of the rod tip accomplish this easily so that it will stay and entice any followers.
You can vary both the distance it travels forward and side to side just by varying the aggressiveness and timing of your twitches. In doing this, you allow the fish to show you what they are after on any given day.
You also have a solid wake bait that won’t roll on you. Utilizing this presentation showcases the rattle systems and has proven very effective in stained water.
Another option is to use a presentation that combines all the action that the Rat is capable of. This has been our most effective way of fishing the Rat. Letting it sit motionless for a short period of time between walking it and reeling it has produced a number of fish for us.
Big Baits, Big Fish, Right?
With a bait this size, you can target the biggest bass in a system but don’t be surprised when you catch fish weighing under a pound. We’ve caught bass that were sub twelve inches on the Rat. I guess in some cases, there eyes were bigger than their stomachs.
A value added feature to the Rat are the included instructions along with the URL, www.BBZ.com where you can find not only videos on how to use the rat but all the information from Bill himself regarding his equipment recommendations, various retrieves and any other information you might want to find.
In our time fishing the Spro BBZ-1 Rat, we have caught fish behind other anglers that were throwing all kinds of baits but were being completely ignored. We just threw the Rat in there and let it do the work. The result – more bass in the boat. Man, what a blast!
| Spro BBZ-1 Rat 50 | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| A rodent that really delivers | |
See ya’ on the water …
