Field Mouse In Package
One of the categories that saw an explosion of new baits at ICAST was soft plastic, topwater baits, frogs in particular. We will be bringing you reviews of a bunch of them in the coming months.
But today is all about the lure that won “Best new soft bait”, the Koppers Live Target Field Mouse. These have been a little hard to come by so we haven’t been able to obtain all the patterns that we wanted but did manage to get hold of the 70T in White.
This bait is 3-1/2 inches in length, which is the body sans the legs and tail, and weighs 3/4 of an ounce. There is also a 60T which is 3 inches and weighs 5/8 of an ounce. Koppers has made their reputation on creating ultra-realistic looking baits and the Field Mouse is no exception to this rule.
The attention to detail is apparent the minute you look at the mouse. Couple this with the quality components that Koppers is known for and you know you’re holding a well-executed bait. All this aside, how does this thing perform on the water? That’s the real test for any lure!
Live Target Field Mouse Action
We took this out, tied it on and let it fly. I had my preconceptions of how this bait would perform prior to using it. To be honest with you, I thought that it would be sub-par in the distance department due to all the appendages hanging of the rear end. Fortunately, the Mouse came through with shining colors and exceeded our expectations in this department.
We were more than pleased with the distance that we were able to throw this little rodent. As a matter of fact, it casts better than several hollow body frogs that I can think of.
Another area that we had reservations about was its ability to walk the dog. The reason being that the Field Mouse, just like a real mouse, is narrower through the body than any frog I’ve ever used. I was expecting pronounced body roll due to this design but again, was more than happy to be proven wrong.
While there is some body roll, it doesn’t come close to getting to rolling over on its side. It does in fact, appear to swim just like a real mouse in the water. Not only do the legs “kick” as you’re walking the dog, the tail moves back and forth as though it’s stabilizing the bait and just the way you would expect a real mouse’s tail to behave in the water.
Working the Koppers is simple for all but the newest angler. If you’ve ever used a spook style bait you can use the Mouse effectively. There are no weird, out of the ordinary retrieves that need to be employed to make the bait do its thing. This little guy just has a very nice, albeit somewhat narrow, side to side action that can be exaggerated simply by giving it more time between pops of your rod tip. You can also make it seem frantic by speeding those pops up.
When at rest, the Field Mouse sits slightly nose up in the water but not so much as to lift its entire head above the surface. Just a slight twitch will get the tail moving and bring the bait back to life.
The plastic used for the Mouse is soft and collapses with very little effort. The double hook is good and sharp out of the package which should makes for a good hook-up ratio. There is also reference to a website that will provide the customer with tip on how to use the bait on the back of the box.
Live Target Field Mouse Wrap Up And Rating
You aren’t going to want to miss out on the Live Target Field Mouse!
Yeah, I do believe that the Koppers Live Target Field Mouse is going to do nothing but prove to be more effective as the year rolls on and the weather heats up.
| Koppers Live Target Field Mouse | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| Amazing realism, fantastic action | |
See ya’ on the water …