My Favorite Topwater Custom
Swimbait - The Illude Rad Rat (continued)
Simply
Rad: That very
first day was in the
middle of the summer
the Rad Rat
absolutely crushed
it. Like other
single jointed two
piece rats I first
treated the Illude
Rad Rat as a cover
bait and primarily
fished it alongside,
and over shallow
cover, and in this
application it
performed
beautifully. I soon
found that I could
also fish the Rad
Rat both slowly and
relatively quickly
effectively, and
when cranking it
down aggressively
and it basically
transforms into a
giant crankbait, and
swims below the
surface with a
similar tail
whipping action.
The very first day I
fished the Illude
Rad Rat I caught
five fish all over
5lbs. and on the
next few subsequent
trips I fished the
bait side by side
with other anglers
who worked other
rats and topwaters,
and the Rad
outperformed those
baits by 2 times,
and on multiple days
by 3 times when in
came to both strike
and catch numbers.
The Rad Rat's
effectiveness was
slowly blowing my
mind!
Bass seem to react
strongly to this
rat, and I've caught
fish of all sizes on
this bait fishing
cover and in open
water
The more I fished
the Rad Rat the more
I started to key in
on what makes this
bait so deadly
effective. Unlike
mass produced rats
this hand carved
wooden rat relies on
profile, swimming
action, and sound
from the body of the
bait itself. There
are no rattles here,
yet the Rad Rat
delivers an
extremely loud clack
knocking sound with
each swing of the
hips.
The audible knock
the bait generates
makes the Rad Rat
not only a great
cover bait but an
exceptional search
bait because it can
be slow cranked and
generates so much
wake while that
tantalizing
clack-clack sound
not only seems to
draw attention but
helps bass key in on
the bait from afar.
A lot of larger fish
I catch with the Rad
Rat like to go
straight into the
weeds in an effort
to free themselves
and I have found
that even though the
bait is light enough
to be cast with
lighter rods a
full-spec swimbait
rod helps convert
more strikes into
landed fish by being
able to swing hard
and control larger,
and more powerful,
bass
The Illude Rad Rat
is able to draw
attention in open
water, and can be
fished slowly enough
to stay longer in the
strike zone when
targeting fish
holding structure.
That flexibility
makes this
particular bait so
effective. The clack
sound that this bait
makes is due to the
cedar wood material
that Illude utilizes
in the bait's body
combined with the
hard finish that
they put on each
bait. The clack is
such a unique pitch
that other anglers
that I've fished
with have asked if
the bait has some
sort of embedded
rattle.
Like so many other
rodent swimbaits the
Illude Rad Rat is
finished with a soft
hand poured worm-style tail that
is designed to be
easily replaced. To
give you an idea of
how refined the Rad
Rat is the screw
that holds the tail
is completely recessed within
the rear section so
that the connection
is seamless, and the
tails not only stay
in place well, but are
also able to withstand
strikes better.
Illude provides a
few tail colors with
each rat and I
routinely change
from the pink tail
during the daytime
to a dark black tail
for fishing in lower
light.
The Illude Rad Rat
is also one of my
favorite night
fishing baits, this
rat just plain gets
bit after dark!
Night Missions:
Over the last year I
started getting back
into night fishing
not only to pursue
larger fish but to
simply enjoy a
different type of
swimbait fishing
during the warm
summer evenings. I
put together a new
arsenal of baits and
on that shortlist is
always the one white
Illude Rad Rat that
I had already caught
over sixty fish on
at that point.
It only took two
night missions for
me to once again
find that my top
producing topwater
swimbait was the Rad
Rat. The Rad Rat's
loud clack and
ability to be worked
at slow to moderate
speeds make it
absolutely deadly
for fishing after
dark.
After contacting
Illude directly I
was able to learn
more about the
history of the bait
and procure a second
Rad Rat, a nude
pattern Day Shift
Price and
Applications:
Who would have
thought a bait that
I had let sit idle
for a whole year was
now my confidence
topwater bait, both
during the day and
night? I knew I had
to get more! Which
is the biggest
challenge with the
Rad Rat. Like many
other custom bait
builders Illude is a
small custom shop
and demand is far
greater than supply.
The more I learned
about Illude the
more I was further
drawn to the bait. I
discovered that
though the company
is based in New York
that the creator and
head luresmith,
Lendl Ha, had roots
here in the Bay Area
and grew up fishing
the very same lakes
here in Northern
California that I
did when I was
learning to bass
fish, started
TackleTour, and
still leave near
today, and that he
went to the same
school that I did,
and had shared his
initial technical
drawings and
prototypes with the
Coyote Bait and
Tackle team when
conceptualizing his
very first baits,
and creating the
Illude brand itself.
It reminded me of
how small of a world
this is, and how the
tackle industry, and
especially the
swimbait community,
is an even smaller
one.
What makes the
Illude Rad Rat such
a great night bait
is the ability to
wake the lure at
multiple speeds
while generating
that unique high
pitched knocking
clack sound
Though Illude has
significantly grown
their following
Lendl's commitment
to quality remains.
Each and every
single Rad Rat is
still handmade, hand
painted, and even
swim tested before
the rat is shipped
to their new home.
For
my second rat I
placed an order
directly with Lendl
and a few months
later my new Rad was
finally ready for me, a nude
pattern that was
more of an off-white
color than my
original white one.
Like the original,
the attention to
details, down to the
characteristic
notches in the ears,
was perfect. I
noticed that the
hips on my second
bait was slightly
larger to than my
original, and yet
when I swam it the
signature waking
motion and audible clack
were exactly what I
expected. Just as
before, each and
every bait is still
hand
carved, balanced,
and tested. The
result is
exceptional
consistency, and
absolutely no
tuning is necessary
to start fishing the
Rad Rat effectively right out of
the box.
The Rad Rat
continues to prove
itself and has
become my go to
night fishing
topwater bait
In terms of
durability the Rad
Rat holds up
extremely well, and
while there is some
hook rash on my two
baits I'm very
impressed with how well the
lures have held up
to some of the most
viscous topwater
strikes I've ever
had the pleasure of
witnessing. I've
also only had one of
the hand poured tails rip free, which
is a lot less than
I've had come off
other rat baits with
exposed wind-on
springs.
Illude also sells replacements
in a variety of
colors
directly on their
site if you need
them and they come
in 3-packs for only
$3.00.
The Day Shift models
feature a clear
bill. If you can
only get one Rad Rat
this is the one to
get, as it can
effectively be
fished day or
night... but the
carbon lipped Night
Shift models look so
darn cool and yes, I
want one!
Both of my Rad Rats
originate from the
company's Day Shift
Series which
essentially means
that they utilize a
clear Lexan style
lip, versus the
opaque carbon fiber lip.
This makes the
profile clearer in
bright light, while
the carbon fiber lip
doesn't impact the
visual profile in
the dark, and is
also very durable...and let's
face it, it just
looks really cool.
If you are only
going to get one Rad
Rat I'd recommend
the standard Day
Shift model as it
can be fished day or
night just as well.
My go to rod for
fishing thing Rad
Rat has been the
Megabass Destroyer
Onager, followed by
the Mark 48
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