Dexterity: When I mentioned earlier the Water Vole has all the features of a full sized rat, but in a smaller package, I meant it. Because this bait is in a smaller package, it can also do some things that are very difficult to achieve with a three ounce or more bait. You can cast and pitch the Water Vole into tight spaces. I'm talking underneath overhanging branches, under docks, in and around stumps, logs, or submerged brush. Paired with a short, stout rod like the WSC68XXH-5, I was able to fish the Water Vole more like a frog into spots that had Zander exclaiming from the front of the boat, "oooh nice cast."

Equipped with swiveling hook hangars, this diminutive bait has a lot of features normally reserved for bigger bait

Once the Water Vole touched down, a couple of twitches with the rod to verify its readiness to swim reveals a bait that can be retrieved at just about any speed and stay on top. A lot of so-called wake baits will crank down once you pick up the speed of your retrieve. That's fine if you want that versatility, but the Water Vole is not a hybrid. This is a true wake bait that will also walk in place with proper encouragement (i.e. if you twitch it in place).

The reverse-V joint results in more water movement a bait of this size should make

Drawing Power: What I found most surprising about this diminutive rodent-like bait was the amount of water it moves and the sound it makes. I like to think this is the reasoning behind the reverse orientation of the bait's joint. It stands to reason that back section catches more water in this orientation forcing it to swing from side to side with more force than if the joint were oriented in a more streamlined fashion.

The sections are held together via a pin and screw eye connection

However it is achieved, this little vole of a bait actually clacks. Whether knocks, clacks, or thumps truly attract fish or not, what they do achieve is to build confidence in me that they will do exactly that. Despite it's small size, Cl8Bait's Water Vole inspires a lot of confidence it's going to be absolutely destroyed during its swim back to your position in the boat or on the shore. This is a surprising little bait.

This bait's smaller size helps it hold up better than a larger bait that will get thrashed about

Vitality: The Water Vole is a durable little bait. Because of its size, it is easily engulfed by just about any fish with the appetite to strike and because the hook hangars are swiveling, the small #4 sized trebles seem to hold up well. Even if not, they are easily replaced. The bait's whiskers can get bent out of shape during storage, but they somehow straighten out after a couple swims back from your casts. If anything, the most vulnerable aspect of this bait is that soft plastic tail, but that can easily be replaced as well with just about any soft plastic worm. Just trim to size and screw it onto the back.

Bait Detail : A feature and dimension breakdown of the CL8Baits Water Vole as detailed by our Swimbait SkunkWerx division
 

Price & Availability: Not only is the Water Vole effective and durable, but it's accessible. Retailing for just $21.99, you can find this bait anywhere that carries the Cl8Bait product. There are at least five colors from which to choose and each bait comes in the signature, Cl8Bait clear plastic tube.

Conclusion: Cl8Baits has no shortage of rodent-like bait offerings from the full sized Possum to the crank-like Mighty Mouse. As much as I enjoy throwing big, full sized rat baits, the Water Vole truly surprised me. Some of it must be due to the right place at the right time scenario because after a full season of tossing a variety of full sized rats, it was kind of like a vacation slinging the Water Vole around. Fished at the same time with three other combos rigged with full sized rat baits, I found myself reaching for this bait more often than the others because I could place the Water Vole in places I could not cast the larger baits and also, it's just easier to fish.

The Water Vole truly surprised me with its deceitfully good performance. This bait is a true sleeper. It looks small and unassuming but it delivers great action, knocking sound, and strikes!

The bait's wake is obviously not as large as a bigger bait, but the noise it makes (also proportional to its size) is surprising and the fact it's almost as easy to cast and place as a hollow bodied frog is something that cannot be said about larger profile baits. I'm one of those big bait enthusiasts that scoffed at the idea of this bait, but after casting all four of the baits mentioned in this article, the Water Vole quickly took first place as the sleeper assassin of Cl8Bait's rodent squad.