Unconventional Rats: Like other lure categories, rat swimbaits continue to evolve, and there's always room for innovation. These rats break the mold of traditional designs through unique construction or fresh concepts. If you're looking to throw something different, these are the baits that don't fit the conventional rat profile. They've caught our attention for their distinctive designs, standout features, or exceptional value - placing them right on the edge of the typical categories and offering something truly unique.

A rat style bait with no tail? Meet the Throwback Bad Bunny

Throwback Bad Bunny: Technically a wood rat, the Throwback Bad Bunny is a mid-sized bait that stands out with its unique design - featuring a cute, rounded bunny - like face and a carved round tail instead of the typical long rat tail. The Bad Bunny is available with various lip options, including clear Lexan or carbon fiber, and it sports a glossy coating over the entire bait to protect the wood body. Some models come with a white belly, helping the lure mimic not only a struggling rodent but also a distressed baitfish.

The Bad Bunny features a cottontail in the rear and is available in a variety of different finishes and lip types, including carbon fiber

The Bad Bunny draws fish in with an incredibly loud knock produced by its wooden body and large contact surface in the joint. The carbon-lipped version is somehow even louder! While it may not look like your conventional rat, sometimes that's exactly what makes it so effective. Highly collectible, the Bad Bunny is a fun and unique addition to any angler's arsenal. I especially recommend it for night fishing, where its loud knock helps fish lock on for some truly epic splash hits. Retailing around $210, the Bad Bunny is reasonably hard to find and typically available through drops from Throwback's own site, select tackle shops, and at events like Toxic Day.

Examples of the many Bad Bunny finishes at Toxic Day 4

Dead Rat: One of the coolest new rats on the market comes from Dead Bait, a fresh collaboration between Illude, Lunker Fighters, and Bass Espionage. Like the other baits from this team, the attention to detail is exceptional-but what really sets Dead Bait apart is that these production rats are crafted using 3D printing technology. The Dead Rat is the brand's debut offering, and it's a standout. I've already landed fish up to seven pounds on it.

The Dead Rat is a 3D printed rat

Thanks to the thermoplastic monomer material, it delivers a surprisingly loud knock. It's also one of the best twitch rats I've fished, boasting a compact profile and high buoyancy that make it incredibly easy to animate. Each bait retains subtle textures from the 3D printing process, giving it a unique look. Durability is top-notch too, with lips and hardware reminiscent of Lunker Fighters, and of course, each Dead Rat comes standard with that fantastic Illude tail. Measuring 4 inches in body length and 9 inches total with the tail, the Dead Rat weighs just 2 ounces, making it effortless to bring to life on the cast and retrieve. One of the main reasons this team launched Dead Bait was to offer a more affordable rat, with the Dead Rat retailing for $65. And this is just the beginning - the team is already developing a variety of 3D-printed baits, including the Dead Fish and Stogie walking baits, promising more innovation to come.

The Dead Rat has been holding up well and is really easy to walk. It has already resulted in some really quality fish for me

FishLab BBZ Bio-Rat: FishLab is known for two things: baits that break the mold and pricing that makes quality tackle accessible to all anglers. When Bill Siemental joined Mike Bennett and the FishLab team, it was only a matter of time before BBZ-style baits made their way into the lineup. Unlike conventional rats that rely on jointed segments for sound and action, the FishLab BBZ Bio-Rat Rat blends elements of a surface plug and a buzzbait.

The FishLab BBZ Bio-Rat is quite unlike any other rat on this list

Its rotating rear feet create a distinctive plopping sound and bubble churn behind the bait as it's retrieved. This rat is an excellent choice for early mornings or late nights - perfect for situations where you'd typically fish a Plopper-style bait.

This is not a knock rat but rather a plopper style bait with rotating feet

There are two sizes 7.5" and 10" and they both work well as a search bait, whether retrieved slowly or burned across large areas of water, generating plenty of strikes. Easy to fish for anglers who prefer less rod work or bait walking, the FishLab BBZ Bio-Rat Rat also comes at a very reasonable price of only $14.98 to $24.99 at Tackle Warehouse.

Available in two sizes and fished more like a plopper or buzzbait than a walking rat and effective over open water and as a search bait

Savage Gear 3D Rad Rat: Like many Savage Gear baits, this rat was born from a 3D scan of an actual rodent to achieve anatomical authenticity. Of all the rats we've fished, it probably looks the most like a real rat - especially with its detailed arms and feet protruding from the body.

The Savage Gear 3D Rad Rat looks the most like an actual rat

Unlike louder wood or resin rats, this bait doesn't produce a loud knock due to its plastic body and joint design, but it swims with a very convincing, natural action. Instead of the typical metal hinge connection between segments, the Savage 3D Rad Rat uses a heavy-duty flexible mesh that gives the bait a solid profile and smooth movement. Additional realistic touches include the carefully painted tail placement, protruding ears, and even a few whiskers.

The smaller version is a little more streamlined and both feature a mesh joint versus metal hardware

Available in single - and dual-jointed versions, the smaller rat measures 6.5 inches and weighs 3/4 ounce, while the larger one is 7.75 inches and weighs 1 ounce. I've lost a few arms and tails from explosive strikes, but at a very affordable retail price of $16.99 to $24.99 each at Tackle Warehouse, it's easy to shrug off the occasional damage.

The Zombie Triple XL baits from Lunker Fighters dwarf other rats and are nearly 10 ounces! 

Illude and Zombie XL: Looking for the biggest, baddest rat on the market? No surprise - the man himself is behind the extremely limited Illude Rad Rat XL and Zombie XL swimbaits. These rats are absolutely massive. The resin-based Zombie Triple XL takes things to a whole new level with its huge profile and weight just under 10 ounces - casting it requires serious dedication and muscle.

You need a serious setup to sling one these...

...and some of that go big or go home mentality

The Illude Rad Rat XL is smaller and lighter than the Zombie Triple XL at 4.5 ounces but still dwarfs other Illude Rad Rats, including the Rad 10 and Trip Dub. These highly collectible baits retail for around $300-$350 dollars retail and are for those that really want to present a larger profile with the hope that each and every cast has the chance of enticing your next PB to strike.

The Illude Rad Triple Double XL is also massive, but not as big as the Zombie Triple XL, and makes the Rad Double look small

Conclusion: Our Rat Rumble continues as both tackle manufacturers and custom garage builders push the boundaries with new rat swimbaits. The options are vast - some are fishable works of art, others are proven fish catchers, and many offer excellent value for anglers just starting out in the rat game. These twenty rats are our top picks across various categories.

Whatever your rat of choice these baits can be extremely effective when you bring them to life and unlock their full potential

Whether you're a seasoned ratter or casting a rat for the first time, understanding the unique characteristics of your wood, resin, or plastic bait's materials and design, and having the patience to bring it to life with different retrieves will unlock the bait's full potential and lead to those epic takedowns. Rumble on!