Hey all! Just wanted to start a discussion about these rat baits. Spro BBZ 1 rat, Jerry Rago Alpha Rat, and the CL8 rats come to mind.

A couple of years ago, I bought a CL8 baits Vole and have thrown it a couple of times without success. After reading the articles and watching the videos out there, it seems that people are throwing these baits in relatively heavy cover. It completely baffles me as you're basically throwing a 1oz crankbait across lily pads etc.

Anyways, let's hear about your successes, how and where to throw these baits.

Are you sure they're throwing rat wake baits in heavy weeds? Or are they throwing hollow bodied rats in the thick stuff? 

I like to fish them around cover, overgrown banks, around edges, anywhere a bass is likely to be and the chances of a terrestrial animal being in the water are higher. I generally do best walking one slowly versus a steady retrieve. I feel like a rat or mouse is likely to be a little stunned or surprised by it's predicament when it ends up in the water and might not immediately take of swimming, so when my bait first splashes down I give it a few seconds to sit before I start twitched it so it walks side to side. After I clear the high percentage areas, then I'll do a slow, steady retrieve back to the boat. Most bites are either while the bait is walking, or almost immediately when I start the straight retrieve.