Hi,

 

I have been fishing the BBZ Rats for a while now, both the 50 and 40 sizes, and have been having a lot of luck with them.  However, I have been losing tails at an alarming rate.  They are a pain to replace on the water as once the toothpick is wet, it's very hard to get out.  I would rather not lug around a spare Rat, so I am looking for a solution to make the tails a bit more durable and easier to replace.

 

I know some other Rat lures use rubber worms as tails and I was thinking of trying that.  The only worms I have on hand that are close to the right size are Trickworms, and they are not a great fit in the 50 and far too big on the 40.  Before I go order a bunch of different yellow worms, can anyone recommend a brand that they know is a good fit?  I am going to use small finishing nails to hold the tail on, that will be super easy to replace on the water.  

How many fish do you think you average before switching tails?  I'm at about 40 on mine and it doesn't look like replacing the tail will be something I need to do anytime soon.

I use Zoom trick worms and they last a long time. 

Man, I've been fishing rats for a long time, but I swear I've never "lost" a tail. They get beat up and I fix them with mend-it, but I have not "lost" one, ever. I will admit I have not fished a BBZ rat though.

 

To answer your question, any floating- or even non-floating- straight tail worm will do, but try the V and M pork pin worms.

BBZ  rats are package with a spare tail, color doesn't seem to be critical, black at night and white during the day works for all the colors. Tail dia is 5/16 (.312).

Tom

My biggest issue has been the first joint separating too much so that it has the flexibility to snag the back hook. Tying the tails on with line works better than toothpicks.

18 hours ago, bigbassin' said:

How many fish do you think you average before switching tails?  I'm at about 40 on mine and it doesn't look like replacing the tail will be something I need to do anytime soon.

It seems like anywhere from 2-10.  The last tail-break came on the first big bass I got on the lure, it somehow snapped as the bass thrashed in open water.  It happens often enough to be annoying, esp as I am either on foot or in a yak, so storage is limited in terms of just bringing backup lures.  

 

17 hours ago, WRB said:

BBZ  rats are package with a spare tail, color doesn't seem to be critical, black at night and white during the day works for all the colors. 

 

I want so badly to believe that, but I swear that I get more hits on the Chartreuse tails vs the Purple one.  

 

A Trickworm will fit in the 50, but not well.  Trimmed to match the factory tail, the worm is too thick to fit in the hole.  Left full length, it does fit but only the slender tip of the worm gets pierced with the toothpick and they don't last long.  I am also still left with finding a worm that works with the smaller 40 rats.  

I’m glad someone is catching fish with the Spro rat. I feel as though they caught me for buying the thing.

Would a zman finesse or trick worm fit? They're pretty indestructible as long as they don't share space with any other normal plastisol baits.