I am a sucker for a surface lure. Spook, deadstick, rat. I fish surface every month of the year under all conditions. I started using the rat last year and found it to be very effective however I wanted it a little bigger and noisier. Also had a big problem with the tail. I figured I needed 3 rats. One on the end of the line, one ready to go when the tail ripped off of the one I was using, and one with the tail glue drying.

While I was cleaning the boat after a killer day on the surface, I noticed crazy glue on the gunnel of the Ranger; it was from gluing the rat-tails. I decided it was time to build my own rat (for personnel use) and do away with the tail problem, also making it bigger and louder.

On my first try with a piece of hardwood I had what I was looking for. I could not believe how loud it was; also I solved the tail problem. Instead of gluing the tail in a hole I epoxyed a hitchhiker in the hole (can be purchased from Barlow’s). I now screw the tail on instead of gluing it. It is a much faster set-up. I get a lot more casts in a day, and the tail holds better. Also I don’t miss gluing my fingers together (an I the only one that has ever done that).

A hitchhiker can be epoxyed in your current rat lure and do away with the time consuming mess of gluing in a tail. This should be a big plus for tournament jocks, getting extra casts in could mean a check.

The epoxy I found that works the best is the five minute gel. The hitchhiker can be placed in the epoxy and the gel is thick enough to hold the hitchhiker so it doesn’t move before drying.

Rat fisherman, I hope I have helped.

Henry

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I was fishing with a friend last week. We were walking rats along rocky shorelines. The person I was fishing with was not the most accurate caster. He hit the rocks often (he was using my lures), which resulted in breaking off two hitchhikers from the rat lures. Also he bounced a fish off the deck of the boat and broke the hitchhiker off a lure. I had a dozen and a half rats on the boat so just changing lures was the solution. Even though I have been using an epoxied hitchhiker for two months without a failure, the incidence gave me a reason to build the rat so the hitchhiker can be replaced while fishing.

I drilled out the epoxy and the remains of the broken hitchhiker and screw in a small screw eye just below the surface. The hitchhiker then can be snapped on the eye or (even better) cut and shorten the snap end of the hitchhiker and make a bend tighter to the coils, which when done accurately mean the hitchhiker is exposed the same length as if it were epoxied in. The tail is a little harder to install because the hitchhiker is not ridged however this method holds the tail as well as the epoxied method.

Hope I have helped.

Henry

P.S. I have been experimenting with different hardwoods (and combinations of hardwoods glued together) in regards to action, weight, sound, color, etc. On the internet, I learned about an African hardwood that is decay resistant, dense, has a good sound and great color. It is a deep brownish red. I am into the color of the wood because most of the rat lures I make are not painted, just a clear finish. Anyway I was lucky enough to obtain some of the African wood, check out the color on the attachment.


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Thank you Henry, I like your new replacable hitch-hiker rig you came up with, it looks as though it will give the tail more action too. If you don't thread the tail all the way snug to the lure it will probably rotate around on the eyelet.

Anyway, very cool idea, thanks for sharing.

Trever-

Henry,

Thanks for taking the time to show that mod. The first Rago Rat fish I ever caught bit my tail off and I didn't have much luck the rest of that day without the tail :)

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