Illude/Lunker Fighter Gas Rat

[jkarol24]

Swimbait Review: Illude / Lunker Fighters Gas Rat

The Gas Rat by Lunker Fighters is a 3 pc resin top water wake n crank, featuring a clear plastic bill (new version) and soft floating runner tail. This particular bait is an exclusive teal collaboration colorway with Bad News Bass. The Gas Rat comes in at 5.5" Body Length (approx 10.5" including tail) and 3 ounces. 

The straight retrieve on the Gas Rat gets the baits head hunting/thumping hard back and forth in a slight nose-down posture, with the 2nd bulbous section rolling back and forth and producing the signature waking action. The rear section and tail follow along in a fluid side to side manner. As well, the angler will notice a subtle but present knocking/clicking sound as the segments collide. The noise is not as loud as the Illude wooden rats, due to the resin construction of the Gas Rat. 

The bait also does very nicely on the slow crawl, and will swim as slow as I can turn the handle of my 5.8:1 ratio reel. The action seems to almost be accentuated, with body roll becoming much more apparent, being lead by the head that rolls 180 degrees from side to side. The swim becomes a lazy S motion, and the soft tail continues to kick with ease. 

The Gas Rat will also walk, although thr angler must pay attention. Subtle, short, and slow rod tip pulls will get the bait walking back and forth in a subtle but fluid motion, with a small amount of splash and surface disturbance. Utilizing a rod with with soft tip, along with line with stretch, certainly helps. Also, waiting until the Rat settles in an upright position will help- the walk causes the bait to roll on its side as it is turning... Ignoring this recommendation will cause the Rat to flip upside down at times, and shoot forward as opposed to turning side to side. It did not take long to get in tuned with this specific retrieve. 

The Gas Rat turns into a crankdown at about medium to medium-fast, and will dive to about 4 ft on a full long cast as faster speeds. Half casts and moderate speeds will get the bait down about 2 ft. The swim is very consistent, and not much different than the wake. The bait also thumps all the way back to the rod. 

I must thank Lendl for addressing some issues I had with this bait originally. The original bait was very speed-specific and didn't like to swim at certain cadences. The new bill design, along with the cleaned-up joints seems to have fixed the previous issues, and I am satisfied with the bait. I thank Lendl for being upfront and honest about the issues of some of the Gas Rats, and he will continue to stand behind his baits. 

I threw the Gas Rat on a custom Leviathan 7 ft 9 Heavy, paired with a Tranx 400 and 25 lb XXX Copoly. The bait really works best with a moderate action rod if you intend to walk it, but you could always use a heavier and longer rod (along with braid) if you're only waking/cranking. 25 lb line is also overkill, but I prefer to use heavier line when fishing around cover. 

Hope you enjoyed the review! See you next week!