Stray Rats Rocker

jkarol24 · August 22, 2021

Swimbait Review: Stray Rats Rocker

I was looking through some old files, and realized I never released this video. Better late than never I suppose!

The Stray Rats Rocker is their mid-sized offering within their rat lineup, sandwiched between the big Rumble and smaller one piece Cruzr. The Rocket is a "typical" sized rat on the market, measuring in at 5" (10.5" including tail) and 2.75 oz of resin. The rocker comes with size 1 ST 36 and heavy duty split rings, a long replaceable tail, and mine also came with a slick custom paint scheme (I believe done in house). The bait retails at $100 plus shipping, but expect to pay slightly more on the 2nd hand market.

The standard straight retrieve is very fluid and natural, with the long tail almost providing a snake-like appearance in the water. A head bob gets the rear section and tail moving back and forth, with a very consistent and stable action. At a slow to medium speed the bait stays pretty upright, with only a slight body roll present. Due to its resin nature, there is not much in way of knock, but there is a subtle click as the two halves bang together.

Slower down to a crawl introduces quite a bit more body roll, giving the bait more action even at slower speeds. The head rolls back and forth with a slightly wider hunt, and that roll is transfered throughout the bait, creating some flash of contrast between the white belly and painted sides. I was able to maintain this action at a very slow speed, and the bait never over-rolled or lost its stability.

The Rocker will also walk as expected, although the angler needs to be cognizant to not hit it too hard. Subtle rod tip bumps will get the bait walking back and forth with easy 180 degree turns, creating more of that body roll, click, and slight water splash. Hitting the bait too hard (especially close to the angler) will result in the bait rolling over, but I did not find it to be problematic.

The rocker will also crank down about a foot on a medium to medium fast retrieve with rod tip down, and doesn't get much deeper than that. The action is similar to the moderate wake, with a very stable and true head action with limited body roll. Again, the long tail provides a natural snake-like swimming motion as it makes it way back to the angler.

I threw the Rocker on a tranx 400 (a smaller reel would be just fine) paired with a Dobyns 806 or 795. The Tranx was spooled with 20 lb copoly, but mono would work fine as well. I believe braid would be suitable as well, but it may be harder to walk due to the no stretch nature of the line.

Thanks for joining along, hope you enjoyed. See ya next Sunday!