Woodrow Rasta Rat

[jkarol24]

Swimbait Review: Woodrow 3 PC Rasta Rat

The Rasta Rat by Woodrow is a 3-segment wooden rat, featuring a natural stained wood grain finish and a soft plastic creme tail affixed via free-swinging screw lock. The Rasta comes in at 7" (body length), and I'd estimate about 3 ounces. 

The standard straight retrieve at medium/slow speed produces a subtle waking action on the surface. The lexan bill causes the head to turn slightly back and forth with minimal roll, and also create a subtle bulging wake. The mid and rear sections are thrown side to side, and is where lost of the action of the bait is seen. Due to its wooden construction, there is also some audible click created by the joints. 

Reducing speed opens the swim up a bit wider, as the rear kicks further and the soft plastic tail has more freedom of movement. Concersly, adding speed tightens the action, but also causes some more surface commotion and wake. The Rasta continues to be a wake up to about a medium speed, at which time it begins to dive.

The Rasta will get down 2-3 ft on a medium retrieve with the rod tip down at the water. The swim is very similar to that of the wake:  head hunt is subtle, as the rear sections kick and swim. The tail stays slightly more centered, and it is not laborious to crank the rat down (minimal reel handle torque). The Rasta will crank down until about medium fast, at which it has some hunting action. adding greater speed causes the hunting action to overtake the bait. 

Last, the Rasta can be walked on the surface in two ways. The rod tip twitch/cadence walk works well, albeit slightly inconsistent. Once you get the feel of it, the rat will turn and splash pretty well. The key is to keep the head of the bait horizontal and upright- if you hit it too hard, it will nose down and not want to turn... You can also slow walk the rat with easier rod tip pulls, and get the bait to perform more consistent. This retrieve also tends to catch some water and make a splashing and bopping noise if hit just right. 

I threw the Rasta Rat on a Levaithan Heavy paired with a Curado 300E. I utilized a #5 Decoy snap, tied onto 20 lb copoly. Braid or mono would also be fine choices. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday, and spend some quality time with family and friends this holiday and Christmas season. See ya next week. 

 

[Staogtepi]

3 hours ago, jkarol24 said:

Swimbait Review: Woodrow 3 PC Rasta Rat

The Rasta Rat by Woodrow is a 3-segment wooden rat, featuring a natural stained wood grain finish and a soft plastic creme tail affixed via free-swinging screw lock. The Rasta comes in at 7" (body length), and I'd estimate about 3 ounces. 

The standard straight retrieve at medium/slow speed produces a subtle waking action on the surface. The lexan bill causes the head to turn slightly back and forth with minimal roll, and also create a subtle bulging wake. The mid and rear sections are thrown side to side, and is where lost of the action of the bait is seen. Due to its wooden construction, there is also some audible click created by the joints. 

Reducing speed opens the swim up a bit wider, as the rear kicks further and the soft plastic tail has more freedom of movement. Concersly, adding speed tightens the action, but also causes some more surface commotion and wake. The Rasta continues to be a wake up to about a medium speed, at which time it begins to dive.

The Rasta will get down 2-3 ft on a medium retrieve with the rod tip down at the water. The swim is very similar to that of the wake:  head hunt is subtle, as the rear sections kick and swim. The tail stays slightly more centered, and it is not laborious to crank the rat down (minimal reel handle torque). The Rasta will crank down until about medium fast, at which it has some hunting action. adding greater speed causes the hunting action to overtake the bait. 

Last, the Rasta can be walked on the surface in two ways. The rod tip twitch/cadence walk works well, albeit slightly inconsistent. Once you get the feel of it, the rat will turn and splash pretty well. The key is to keep the head of the bait horizontal and upright- if you hit it too hard, it will nose down and not want to turn... You can also slow walk the rat with easier rod tip pulls, and get the bait to perform more consistent. This retrieve also tends to catch some water and make a splashing and bopping noise if hit just right. 

I threw the Rasta Rat on a Levaithan Heavy paired with a Curado 300E. I utilized a #5 Decoy snap, tied onto 20 lb copoly. Braid or mono would also be fine choices. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday, and spend some quality time with family and friends this holiday and Christmas season. See ya next week. 

 

Always great reviews. Thanks