As luck would have it, in one of my efforts to cast the LitRat as close as possible to the shoreline, I overshot by a few inches and landed it right up between two rocks on a levee. As it landed with a very painful "CLACK," it was as if I was transported back in time. Only this time, I had a sickening feeling take over me. I thought for sure I at least broke the lure's lip and from the sound of it, I feared much worse.

As the weather heated up, so did the bite

On the plus side, the bait wasn't stuck and with a snap of the rod tip, I was able to bounce the bait out from between the rock and a hard place and into the water. Fearing the worst as I began my retrieve, I was shocked to see the bait actually sloshing its way back to me. My thoughts then turned to the bait's body. It must have cracked.

That cast I made with this bait up onto the rock levee resulted scar behind the ear and...

Of course, no fish interrupted the remainder of that retrieve or it would have been REALLY interesting, but upon close inspection after the LitRat made it back to the boat, the only evidence of damage were a couple of character building battle scars along the bait's back. I'm not certain a wood bait would have survived such an incident. To be honest, I'm not sure how the LitRat did. I'm just thankful that didn't happen with my custom colored variant.

... this chip in the back. The bait was otherwise undamaged

Wear marks on the bait are visible but still subtle on the white bait.

To compliment that durable, resin body, the LitRat is outfitted with quality hardware. Otherwise, hook rash and other scratches are part of the game but LitLures goes the extra mile trying to match resin color with the exterior finish so those eventual scratches will not look too out of place. Each bait comes with spare tails for easy replacement, but just about any plastic worm will suffice - especially if it floats.

Bait Detail : A feature and dimension breakdown of the LitLures LitRat as detailed by our Swimbait SkunkWerx division

Price & Availability: Availability of the LitLures LitRat is fluid. Early on, LeMar worked through a waiting list, but closed that out due to the unpredictable nature of production times tied to the availability of raw material and other resources. Moving forward, the plan is to offer random, monthly drops through social media of fifteen to twenty baits at a time. Retail price on the basic, solid colored LitRats is $120, and collaborative colors are priced at $160 per bait. As with all things in the garage bait market, prices and availability are subject to change.

Conclusion: Jesse La Mar's stated goal with his LitRat was to build a bait that would have minimal instances of fouling so the angler can spend more time fishing and less time with wasted casts. As it turns out, because I am the pro that I am, I was able to foul cast his rat bait several times, but that was from line entanglement and not any fault of hook placement. It happens. The only real criticism I have of this bait is I wish the ring at the front of the bait were solid instead of a split ring. I might still use a snap to attach anyway, but solid rings on a custom garage bait like this just gives the bait an extra degree of refinement. Make no mistake about it, the LitRat is solid build and very refined. It has a very fishy slosh with just the ever so subtle knock as it swims. Were it not for the fact, there are several baits waiting for their turn to be fished, I'd probably fish the LitRat all year long. It is a confidence inspiring bait earning this Editor's Choice Award.