Clicking over my reel to begin my retrieve, I was actually a little disappointed to discover the FP Rat is a crankdown, not a waking bait. It dives a good three to five feet below the surface and actually behaves like a two-piece square bill ( with a tail ). The difference here, at least with this color pattern is you can see it snaking below the surface. Given the right water clarity, those white diamonds along the bait's back and that segmented tail are easily seen from quite a distance away and are almost hypnotizing as you swim the bait back to your position.

This segmented tail, while effective, is not one of my favorite solutions

Drawing Power: There are no rattles within the bait and as far as I can tell, there is no real sound made when the bait's two pieces collide via its angled joint, so the only real draw this bait has is its swimming motion. Because of this, I did my best to crash it into rocks or stumps and even rip it through sparse weed patches to draw strikes. Simply swimming the bait freely past potential trouble spots yielded little interest. Like a squarebill, I think this bait needs the disruption of bumping into or being ripped free of something to draw a reaction bite.

The biggest mystery, not just with the FP Rat, but really, all of Monka Lure Work's product, is when will they be available again

Vitality: The FP Rat is a resin bait made with a good grade of components that holds up relatively well. The finish is susceptible to the usual hook rash and the only real area of concern I have is how long the segmented plastic tail will hold up. Even then, given it's attached to the rear split ring, replacements or substitutes can easily be made with the help of a centering pin and your favorite soft plastic worm.

Bait Detail : A feature and dimension breakdown of the Monka Lure Works FP Rat as detailed by our Swimbait SkunkWerx division

Price & Availability: The greatest mystery behind this bait is its availability. Originally released at $160 per bait, there were only a handful of copies available during the two drops on IG. They were not even offered through the few online retailers that normally had Monkas. Was this bait a one time deal or will there be future opportunities to snag one and if so, what funky color schemes will the manufacturer employ?

Conclusion: Monka Lure Works has a knack for creating really fun, unique, interesting baits. The different patterns and faces on their FP and FPJ crawlers are nothing short of artistic genius. Their infrequent availability and cost to acquire are enough to turn a lot of potential customers away, but it is that exact quality that makes them an attractive acquisition to others. At this moment, the FP Rat is as rare as they come. Are there more in production? When will they be available? Was this a one time deal? We do not know the answer to any of these questions and that's what makes this bait so intriguing. While I like this bait for what it is, a crank down, I was really hoping for a wake bait. Then again, with Monka, one never knows, so perhaps a wake is in the works. There are so many amazing Monka patterns but they are really only accessible in Japan, and between the Monka rat and the FP or FPJ crawler our preference is the bait with wings!