Dexterity: A long cast sees the Johnny Rat soaring through the air in a direct fashion, with little “sailing” or tumbling. On the splash-down, the bait sits extremely horizontal at rest, with both front and rear sections split nearly in two by the waterline. The soft plastic creme worm finds its home at about a 45 degree angle, sinking slowly at rest. However, as soon as you turns the reel handle, the tail comes back to the surface, following along with the rear of the bait in a natural “S” pattern.

Anticipation of that strike on every cast is addicting

One of the interesting features of this bait is that it will wake at all retrieve speeds. Many rat-style baits, and really, wake baits in general, will begin to dive below the surface at a pace beyond a moderate retrieve. The Johnny Rat bucks this trend, and instead will stay on the surface all the way up to a burn, frothing the surface at any speed the angler wishes to employ.

This can be either a positive or negative depending on both your preference and that of the fish you are targeting. The Johnny Rat does create quite a bit of feedback once speed is increased, and this is where a torque-heavy low ratio reel shines. In all testing, I had no issue burning either bait and experienced no blowouts or loss of direction.

The full size Johnny at rest

Walk-The-Rat? While it seems obvious that a topwater wake bait like a rat will indeed wake, another under appreciated presentation is the walk. Now, I'm not talking about a foot-long side to side, punker-style glide; however, I am referring to a rat’s ability to turn 180 degrees on itself in a pivoting/walking fashion. This retrieve style can produce a ton of commotion on the water’s surface, and is especially effective while working the bait in and around heavy cover such as laydowns and bluff walls. With short and firm downward snaps of the rod tip (think about how you would walk a hollow-bodied frog), the Johnny Rat will turn back and forth with relative ease. This creates a splash of water, along with a tail whip and a joint clack to call up a hungry bass. The bait will stay relatively in one place, while causing a significant amount of drawing attention. This bait stays very horizontal in relation to the water, and turns on an imaginary axis at the joint. It is equally as easy to walk the Johnny in a slow and methodical fashion as it is to fast-walk the bait back and forth without pause.

The Little Johnny in the water

Drawing Power: Rat enthusiasts have long-debated what makes a rat-style bait more appealing to the target species. Some say that a specific tail whoosh is the trigger, or the loud clack of wood on wood contact. Maybe its an aggressive head knock, or that Defined V-Wake created on the surface of the water. Whatever “IT” is, the Johnny Rat has it. On a steady retrieve, this bait has a hard-thumping back and forth head bob, forcing the rear section to knock back and forth in the opposing direction.

This is where the Johnny Rat stands out - look at the size of that wake!

As the head turns, the front and rear section make contact at the joint, producing a pronounced knock that is indicative of a wooden bait. I did find that the Little Johnny had a louder and higher-pitched noise than its larger counterpart, with the original Johnny Rat producing a deeper and quieter thud. I'm not sure if that was due to the different finishes or the bait's construction. Either way, both baits also create an audible whooshing noise as they swim followed by a prominent V shaped wake from the head of the bait. This wake is present 10 feet or more behind the bait as the Johnny slithers across the surface.

It's difficult to think about bait maintenance when the rat bite is on!

Vitality: I keep a close eye on the surface of all my prized (and pricey) wooden baits. While the Johnny Rat is coated with a 3500 PSI epoxy clear coat, it is not indestructible. Over time, both hook points and errant casts will result in chipping of the clearcoat, leading to exposed wood that may absorb water over time. A quick and easy bandaid to address this issue is to cover any exposures with clear nail polish, but an investment in a 2-part epoxy is a longer term solution.

The full size Johnny comes with quad hooks

My Little Johnny bait I features a glossy black paint and clear by Hiroshima Customs. Over time, I did notice that hook points were penetrating the bait’s clear shell, creating hook rash that I'll need to address. My full-sized Johnny features a carp-patterned realistic wrap, a technique that includes adhering an ultra-realistic printed film to the bait in place of paint, and then covered in a clear coat. This particular bait has seen heavy use, and has lost a decent bit of its clear coat. This also resulted in some tearing and scuffing of the wrap underneath. Pretty normal really and I'll need to address both baits soon, but it's tough during rat season!

Durability is not this bait's strong suit

In terms of hardware, the Johnny Rat features a substantial screw-eye line tie and hook hangers, inspiring heavy use and abuse without failure. As well, the joint connection consists of a larger screw eye affixed to the front half of the bait connected with a solid metal pin running vertically through the rear section. A horizontal cut-out in the rear joint allows for freedom of movement laterally, while remaining solid and precise. A clear lexan bill adorns the head of the bait, as is standard practice for this genre of bait.

The Johnny Rat (right) and Little Johnny (left) retail for $184.99 and $169.99 respectively

Price & Availability: The Johnny Rat and Little Johnny retail for $184.99 and $169.99 respectively. The Johnny Rat is often sold out across retail platforms, but restocking is fairly regular; however, be quick as they do not last long! The most common colors are black (painted) and brown opalescent (wrapped), but limited colorways such as carp, brown w/pink belly, pink w/pearl belly, and grey do become available in lesser amounts.

Conclusion: Not many baits on the market are known by one name, but Johnny is synonymous with high-quality topwater rat wakebaits that deliver explosive strikes time and time again. While aesthetics and durability are concerns, the sheer action and ease-of-use of the Johnny and Little Johnny make it an imposing contender in the Rat Rumble. Nothing inspires angler confidence like visual feedback, and watching the Johnny wake across the surface causes a white knuckled grip of the rod while anticipating a topwater explosion. Even at night, you can hear the rat knocking and clicking, as water splashes and swooshes around the bait. With this bait, you can pick your cadence, or even walk-the-rat, and feel confident that the next bite is only a handle-turn away.

In bass fishing circles, the name "Johnny" is synonymous with high-quality topwater rat wakebaits that deliver explosive strikes time and time again

I enjoyed the fact that the Little Johnny offers the conventional angler the ability to dabble into big bait fishing, while using equipment that they already own, and employing retrieve techniques that already feel familiar. Grab your favorite flipping rod, spool up some braid or heavy mono, and join the infestation. And when you get hooked, as rat fishing tends to do, think about a slightly heavier setup to heave the full-sized Johnny Rat at the biggest fish in your body of water. You might be surprised at the outcome.