Rat Rumble: Fish the Sneaky! (continued)

Dexterity cont'd: Like other wooden baits the amount of buoyancy is dependent on the type of the wood that is used, as well as the amount of wood in the construction. The Sneaky is a compact rat with a relatively tall body but once it is in the water only the very top section of the lure can be seen above the water. Like the name of the bait implies, it looks like a rat that is lurking around in the shadows.

The bait has an oversized coffin style lip that really moves the head in a wide pattern on retrieve. This causes the head of the bait to hunt quite a bit giving the bait a harder knock

The Sneaky features a wide coffin style lip that is larger than many other rats of similar length. Even on slow retrieves the Sneaky will hunt side by side aggressively, flipping the hand poured tail side to side. One of the best things about the Sneaky is that it can be fished at varying speeds. Fish it fast and the lure will wake, and the combination of the taller compact body with that wide lip makes this a very good twitch or walking rat. Simply impart some rod action and the Sneaky will swing side to side in place displacing water while delivering an audible knock.

From the rear you can see the articulation if the butt section

Drawing Power: The Sneaky has excellent drawing power both during the day, and especially in low light conditions. It draws plenty of attention with the combination of large water displacement and the loud knock from the single joint. The knock can be described as high pitch clack as the hard shell comes into contact each time the lure swings. Unlike many other two pieced rats the Sneaky’s hardware brings the two segments relatively close together, so the tail doesn’t swing as freely as normally observed on other rats. This is what creates the Sneaky’s tight swimming action, and unique sound.

The Sneaky can deliver strikes over open water or when cranked down but the magic of this rat is when used to draw fish out from structure

While I do get bites on the Sneaky in open water, I found the bait to be an exceptional rat fished adjacent to structure. The ability to bring the Sneaky to life while barely moving it makes it a deadly bait for enticing fish to venture out of structure. There are times where I have been twitching the bait for minutes near structure before being rewarded with a strike, and other times when the bait was immediately blown up on right after splashdown.

In the test tank we can see how much of the bait is submerged at rest. It is weighted perfectly

When it comes to the strike to land numbers the Sneaky exhibited one of the highest conversion ratios of all the rats in our rumble. The more I fished the Sneaky the more often I noticed that fish would be hooked more often on the front hook, or even both hooks, than most of the other rats which are so often hooked on with just the rear hook. There were many fish that I caught in the 4lb. or larger size where the Sneaky was completely engulfed and only the head of the lure was visible. The excellent conversion ratio has to do with the compact body of the Sneaky, and though it weighs in at 3.1oz. the body of the lure measures only 5 inches, making it easy to engulf and yet quite difficult for the fish to shake loose.

The Sneaky is a good size and can be engulfed by even mid sized fish. Strike to catch ratio is better on this rat than many other larger rodents

Vitality: The Sneaky is as rock solid a rat as they come. The same hard gloss finish that gives the bait the signature high pitched knock acts as a durable shield from hook rash, fish strikes, and even unintended impact with structure. I fished my first Sneaky for an entire season and it still looks basically new, save a few cosmetic hook points.

The Sneaky is so durable that it is an excellent choice to put right up against structure. While anglers will certainly want to avoid direct impacts with branches or rock this bait is able to withstand impact better than most rats. Don’t bear afraid of putting the Sneaky in harms way, it is built to take the abuse.

Where I really find the Sneaky super effective is in, and around, heavy cover. This rat can take the abuse of impacts well so don't afraid to send it into battle