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Savage Gear RAD (Rat) lure trial


Emma two

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I posted this in the Sea section too as part of a discussion about wing direction and it's impact (or not) on fishing. I meandered off to talk about a freshwater trip today with a try out of my new SG RAD lure.



Well today we stayed clear of the sea, the wind direction being S/E and E. I wondered if the wind direction would make a difference as we chugged out onto the lake at about 8.30 this morning, bit late to be wondering that I suppose having never giving it much thought over the past 55 years of fishing there.


There was something I wanted to try, my new Savage Gear 3d RAD (surface/just sub surface rat lure). It was overcast, and the forecast warned us of rain coming in around midday. I wasn't all that confident and held expectations of the lure coming into it's own on one of those warm summer evenings when everything in the lake seems to come to life on the surface. Crossing through the middle was rough, waves coming over the bow so we made for a favourite shallow bay sheltered by a finger wooded land pushing out into the lake. We put out the drough and set out to work our way back across the bay in about 8 foot of water, by this time the bay had a marked chop to it and the drough struggled to keep us back very much. My set up was my stiff 7ft 'jerk rod' low profile multiplier with 65lb bs 'PowerPro' braid. The first noticeable positive was that the lure could be comfortable cast a good distance, especially help by the wind behind me. There are two anchor points on the rat, on at it's snout and another on the diving vane, To facilitate either sub surface or surface working. I opted for the latter, to see the thing working as much as anything else. It looked good, very good. I wrily commented to Dan that I might not be exactly 'matching the hatch' in that there are probably not many real rats out in the middle of the bay, we had drifted about 200 yards from the shore. The words had hardly left my mouth when 'crash' on the surface a pike had taken and was hanging on hooked up well. It put up the usual spirted fight including leaping clear of the water several times. It was only a 5lb 'Jack' but i was so pleased, it was one of those 'plan comes together moments'.. The lure was quickly and easily removed and the fish was back in the water in under thirty seconds.



We brought in the drough and decided to motor across to the wind side of the bay and do another drift. I flicked the rat out behind to boat, let out some line to trawl it. no sooner had I put the rod in it's holder than it whipped around with another fish. A similar fight from a similar sized pike.Happy happy day.



I changed the clip to let the rat work sub surface. Second cast I felt a strange 'pluck, pluck' type of take, most un-pike like until the rod buckled around and I was into my third fish in around fifteen minutes.. this was was slightly bigger at around 7lbs. The single hook hold held despite some spectacular gymnastics at the gunwale of the boat. On unhooking I noticed that the rat had taken a bit of damage, one of the life like legs was torn and hanging off. It will need some work with a 'special' adhesive or the purchase of a spares pack, you get a spare tail with the lure, but no spare legs or ears.



Then rain stopped play, it poured down and the wind rose quite significantly, to the extent that even though we trolled spoons back across the lake to the landing site, it was one of those occasion where one hoped not to really get a take.



Conclusion, the East wind (and it rose to be a strong one) didn't stop me catching, and the RAD lure I believe to be a good one, if somewhat pricey at £20 plus. All I have to do now is make it through another winter and use it on those long light evenings.



I

Edited by Emma two
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"Some people hear their inner voices with such clarity that they live by what they hear, such people go crazy, but they become legends"
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