A small coot disappeared from the surface in an impressive gulp. My buddy Dennis unhooked a pike that day and it revealed two coot coming out of its mouth.

Pike are opportunistic and eat whatever comes in front of them. Besides, fishing with fancy baits is simply fun. Enough arguments for not just offering imitation fish. Our 3D Rad imitates rats or mice perfectly and has become one of my favorite topwater lures.

It's so real, it could go right into a mousetrap!

Thanks to two mounting points, the rat offers us two diving depths: as wakebait on the surface or very close underneath and one level deeper to a maximum of 50cm under water. If the rodent runs on top, we get the most spectacular attacks. Foaming water, fat waves - pure action! By the way, for topwater fishing close or in lily pads, you have the possibility to fish a single triplet on the back of the lure with the 30cm Rad. Topwater is of course not always the thing of the day and sometimes 30cm deeper is enough to get the bites. Experiment on every rat fishing day to find how to get the reaction. The 3D Rad runs very flat when you use the eyelet on the diving shovel. The "nose eye" makes the lure run a little deeper. By the way: I also attach a snap ring to this eyelet in the meantime. So, some snaps can be fastened much better.

For more walking depth, add an extra weight on the front hook eye.

Even in the cold, I caught some radical „rat pikes"

Spring and summer are in my experience the best seasons for using the 3D Rad. Now the real rodents are especially active, they like to shorten their way through shallow water and often become prey. I caught my biggest pike in May or June. Nevertheless, I even caught February pike with this bait. Whenever the pike roam the shallow water, our chances are good.

Our rat family for the 3D Rad is quite large: two sizes and eight colors are available. Right from the start I was most attracted by the most natural model. The "runaway lab rat" in white is also great. But you know how it is: We are not only hunters but also collectors. So today, I have almost all versions of the rat in my boxes. They all have their justification: In semi-darkness, for example, the yellow-green 20 cm rat was already top.

The brown, super realistic decor is my favorite

The 3D Rad is also available with great, eye-catching decors

By the way, I started rat fishing with the 20cm version. The first success came quickly and pike after pike followed soon. So, until something over 80cm. Although I am a real big lure fan, I had somehow classified the 3D Rad as pure fun lure. At some point the thought came up that the big version might bring a big one. That worked out right away: with a fish above the magic mark on the very first day of use of the 30cm Rad!
 

For cloudy days or turbid water the UV-active models are top

Big bait, big pike? My first 30-cm Rad quickly brought the first meter pike

My conclusion about this unusual lure is therefore more than clear: Get the rat, the attacks are brutal and simply radical!

Arnulf Ehrchen