Author: Rob Belloni

Overview/History: The 22nd Century Swimbait Company’s Nezumaa Rat debuted in limited numbers in late winter of 2004.  This rodent imitator is available in four sizes: small, medium, large and extra large.  The specs on the baits are as follows:

There are six colors generally available in the US although you might see some additional variations in Japan if you search around online.  The three larger sizes use VMC hooks affixed to swivels mounted in the belly of the bait (same as the Triple Trout and Swimstick).  The small version uses standard screw eyes and comes with Owner stinger trebles.  All of the Nezumaa models are made from a composite material. 

Pros: For as gnarly as the Nezumaa Rat looks, it has a surprisingly subtle action.  When I made my first cast I was expecting a heavy spastic surface action and that really was not the case.  What I did see surprised me and that was a slower subtle swim and a sinuous tail movement.  If you’ve ever watched a large rodent swim, you’ll notice that their heads don’t move much and most of the turbulence is back by the feet.  I feel like the Nezumaa really imitates this well, and I like that the natural action of the lure is slow because for me personally, I’m a pretty slow fisherman most of the time.

If you speed the Nezumaa up, you can hold it on the surface to a point by lifting your rod up but at a fast retrieve it will eventually start to dive.  I don’t feel like high speed surface action looks that great, but the subsurface swim is not bad.  The tail action flattens out under water a little bit but the general swim is the same as on top.  The bait will run down to about 2 feet max, maybe a little further if you do the old kneel and reel, but overall I think the natural action of the Nezumaa is slow and steady on top.

There are a few interesting construction details to discuss with the Nezumaa, the first of which is the tail.  I believe the tails are hand poured, and they are affixed with a metal pigtail mounted to the butt of the bait.  This design allows you to quickly and easily replace the tail with no glue or special tools (just unscrew the old one and screw on a new one).

The other interesting feature on the Nezumaa is the swivel mounted hooks.  All of the 22nd Century Co. baits have this feature and what it is basically is a heavy duty swivel mounted up inside the lure.  The split ring is attached to the swivel, and the hook of course is attached to the split ring.  The idea behind this design is to allow a fish to twist around 360 degrees without tearing the hook out.  Note that the baits photographed above were prototypes and do not have the swiveling hooks.  For a picture of the swiveling hooks, take a look at the bottom pictures in the Triple Trout review.

From a durability standpoint, the Nezumma is a solid performer.  Catching 50+ fish on a lure would be very reasonable.  The paint will chip up if you knock it off the shore but the lure doesn’t beat on itself in the joints much, so it should have excellent longevity.  You will want to carry some spare tails or get yourself a pack of Zoom Trick Worms as replacements.

Cons: The first thing to mention with Nezumaa is availability.  These baits are pretty darn hard to come by.  The only place you are going to find them is at Performance Tackle (562) 430-7671 or Anglers Marine (714) 666-2628.  At the time of this review, they are not available online anywhere. 

Although I do like the easy tail replacement feature, the stock tails are very soft and I think it would be nice if each bait came with a pack of replacement tails, maybe a half dozen or so.  Even though Zoom trick worms are $3 for 20, it’s just one more thing to locate and purchase before you go fishing.

The last thing I want to hit on is the hooks.  If you’ve read the other Triple Trout and MS Slammer reviews, you’ll know that I’m not a fan of the VMC hooks used on these baits.  The Nezumaa uses these same hooks on the medium, large and extra large sizes so I would really recommend replacing them, especially if you are out for a night fishing mission.  You might even go up in size a bit on the front hook to help compensate for how wide the head of the lure is.

Overall the Nezumaa is a solid performer with a great slow speed action.  It has strong potential for night fishing and daytime bites on larger than average fish, so if you’re looking to imitate the local rodent population, tie up some heavy line and see what happens.