The Original Muit Mouse

The Original Muit Mouse
Bill’s Bait and Tackle
508-761-7338
www.billsbait.com

By Jimmy Fee

   One of the last things that comes to mind when I see a mouse is big largemouth bass, but after having a conversation with big bass hunter Bill Quatrucci about his rodent-imitating swimbait, my perception of mice is changing from pest to piscine prey.

   Quatrucci has been chasing big bass for more than 30 years, traveling as far as Mexico to take a crack at double-digit largemouths. The owner of Bill’s Bait and Tackle in Seekonk, Massachusetts, Quatrucci modeled his shop after his own big bass obsession, stocking oversized swimbaits designed on the West Coast to tempt lunker largemouths. Most of these baits are modeled after trout, more specifically, the hatchery-raised rainbows that are easy pickings for bass in trout-stocked lakes.
In many lakes, however, big largemouths aren’t provided with food from state-run stocking programs, and it’s here that the biggest bass find other large prey items to satisfy their hunger – and they may not always be coming from the water.
   When Quatrucci fished tournaments, big bass in his livewell would regurgitate all kinds of food they had recently eaten. Although they’d usually spit-up baitfish, Quatrucci has seen mice, rats, and even a redwing blackbird spew forth from a caught bass. “With [the mice] it was a regular occurrence, not just a once in a while thing,” says Quatrucci. “Clearly mice were a regular part of a big bass’s diet.”
It may be tough to imagine Nemo’s cousins having the opportunity to consume Mickey’s kin, but the proof was right there, half-digested in Bill’s livewell. A little research revealed that some mice are actually excellent swimmers and are even able to dive below the surface. Mice will take to water to get to areas with greater food supplies or perhaps to avoid a terrestrial predator.
   Though mice are better swimmers than other small mammals, compared to other largemouth prey like bluegills and perch, mice are a much easier target, making them a favorite among opportunistic bass.
   Quatrucci sought to capitalize on this favorite largemouth prey by creating a swimbait that closely mimics a mouse. There were some rodent-impersonating baits on the market when he started designing his own, but he felt none of them fully captured what a mouse looked like in the water.
   What Quatrucci had in mind was a jointed lure that could be used to create a large disturbance on the surface on a slow retrieve, while still being able to dive below the surface to swim on a faster retrieve. On top of all of that, he wanted the body shape to be as close to that of an actual mouse as possible, ears and all.
   “I wanted the lure to be more buoyant and ride higher in the water on a slow retrieve, to create more of a wake,” Quatrucci said. He accomplished this by giving the bait a flat bottom and a wide lip.
   Quatrucci tested the prototypes in the swimming pool of a nearby high school. “I wanted to see how it looked in the clear water. When I had the right prototype, I knew it the second I saw it swim. Bill named the bait the Muit Mouse, after his young son and fishing partner, Tyler, whose nickname is “The Muit.”
   To field test the bait, Bill flew the Muit Mouse to Lake Baccarac in Mexico to try it on some of the largest bucketmouths on the planet. At 8 inches long and 1½ ounces in weight, the Muit Mouse is made to tempt big fish, and Quatrucci equipped it with hardware capable of taming 10-pound and better bass. The lure comes standard with a sticky sharp 2/0 premium Owner treble hook.
   The bait stood up to the bass south of the border, and when Bill put it up for sale in the Northeast in the Fall of 2008, it didn’t take long for the big fish pictures to start coming in. “One of the more appealing things about the Muit Mouse is that it’s not exclusively a big-fish lure,” Bill told me. “Unlike some of the other swimbaits that only 5-pound and bigger fish will bother with, the Muit Mouse gets attention from the smaller 2- and 3-pound fish as well.” That way, the Muit Mouse provides anglers with the opportunity to catch both quality and quantity.
   But it’s the lure’s ability to draw strikes from monster bass that has made it difficult for Bill to keep the Muit Mouse in stock. After being on the market for just a year, the biggest bass taken on the mouse in the Northeast is an 8 pounder. In Mexico, fish up to 12 pounds have fallen to the lure, and according to Quatrucci, more 6 pounders have been caught on the lure in its first year in production than he dares to count.
   “You can fish the lure just about anywhere,” Bill explained. “The big, wide lip that gives it the action, also helps the lure deflect it off structure to help keep it from getting snagged.” Bill mentioned the lure’s ability to avoid hanging up right before he told me his favorite way to fish it is around fallen trees and brush piles, where he’ll crank the lure down to two or three feet to work it just over the structure. The lure also draws strikes when used as a wake bait in open water or around lily pads.
   “When throwing the Muit Mouse, just keep in mind you’re using a lure that weighs 1½ ounces,” Quatrucci advised. “You’ll want to choose your tackle accordingly.” He recommends using a heavy-action rod and 20- to 25-pound-test line.
   With prey as ubiquitous as mice, you can bet that just about every lake, river or puddle with largemouths in it has bass that have eaten these furry pests, and there may be no closer imitation out there than the Muit Mouse.

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