I am hearing this second-hand but from a reliable source. If there are pics out there I will try to track them down. Apparently, one of the old Italian guys who chunks herring between some of the wharfs in our local harbor hooked and landed a large striper a few days ago and when checking the stomach contents was quite surprised to find........ a RAT :conf:

Now I have heard of and actually fished with small white mice for fresh water bass but a striper slurping down a rodent? If I ever find that, the whole fish would end up in the dumpster.

Anyone ever heard of such a thing? Is there a new lure waiting to be made, one with a long tail? :yak5:

There aren't a lot of things that a striper won't eat. We found a small land bird in the stomach of one, once.

No reason I can see why one wouldn't eat a swimming rat.

Fish can't get, or transmit, rabies and hanta virus. I wouldn't worry about finding a rat in one.

The things I have seen largemouth go after there is no doubt in my mind that a striper would eat a rat. Better patten that lures rights quick!

That's one for the back door of a poacher-friendly restaurant.

a slow swimming easy target....

I caught one last week with a half dozen of NIB's Pro-V's inside it...probably a Jersey fish.

Is there a new lure waiting to be made, one with a long tail? :yak5:

Check this out..

On The Water - Lure of the Month (http://www.onthewater.com/LureArchive/LOM_Muitmouse.html)

Princess Fiona (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000139/): Mmmm... This is good... mmm... this is really good... what is it?
Shrek (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000196/): A weed rat, cooked rotisserie style!
Princess Fiona (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000139/): No kidding... Oh, this is delicious!
Shrek (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000196/): Well, they're also great in stews - now I don't mean to brag, but I make a MEAN weedrat stew!

Its meat...thats all they care about.

Largemouth will wait under trees for baby birds to fall in.....slam...yum.

It's food, plain and simple.
They don't care what kind, just that it's the kind that they can catch and eat!
I'd love to see that feeding event. Kind of like a mini version of "air-shark"!

I love throwing mouse fly patterns for brown trout at night. Now I gotta tie up some rat patterns for stripers.

Maybe the striper just thought it was a big Dalbergh Diver with an extra long tail ... :biglaugh:

or a whopper plopper