RATTLES RE-VISITED

I have gotten more out of this website than I could of imagined. New places to go, superior products, a health ethic and maybe a few new paddlin buddys (my blow up model keeps getting a leak). So I try and give a little something back. (Yes, this is a disclaimer for my self-agrandizing "Tip of the month" )

Rattles.........do they help? Could they be hurting us? IMO the answer is yes on both accounts. My personal belief is the shallower and clearer the water the more counterproductive rattles are going to be, especially on fish of size. My exception to this generalized rule is topwater lures and rattles that are very subtle such as "add on" rattles for a jig.

On the other hand, we can take wave/falls generated noise into account and turbidity as well. Rattles, even loud ones, can help us in these situations even in shallower water.

But generally speaking, if it is still, shallow and calm you are far more likely to spook fish, especially big fish, throwing a loud lure. Conversely , I like a rattling lure for the depths. If it is still out I'll still choose one that is somewhat subtle even in deep water. If it is rough out I'll go louder.

Here is an old trick for quieting a loud plastic crankbait (like a long "A" bomber). Take a safety pin and bend out one end. Then take a lighter and heat it. Poke a small hole in the rattle chamber of the lure. Next take a syringe and squirt some cooking oil into the chamber. Re-heat the safety pin and seal. This will quiet them down a bit. Just don't squirt to much oil in lest you change the lures action.

MT 

alas, ive been waiting for your tip of the month!

i agree with not using rattles in shallow clear water situations unless its a tiny bead with a gentle noise on a suspending lure (read: husky jerk).

im not really fan of rattles on lures that i cast. granted, i have a small armory of rattle traps, but i dont use them often and with little success. mostly they are my scouting new water crank because you can work they very quickly and they do pick up active fish.

for trolling though, i hardly ever will be caught using a lure without a rattle. i think it really helps fish zone in on your bait. from a distance the rattle is soft and lets the fish know something is coming, then they are alert and move after it. i feel a silent lure may slip by a fish unnoticed if it doesnt displace enough water.

with that though, the water you fish matters too. highly pressured waters i go with quiet subtle lures, but up in the Q where the fishing pressure is minimal, i go with rattles. i do tend to use smaller lures though, so the rattles arent that loud. 15' taildancers and shad x raps are my main lures with 20' taildancers being my largest.

i run mostly natural colors in clear waters also. the exception being firetiger because its good anywhere, anytime, but id still say its second to my black/silver usage. that is on the average day. up in the Q i cant seem to get 'hot flash' off my line though, that color pattern is dynamite, however, it seems to be increasingly difficult to find. i managed to find one in a clearance bin at fleet farm, a 15 footer to pair with my 20 fter that has lost quite a bit of paint over the years. the closest pattern to 'hot flash' seems to be the trout one...  'moss shiner' is one of the newer paint jobs and it outfished me this year in on our trip in much less experienced hands. the guy barely fishes at all, so i gave him pick of my box and he sniped the moss shiner shad body x rap and it didnt leave his rod, and that is with countless trout and pike trying to liberate it.

interestingly enough, both have rattles, but the difference is interesting. the tail dancer has one medium size bead in perpendicular to retreive rattle chamber and the x rap has a large multiple bead parallel chamber.

i guess i should mention a few points of interest. when considering trolling lures i pretty much aim for what i think the trout will like most and let the rest fall into place. i dont think trolling up in the Q is the best way to pick up walleyes. i view it as a trout first, because you are paddling and there is a rod and a holder and a lure so why not second sort of option. i know not everyone is of the same mindset, but let me continue. i wonder what lures have caught the most trout over the years. flies, spoons, and inline mepps spinners would be my first guesses(when it comes to artificials). flies are silent completely sight based lures. spoons are big and flashy but on the silent side. and mepps are quiet but provide turbulence for the lateral line. and here we chat about rattles. i must think on this further!

Most of my fish are caught trolling.  Even discounting all the time I spend trolling while exploring, which is near half my fishing time.

The only exception is bass.  I'll putter around hitting structure for them all day long.  Depending on the lake & the fishing I might still be in sight of the camp by the end of the day.  Going from Mosquito Point I barely made it to Pickerel Narrows and back in time for dinner!

Trolling simply covers more water.  Also, with more line out there's fewer spooked fish around.