crank baits, rattles or no rattles?

[angler1]

Which type of crank bait do you prefer to fish with, one with a rattle or one with no rattle?

[microman]

the rattle helps the fish zoom in on it

then the sight of the lure triggers the strike

[Chris]

I fish no rattles most often unless I am fishing in and around heavy cover and I need to get their attention that the bait is drawing near to them. Baits that I run with a standard chuck and crank I like low frequency rattles. Cranks that I rip or jerk from time to time to draw strikes I like a higher frequency BB rattle like what is in a CC shad. In most other situations I just use the right vibration pattern for the water I am fishing.

[Primus]

There is place for both even on the same body of water. An example is lipless cranks, sometimes the rattle calls them in and there are other times when I do better on that same body of water with one that is silent like the Sebile Flat Shad. If you are in clear water around pressured fish and especially if there isn't a lot grass a silent bait allows you to approach the fish and let the fish react to it where at times the rattles will put them on notice. In my opinion it's one of those things where you have to rely on your instict along with the willingness to expieriment to see what the fish prefer on a given day.

[Grey Wolf]

Both.

[fishfordollars]

Depends on the weather, water, situation, and the lake.

[Chaz Hickcox]

Clear - None

Muddy/Murky - LOUD

[tnbassfisher]

Completely depends on the water. If the fish are going to need a little "help" to find the bait, then I like the rattle to give a little more vibration through the water.

[Hammer 4]

I prefer w/o...then are are situations that I'll use a rattle.

[Big Bait Fishing]

i like them silent (no rattles) . i really like the switchback series from Bomber , you can turn the rattles off or on . i seem to get catch more fish with them off , just wish alot more manufacturers would put out lures with this concept 

[SkilletSizeBass.]

In the past I allways looked for baits that had rattles, but I fish a clear water lake quite often that gets pressure so Im going to get more w/o rattles and see if I do better. I'm started to look for lipless cranks also w/o rattles to add to my box.

[Big Bait Fishing]

In the past I allways looked for baits that had rattles, but I fish a clear water lake quite often that gets pressure so Im going to get more w/o rattles and see if I do better. I'm started to look for lipless cranks also w/o rattles to add to my box.

i also fish a clear water lake and i do alot better on silent crank baits . that's exactly where i use them , the lake i fish is hammered all the time . try the bomber switchback shad , a very good bait , comes in a medium diver and a deep diver . the only thing is is that you got to get them from Bass Pro Shops ............

[Catt]

Depending on the weather, water, situation, and the lake...Both

[NorCalFishinguru]

Rick Clunn did a bit on it. No rattles in clear water because it may confuse the bass. If It looks like a Shad but it sounds like a small beaver they might be more disinclined to hit it. In more stained or muddy water where fish rely on their lateral line and vibration more than sight, rattles all the way.

[The Bassinator]

I've caught a couple bass on a rattle trap in stained water and a few fish on a shallow diving crank in clear water so it all depends where you fish

[RoLo]

In clear water I prefer plugs without rattles.

In muddy water I've gone both ways, and can't say I've ever noticed a meaningful difference.

Roger

[J Francho]

How would sound have anything to do with a fish's lateral line?  The lateral line picks up water pressure "vortices" from movement in the water.  I'd say it plays just as much a part in all water, regardless of visibility, especially near the end of the chase.  As far as rattles, non rattles, I can't say I've noticed a difference.  What does bug me though, is when two of the same model have two different rattles.

[RoLo]

How would sound have anything to do with a fish's lateral line? The lateral line picks up water pressure "vortices" from movement in the water. I'd say it plays just as much a part in all water, regardless of visibility, especially near the end of the chase. As far as rattles, non rattles, I can't say I've noticed a difference. What does bug me though, is when two of the same model have two different rattles.

John makes a good point regarding the "end of the chase".

From what I've read, the lateral line mainly picks up low-frequency waves, which are most effective at close range.

It's been suggested that the sensors along the median line of school fish enable them to stay in a unitized group at night.

Roger

[bilgerat]

I wish the manufacturers, websites, catalogues or whoever would put in the product description 'rattle' or 'no rattle.'   To me that's an important piece of info.

[detroit1]

I fish clear water most of the time, and i use both. If the water is flat (no wind), i prefer to run silent, or use soft plastics instead. On windy or cloudy days...let them hear something.

[The Rooster]

Overall I'd have to say I like the rattles better, but I use both when the situation calls for it (or so I think). :-?

[Stringjam]

I've never switched to a lure with rattles and had it outfish a lure without.

I'd rather a lure come without them if I had a preference. A crankbait is noisy enough without them. If you ever get bored, stick your head underwater and pull a crankbait by and you'll hear what I mean.

One thing to keep in mind though - rattles effect the action on many lures, which is something I'm more concerned with than sound.

I have a series of lipless crank with 3 different rattle levels. One is loud with a bunch of different BB's, the next level has much fewer rattles, and the third has none at all.

You can see a noticeable difference in the liveliness of the cranks as you get progressively lighter.