Rattle Or No Rattle?

[Robert Riley]

I never understood why you wouldn't want a rattle, does it spook fish? I'm primarily talking about jigs, but I assume the reason would be the same for cranks or whatever.

[Bluebasser86]

I feel like the head clicking through the rocks is probably all the noise needed and a little more natural sounding than a jig with rattle chambers. I do use rattles in dirty water though and sometimes it seems to be a big factor in whether I'm getting bit or not. 

[War Eagle 44]

I always fish my jigs without rattles, just a personal preference thing.

[scaleface]

 . While snorkeling in a clear river /creek that has a lot of people swimming in it , Id tap my fingernail against  my watch or tap two rocks together and bass   "Always" came to investigate .  So rattles on jigs may well get more attention. Crankbait hooks and split rings  make noise without rattles.

[smalljaw67]

I believe in rattles when it comes to every lure except jigs and soft plastics and I'm not sure why. I use to use worm rattles and jig rattles faithfully, but there was a period of 3 years that me and a certain friend would fish together and he never used rattles and if a jig bite was on he would do better and one day while getting beat I decided to take a chance and use a jig without rattle so I simple cut them out of my jig and I found I was catching them. Now, this could be total coincidence but when I asked my friend about it he told me the weight makes enough noise, it isn't like a moving bait that you want to get them from a distance, these baits are in their home and when in a home you would sneak and so it is more natural to not have rattles. When I heard that I laughed but it kind of made sense and after that I never used a rattle on my jigs or worms even in dirty water and maybe I'm missing out but so far on my waters it hasn't been the case but I do think that they may help at certain times and I know they help with cranks at times.

[Sam]

So what attracts bass to our baits?

 

1.  They see it.

2.  They feel it.

3.  They hear it.

 

Sometimes rattles work and at other times they don't enhance your presentation.

 

Trial and error will let you know what they want at that specific hour on that specific day.

[Bankbeater]

I fish them without rattles.  I can fish the same make, model, size, and color jig and the one with out the rattle usually produces more fish.

[flipin4bass]

So what attracts bass to our baits?

 

1.  They see it.

2.  They feel it.

3.  They hear it.

 

Sometimes rattles work and at other times they don't enhance your presentation.

 

Trial and error will let you know what they want at that specific hour on that specific day.

Great advice...ask the bass.

[ww2farmer]

I use a rattle when the water gets stained, none when it's semi to very clear. Why?? IDK, it's just the way I have always done it and it works for me. Interestingly enough, ALL of my deep cranks have rattles and I catch fish just fine with them in clear water, and ALL my shallow cranks are silent, and they work in dirty water..........so does a rattle matter, probably not. When the water was at it's peak green/nasty-ness last fall I was still catching fish on a very subtle little 1/4 oz swim jig...........go figure.

[Catt]

In clear water bass are sight feeders, if ya throw a jig in the bass's house he'll see it.

So not rattle needed!

Will it hurt if you do...no!

Bass in off colored water are lateral line feeders (sound), so rattles are required.

If you don't use a rattle you will not get bit...no!

[cyclops2]

In  coffee stained water ? Rattles are all they can home in on to the lure.  O K noisey hooks clattering also.  In ALWAYS stained water they catch food ONLY with the lateral lines. They can detect baitfish well enough for a meal.

[HoosierHawgs]

Situational really. If you are fishing in gin clear water w/spooky fish I think that rattles are overkill. It also actually effects the way your bait moves... Crankbaits w/rattles have a different wobble than silent models.

[scaleface]

Can a bass detect quiet lures in muddy water? Yes.  I can remember one time in particular that I was slaying white bass and an occasional largemouth,  15 foot deep on   small CC jigging spoons. The water was so muddy that there was zero visibility at that depth .