Jerkbait.....rattle or no rattle?

[Ohnooze]

I recently picked up a 6th Sense Provoke 106 and fished it a good bit with zero bites.  So I did what I always do...I looked at youtube.  I ran across a guy saying that rattles in jerkbaits will actually have the opposite effect in that it sometimes will scare the fish.  He was saying that the fish will sometimes come up to the bait and just look at it and as soon as it hears rattling it will take off.  Got me wondering if this could be the case in my area where the fish are pretty heavily pressured.  If they are relating the rattle to the negative experience of being caught.  

 

Thoughts?

[Mike L]

I Don’t throw them enough to answer definitively but that’s my point. 
How would your you tube guy or anyone else for that matter know for sure that she would just turn away?

 

Possible I guess 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[A-Jay]

My rattle / No Rattle choice usually is determined by water depth and clarity.

The shallower and clearer the area I'm fishing is, the more I am apt to choose a silent bait.

This approach as paid huge dividends on big brown bass for me the past several years.

I have also used silent baits as a 'clean up bait'.

Meaning after I've been through an area and taken a few, but the bite seems shut off, going back with a silent bait has gotten me some extra fish I might not have held otherwise.

Often some fatties too. 

The Megabass 110 silent in perch has been a solid producer, especially with the wind at my back in skinny water.

 

One problem with many silent baits is, they do usually lack any type of a weight transfer system, so they are not the best casting baits  #potatochip.

Not the best deal when fishing skinny water where getting the bait as far away from the boat as possible can be critical to getting the right bites. 

Enter the Megabass 110 LBO (not the MAX).

It has a magnetic weight transfer system, casts like a ROCKET,

but is silent when worked in a traditional Jerk / pause manner.

Runs shallower at like 3-5 ft or so. 

Just started fishing it this season and all indications are,

I expect to be doing damage with this one. 

 

Now we NEED Megabass to come out with the 110 +1 LBO.

I would be very happy. 

A-Jay

 

 

 

[Catt]

IDK 😉 

I've hundreds over the years on a Smithwick Rattling Rogue. Doing excellent with a Bill Lewis Scope-Stik.

 

[Pumpkin Lizard]

nm

 

 

Edited October 22, 2024 by Pumpkinseed Lizard

[softwateronly]

I'm mostly throwing in clear water and almost always prefer silent over loud when presented a choice in hard baits.  Jerkbaits are difficult because the magnetic transfer is also very helpful getting distance, another clear water necessity, and most transfers end up being rattles on the retrieve.  @A-Jay has me frantically looking up to see if there's a deep diving MB LBO . Basically, I think your YT guy might have a point on certain days, but it wouldn't stop me from throwing jerkbaits.  If I think I need silent, fluke time.

 

scott

 

 

[PaulVE64]

8 hours ago, A-Jay said:

My rattle / No Rattle choice usually is determined by water depth and clarity.

The shallower and clearer the area I'm fishing is, the more I am apt to choose a silent bait.

This approach as paid huge dividends on big brown bass for me the past several years.

I have also used silent baits as a 'clean up bait'.

Meaning after I've been through an area and taken a few, but the bite seems shut off, going back with a silent bait has gotten me some extra fish I might not have held otherwise.

Often some fatties too. 

The Megabass 110 silent in perch has been a solid producer, especially with the wind at my back in skinny water.

 

One problem with many silent baits is, they do usually lack any type of a weight transfer system, so they are not the best casting baits  #potatochip.

Not the best deal when fishing skinny water where getting the bait as far away from the boat as possible can be critical to getting the right bites. 

Enter the Megabass 110 LBO (not the MAX).

It has a magnetic weight transfer system, casts like a ROCKET,

but is silent when worked in a traditional Jerk / pause manner.

Runs shallower at like 3-5 ft or so. 

Just started fishing it this season and all indications are,

I expect to be doing damage with this one. 

 

Now we NEED Megabass to come out with the 110 +1 LBO.

I would be very happy. 

A-Jay

 

 

 

Once again, just technically sound, relavent and practical gems of knowledge.

So good to have you here.

[GReb]

The answer changes by the day, if not the hour. If you are around fish throw multiple baits until they tell you what they prefer. Sometimes the bait that gets bit doesn’t make rational sense. 

[geo g]

For twenty years I threw a hard jerkbait at least 50% of the time on all trips.  I went away from that and went to the zoom flukes when they came on the market I made a switch because I could get back into areas the hardbaits could not go.  I still feel the Rapala stickbaits in a #9 and #11 are the best out there for open water.  The black/silver, and gold are dynamite in south Florida, for bass and Peacock.  Most fish them too fast, and don't move them until all the ripples disappear.  Then slight walk and long pause.  For Peas you speed it up with less pauses.  Always silent stickbaits, because our water are usually clear, or light stain.  I have caught thousands of bass on the Rapala over the years.

[crypt]

I use both....clear water no rattle, stained or muddy I use a rattler.....

[Bird]

Clear water no rattle or minimal.

Prespawn the rattle makes them angry and they hit violently. 😄 True 

Cloudy water, bass relate to sound or vibration.

That said I do best in early spring on jerkbaits with water temps in the 50's......a personal favorite.

[Brian11719]

The water is usually at least a little stained around me so I prefer some sound in mine...Lately I've been using the Lucky Craft Pointer Minnow 100 and have been liking it.

[papajoe222]

If I could throw only one of the two, it'd be a silent one.  If water clarity gets to the point where the fish need a rattle to get their attention, it isn't where I want to be throwing a jerkbait.  I have and will throw a rattling version in super clear water for smallmouth as they will come up 20+ft. to hit one. I believe that rattle on the twitch gets their attention and as long as I pause it long enough after the twitch, I don't concern myself about the noise factor.

[Bluebasser86]

I don't pay much attention to the rattles or no rattles. I pay more attention to the color and my retrieve cadence. A rattling bait isn't going to make much noise if you don't move it very fast. 

[Huckfinn38]

I am starting to play around with the Silent Provoke 97DD and the Silent Provoke 106DD now. I fish a high pressured lake so my thoughts are they should be golden. I am concerned about the casting of these and how they sit since they dont have the transfer beads in them. It was end of October for me last year before the jerkbaits started working for me.

[Munkin]

On 10/22/2024 at 12:06 PM, Catt said:

IDK 😉 

I've hundreds over the years on a Smithwick Rattling Rogue. Doing excellent with a Bill Lewis Scope-Stik.

 

 

Man that color right there and the solid white one wreck fish for me May to September. Colder clear water I like silent baits most of the time. 

 

Allen

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Ive seen rattles spook fish with crankbaits often, but ive found it depends on the body of water rather than conditions.  The lake is always dirty, but its slammed with pressure.  The vast majority of the time a silent bait will outfish rattles 2 or 3 to 1.  Now I can count on 1 hand, the amount of days where I struggled with a rattling JB and crushed with a silent.  I dont think it was the water conditions, so much as the mood of the fish.  All but one of those days were tough fall days, where it seemed like nothing worked.  The first time it happened I just happened to have a Duo 80sp on a spinning rod and after almost 4 hrs of nothing I beat the skunk on the 2nd cast.     

[Born 2 fish]

It really depends jerkbaits are one of my most used bait that same bait you we’re using in a different color could have caught 20 fish. When it comes to jerkbait fishing I change colors and brands until there eating it good. I won’t throw the same bait more then 15 minutes without a bite  if I’m around fish.

[Ohnooze]

On 10/23/2024 at 11:54 AM, Huckfinn38 said:

I am starting to play around with the Silent Provoke 97DD and the Silent Provoke 106DD now. I fish a high pressured lake so my thoughts are they should be golden. I am concerned about the casting of these and how they sit since they dont have the transfer beads in them. It was end of October for me last year before the jerkbaits started working for me.

I have 3 106 provoke.  I have the regular, silent and slow sinker for deep water.  

[zell_pop1]

My best jerkbait is a LC Silent Pointer so I'm going with no rattles is better.