I got a PM from a site member, asking my thoughts on the relevance of rattles, and thought that maybe some of the crew might find it interesting.
I am a firm beleiver in sound attracting fish. Virtually every lure that I fish has a rattle in it. Most everything that I buy has rattles. There was a period of time when I would buy the small glass bead rattles used by bass anglers and put them into the belly of soft plastics. Years ago, Paul Brown didn't make rattle versions of the Corky, and these rattles worked well to add sound. I still have a few that have the belly hump of the glass bead.
Fish are all very in tune to sound and vibration, both of which you can achieve with rattles. This is magnified in off colored water or low light conditions. I'm sure that certain rattle sounds are more appealing than others which is probably why some days they want a she dog, and others are better for a spittin' image.
My generalities are: rough or dirty water, louder rattle. This also applies around shell, where I typically want a loud rattle. In clear or calmer water, I tend to gravitate to a more subtle rattle sound. Extremely shallow or clear water are some of the only situations where I would opt not to use the rattles. I haven't seen them in stores like they once were, but if you check the bass fishing aisles, you can find the pakcages of glass beads. These will allow you to add sound to any soft lure that you want. They are good for adding the sound, yet won't alter the action or sink rate of the bait much at all.
Jim, I hope this helps. If there is something more specific that I didn't mention, post the Q and I will try to answer.
I am a firm beleiver in sound attracting fish. Virtually every lure that I fish has a rattle in it. Most everything that I buy has rattles. There was a period of time when I would buy the small glass bead rattles used by bass anglers and put them into the belly of soft plastics. Years ago, Paul Brown didn't make rattle versions of the Corky, and these rattles worked well to add sound. I still have a few that have the belly hump of the glass bead.
Fish are all very in tune to sound and vibration, both of which you can achieve with rattles. This is magnified in off colored water or low light conditions. I'm sure that certain rattle sounds are more appealing than others which is probably why some days they want a she dog, and others are better for a spittin' image.
My generalities are: rough or dirty water, louder rattle. This also applies around shell, where I typically want a loud rattle. In clear or calmer water, I tend to gravitate to a more subtle rattle sound. Extremely shallow or clear water are some of the only situations where I would opt not to use the rattles. I haven't seen them in stores like they once were, but if you check the bass fishing aisles, you can find the pakcages of glass beads. These will allow you to add sound to any soft lure that you want. They are good for adding the sound, yet won't alter the action or sink rate of the bait much at all.
Jim, I hope this helps. If there is something more specific that I didn't mention, post the Q and I will try to answer.
Comment