Rattling Plugs vs Non-Rattling
 

Since I do not have enough tackle and plugs (HA!) I decided to pick up a couple new plugs to test next year. One is the Creek Chub Knuckle Head. The other is the Gag's Grabber Rattling Popper. I'll be doing a hook change for sure, but I was just curious if any of you find more success with plugs that have an internal rattle? The Gag's in particular is the "Loudest" rattle I've ever heard. I can see that thing rattling even during the cast.

Is the rattle more of a bluefish thing or effective all around? Just curious to get your diferent opinons. Thanks.

Ive,d done well this yr on rattling plugs. the smack-its are exceptional. i also have" i think" a cordell pencil with rattles and that was my top lure this yr. i think it does make a difference. just my .02.

True about the Cordell Pencil I forgot to mention that. FOr around $3 the 2oz pencil is amazing. Casts really nice!!

I heard some guys this year killed the bass on Rattle Traps, although I'm not sure that the rattle is what did it or the action.

How deep do the rattle traps dive if used from shore? I guess this would to to Gag's Mr. Bunker lure as well.

Don't quote me on this but I think a rattle trap dives down about two to three feet. Once again, it's just a guess.

I have both the Cordell Pencils and Storm Rattle Traps. The Storms almost suspend in the water down a foot or two. I used this lure alot at the beginning of the season with great success, april and may. For some reason, don't think I used it again all year. I think this would be a great lure to cast from a boat into a rocky shoreline. Mental note to try this next year.

I think under the right conditions, the rattle is what excites/agitates the fish into striking. I've used lures with similar colors and wiggles with no hits then throw on something that rattles and bam.

I have used the Storm Chug Bug in September and October this year and it was deadly on Schoolie before daylight. I don't know if it's the rattle but they hit the lure a lot. I used this one on a rocky or sandy shoreline where bass are around never missed.

Rattles work. I use rattle-traps alot in the fall when the peanut bunker are around. I had my best day of striper fishing ever with a Gags Chrome Popper w/ rattles, and I don't usually fish with plastic poppers, but that was the hot ticket for that day.

Rattles Rule.....Did some experimenting this spring. Side by side 9" storm vs 9" tsunami. Storm destroyed the tsunami. I believe because of the rattle. 95% of the bluefish bites occurred at site of rattle, no missing tails like the smaller shads or even live herring. For a fish that normally hits from the rear to change and attack from the middle must mean it has focused on the rattle. As a winter project I may even drill some into some wooden swimmers.

This reminds me... BI jeff once told me that he would use rattlesnakes instead of eels... One night he was bittin by one of the rattlesnakes and halucintated for about 12 hours.... when He came out from his trance he awoke to find a 6o lb bass wearing lipstick and panties in bed next to him ....

For freshwater Bass fishing at night, a rattiling crank bait will kill Large Mouths.

I have a question; Do you think it's the noise of the rattle, or the vibration it makes that attracts the fish. I know rattles can work to your advantage. A louder rattle probably produces more vibration than a softer one. So, again; Noise or Vibes? Just curious what others think.:huh:

I think its vibes. they say the lateral line is incredible at picking up vibrations and the last time i checked, bass didnt have any ears.

All fish have ears, just not the standard form we're accustomed to. By that I mean that instead of having an ear that protrudes from the side of their head fish instead a fish's ear is in its inner skull. Stripers actualy have an accute sense of hearing with an auditory range greater than our own. And as for the lateral line, a bass uses its lateral line and hearing together in order to locate a wounded fish, remember, all a sound is is the vibration of air/water molecules.

In short:
Loud rattle=fish :D

here is a theory... maybe I'm just a nutty bass fisherman but tell me what you think.

I think rattling plugs work very well, but it seems to me as you decrease the rattles or sound of the rattles the fish get bigger. On rattletraps, I have caught 1 bass over 30 inches and the rest were small schoolies. I think the frantic louder rattles excite smaller, less experienced fish into biting. The bomber long A, has rattles but they are quieter and less frantic sounding... perhaps more natural. I have taken fish from schoolies to fish around 30 pounds on these, and I know some of you have gone much bigger on bombers. Less rattles, bigger fish and a more consistent fish catcher. Needlefish, no rattles, and a very effectuve nighttime plug, which means fish use their lateral line to detect it. I have personally caught some nice bass on needles and you don't have to look far to find 40's, 50's and even 60's that have been taken on needles and there are lots of them. No rattles, very quiet plug, BIG FISH. 40+ pound fish are the most experienced right? And it seems to me that they fall victim to needles with more regularity than other plugs. What do you guys think.... am I nuts?

-Dave

I think you're on to something. Lets take wire trolling as an example. I charter captain that I know once told me that a man agressively jigging a parchute jig will out fish a person jigging more subtly. He attributed this to the fact that agressive jigging creates more noise which aggitates the fish more so that they'll strike. Taking this in to consideration, how many bass over 50# do you know of that are caught on a parchute jig? I can think of one, and everybody thought it was a sign of the apocolypse. I'm not sure of the reason for this, perhaps it's because as a bass becomes older it relies on hearing less, or maybe it becomes more sensitive to noise. Note: these last two things stated are my own personal slapped-together on the spot theories.

Now one would assume the same could be applied to a rattle trap, seeing is how booth make noise.
And like you said needles are a fantastic plugs, and like you said, epecially at night. I would attribute this to the fact that a needle is pure action, no rattles, bells, or whistles, and the fish must see the plug/sense it using lateral line, and at night a bass sees in crystle clear night vision.
and you thought you were the nutty bass fisherman :smash:

Canalman, you may be on to something. The shads I mentioned have a very small chamber, and only 2 rattles. You kinda have to shake it pretty good to hear the rattles. Could be that or just the size of it, but MANY nice fish taek on it. Enough for my winter project.

T.O, i had the same experience only went thru 1 storm rattle the whole year because of tail loss from blues. UR right all the tooth marks were up around the rattles.

This has got me thinking. suppose the fish are after the " clicking" sound, high pitched. now suppose you could change that clicking to a more baser sound by using hardwood balls instead of ball bearings. just a thought. i dont want to get into plug building, but i may have to cut one in half and find out. :eek:

Very interesting. I remember reading somewhere that certain rattling mimicked the sound of bait. I'm not sure how but maybe a frequency when injured?

Now based on what was just discussed, the Gag's rattloing popper is LOUD! Very loud! I'm anxious to see how it performs next season .

I'm not sure it will make a huge difference in a popper. Although, I must say I prefer wodden poppers to plastic and I have caught far more decent bass on them than rattling/plastic poppers. The exception is the smack-it I have had pretty good luck on that, but still I like wood better. I have caught a lot of small bass and a lot more blues on rattling poppers.... my big thing when selecting/making a plug is natural shape, action and sound/vibration. I tend to stay away from real loud plugs. I think the pop and splash of a plug is enough without the loud clamber of rattles... to me, that is unnatural.

-Dave

Canalman... we think alike :D

i like and make wood poppers with big mouths so I can do an occasional huge splash, then i do little twitches.. the huge splash is to attract a bass, the little twitches are to draw a strike.. a series of huge splashes never or at least rarely results in a hookup.

I've done pretty well with Bombers over the years in particular the A-Salt version.Its probably a combo of the rattling and the action.
But nothing seems to beat good wood from what I've seen and especially heard from folks here.I've only been throwing wood the last couple of years and really only big time this year.
I must admit all my big plug fish have come on plastic body plugs that rattle like the Bomber.But I've also fished those types a lot longer.

rattles
 

This past spring I had great luck w/a large shrimp pattern fished deep. I tied a rattle and some lead to get it on the bottom. I picked up many very nice fish. One of the larger fish (25#'s or so) was full of mantis shrimp as well as mussle shells, a few rocks and a small conch shell. I kept the largest shrimp (8") in a mayonase jar in my office until September, the smell kept my co-workers away. I am tying many 8" ugly rattle shrimp for the spring.

Spring is just around the corner, a long $$$%^*&^$ corner.

Go Buy a cotton cordell pencil popper and drill a hole in it and pour bird shot in to it, have the plug float nose up. and seal it off with epoxy.
then go fish it and tell me what You think after the fish destroy it

Don't the Cordell pencils already have some large shot or something in there? I used one this year for the first time and for a two ounce plug, they sure cast nice!

load this like i said...................

holly crap!!! I have a few of these and I hate them because they are too light-

thankyou BM :cool:

thank a man in Mashpees