Fishing Forum

Do you think the rattle in lures attracts more fish than a lure without it? I'm thinking along the lines of how unnatural of a sound it would produce, it seems it'd scare more fish than catch.
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Lots of bass lures have rattles in them, even the Carolina rig uses beads to make a tapping noise against the weights it actually attracts bass
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It depend on the fish but it does help catch more Bass, especially wipers[]. I have also had good results when using rattling jigs when fishing for Lake trout, at least the smaller ones. I agree though, at times it does seem to scare some fish away.
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Fish "feel" the water with their lateral line. So any vibrations might cause them to at least inquire.

Spinning blades, clacking beads, and rattles in lures -one more attractions, or possibly could spook some fish away. But the more aggressive hunting types probably are more likely to rise up and give attention.

At least that's the theory. Fish can probably sense vibration farther than they can see - depending on water clarity, depth. There are some lures with a micro-chip device that is supposed to send out electrical signals to boot.

I'd like to see one of these "microchip" lures. Funny, but I've always been tempted to spend $20 and buy that lure in the back of the proclamation that lights up, i'm sure its effectiviness isn't any better than, well, a normal lure. My theory is a lot of the bells and whistles offered out there in the fishing world are for marketing purposes, the more colorful the lure, the more WE bite, and buy the lure, so on so forth with rattles, lights, microchips, etc. I started thinking about this when my wife and I went to the store and she picked out the pink rooster tail, I couldn't help but think to myself there isn't a lot of pink going on in nature, this must be an attractant for customers. Although I do think flash is a legitimate attractant to fish, in saying that, any shiny painted or bare surface could potentially catch fish. I know this is going to catch some flack, but to everyone his own right?
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I don't believe in miracle lures much, either, and some of them seem pretty silly.

BUT, I had an interesting experience icefishing at UL yesterday. Every Vietnamese guy there was outfishing me with a Sonar lure. I had jigs with WB meat and flashy spoons on. The bite was slow, spread out, and most holes producing one here or there. I was not having much luck.

A nice fellow loaned me a Sonar, so I put it on 6" below a big ice-jig, where I'd had my castmaster. I did what he was doing, letting the Sonar rest on the bottom for a few seconds and then jigging it up kinda fast, letting it settle. Three times in a row, I'd jig it a few times, and a WB would hit the JIG (tipped with WB meat) while the Sonar was resting on the bottom.

Eventually, I gave back his lure and went back to spoons. NOTHING for an hour, while others caught fish 10 feet away..... Then I added some beads above the spoon so they would slide and click together. BINGO, back in business.

So, basically in UL where visibility is short, it seemed the rattle and shake of the sonar was helping fish find my bait. Once located by sound/vibration they could see and smell the bait. I didn't have ANY hit the sonar or the beaded spoon, but I got far fewer bites without them.

I outfished myself 8:1 with a rattle that day.

Another time, maybe something else will be the key, you know?
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Agreed. I have bitten more lures than the fish have. After all of the "tests" and things I have learned from TD and others...it is often the simplest, cheapest lure/bait that will catch the same amount, if not more fish than the other stuff. I have some lures with rattles that seem to work well for the bass, but others it scares away. I always think back to the guy's daughter who always outfishes him with the Barbie pole....thats the truth. Simple is sometimes better.
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Two summers ago, I was up in the Uintas with my family camping and fishing. On the way up, we stopped at that little grocery store to get some lures and bait. I told my kids they could each chose a lure. My son pics this big Jake's lure that looks like a stealth fighter, flourescent or neon green with orange spots. I chuckled under my breath thinking, "Those timid Unita trout aren't going to touch that." Well, I caught nothing and he pulled in 3 or four in an hour. He was smiling so big and just looking at me out of the corner of his eye as if to say. "See, I told you."

I haven't figured out the key to selecting the right lure for the right water, but I sure have been surprised what gets hits and what doesn't at times.
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HATH wrote:[/quote]
Do you think the rattle in lures attracts more fish than a lure without it? I'm thinking along the lines of how unnatural of a sound it would produce, it seems it'd scare more fish than catch.[/quote]


I have always heard that the rattle imitates a crawdad crawling across the rocks on bottom. their shells make a rattling sound.
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That's an interesting theory. Hadn't heard that one. Crawdads - always a fish fav.

The [url "http://www.cabelas.com/product/Pro-Troll-EChip-Kit/703403.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dechip%26x%3D0%26y%3D0&Ntt=echip"]ECHIP[/url]s proclaim to emulate the electrical signals emitted by a wounded fish. It's basically a small silver tube, and I believe a charged pellet inside that issues charges when it rolls back and forth. Didn't realize they have a "kit" you can get and add them to your own tackle. Various Dodgers or Lures can include one.

Electric Charge is a known factor of concern for DownRiggers. Don't have one - but a "black box" can help you adjust the charge your boat and electronics emit so you attract fish, instead of repelling them. (figure I must have the repel setting from my rig!)


I can confirm that the movement of wounded fish attract other fish. Cracks me up to see the whole school of bass-lets come chasing after a hooked fish floundering along. Attracks the Musky too!

Yup - flashy stuff catches fishermen. But I think there's two things going on - one, getting the fishes attention and getting them to come investigate. The next part requires offering them something to bite and hold onto - whether it be food, smell, flavor, or visual appeal that "triggers" a response.
Part of why I moved my pop-gear to the rigger weight - get it off my line, so I can feel a fish, and emulate a school followed by a wimpering wounded fish.

So this "Sonar Lure" - what's it look like?
Bouncing the bottom will get fish in a fever. Check some underwater perch-cams on YouTube. Stirring up the muck - they'll just suck up whatever they find and try it out.

Here's a couple ECHIP shots ([url "http://www.protroll.com/"]Protroll [/url]has a bunch - I like the Kokanee Killer)
But I also concur - sometimes simpler is better. Fish want to eat - at least sometimes.
And I LOVE that Barbie Pole! I think Spiderman needs to come ice fishing!

Here is the Sonar lure :
[url "http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS342US342&q=heddon+sonar#q=heddon+sonar&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS342US342&prmd=ivs&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&ei=ks7_TPOnMoq4sAO4952wCw&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CEIQrQQwAg&biw=1339&bih=567&fp=e18ec2db23988f7d"]http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS342US342&q=heddon+sonar#q=heddon+sonar&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS342US342&prmd=ivs&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&ei=ks7_TPOnMoq4sAO4952wCw&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CEIQrQQwAg&biw=1339&bih=567&fp=e18ec2db23988f7d[/url]
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