JIG RATTLES YES OR NO PROS & CONS

[Phil]

WHAT ARE THE YES'S AND NO'S TO JIG RATTLES ??

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

Jigs, this is just my opinion, doesn't count for much but I give it freely..I know sound travels better in water than in the air, but have you ever listened to the sonds most jig rattles put out..Not very much in most cases..It also seems that most jig rattles come encased in some sort of soft plastic or hard rubber coating..In either case this coating will absorb a good percentage of the noise generated by the rattles..I am fairly new to the skirted jig fishing scene, I have done fairly well with Cooch's Wadda jigs, still nothing really big yet, but at least now I can and do catch jig fish..I just have not found any great benefit to having rattles on the jig..I do not doubt there will be posters who swear by having the rattles, I just personally don't think they put out enough noise to make any really big difference..

mac

[g-man]

Rattles for muddy water or to intice a strike when the ones with out rattles are not producing! For me its a test thing, I try them both and see what is working for that day/ conditions. Once I figure out what they want I will stay with it.

[Mike]

Rattles ALL of the time. What could it hurt? Do you think a rattle would scare off a fish?

[Phil]

WELL MIKE;

I HAVE SEEN THE DAY WHEN A GITZIT, A WORM, A REAL CRAWDAD, ETC HAS YES SCARED OFF A FISH. SO YES I BELIEVE IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THE FISH WARY AND SCARE HIM/HER OFF.

JIGS

[ash]

I dont want or like the way jig rattles are placed they typically get in the way of my trailer and I cut them off GRRRR. If I really want a rattle I will use the collar rattle and typically I only use this in very Muddy or tannin water.

I am of the school where that lead down there bouncin against rocks and bangin into stuff along with that big ole trailer pushin water that if a fish cant key in on those things then they aint going to key into the rattle.

So jig makers please do me a favor save me your time and cost no rattles, I will attach them if I feel like I really need them.

Thank you,

[SethB]

9 times out of 10 I will fish a jig with no rattle. In certain situations one might out preform the other but they both have there time and place. I have experienced days where you could not get bit on a jig with a rattle but could catch fish all day on a non-ratteling jig, same size, color, and trailer. When the jig bite is ON I believe that ratteling jigs can get you more bites faster. One is not better than the other. Different tools for different situations.

[Cooch]

There are only two factors that go into the use of rattles, and only one of them really counts or matters:

First, your confidence factor, it dictates you must have them, or you do not need them.

The second, is what triggers a bass to bite or not.

It's like, do ya use a solid wood crankbait, or a plastic one with a Rattle chamber? Do we use a buzz bait with a clacker, or one with just a 3 blade prop? Do we use a jerkbait with, or with out rattles? Do we use a Texas rig with a bead or not? Most of us, are prepeared with both options. A jig is no different.

Some of us can be narrow minded, and choose one of the two choices of factor one. The versatile angler, is always listening to the fish and willing to go one way or the other, do what ever it takes to attain more bites in a day. If we listen only to ourselves and not the fish, we can outsmart ouselves from time to time. Where as the idea here is, to out smart the fish.

I've seen it work both ways when jig fishing. This is the main reason why I prefer a jig out of the package that has no rattles. If I need one, I put one on. Most of the time, I fish my jig with out a rattle, so it's a lot easier to occassional put a rattle on a few jigs, than it is to have to cut it off, of every jig I use when it's not needed.

[BassManDan]

I dont think thereare really any "cons" to a jig rattle.
Now none of my football/finesse jigs have rattles, mainly because they are for clearer water/no cover situations, and with those, the jigs is usually dancing around on the rocks so it is making enough rukus with that.
Flipping/pitching is another story, 99% of the time my jigs will have rattles, the other 1% of the time, is because the rattle broke off or I forgot to put one on, in any case I couldn't say that my rattle jigs catch more fish per time spent in the water.
But there are 2 main reasons why I use rattles.
Reason #1) A little extra sound in a complex habitat is one more que for Mr. bass to home in on. Maybe he caught a glimpse of the jig falling on the other side of the lily stalk, he felt the water disturbance with the lateral-line system, he might be able to smell the trailer on the jig, why not make it sound like a snappy craw too!
Reson #2) Weight, yes weight, I feel that the addition of that few gram rattle changes the dynamic of the bait, it bulks up the skirt a little bit to create a bulkier package and that extra weight gives me a bait that is slightly heavier to pitch or flip, which means a softer landing. But this weight does not alter the sink rate, it seems to be about neutral in affecting the jigs descent.

All is know is that these reasons justify my confidence in my own customized jigs.

BassManDan

[biteme]

None for me thanks! I cut em off.

[bassenvy]

night fishin',dirty water,and when the bite gets tough.

[snapitoff2002]

You kiddin' me!??? Dirty water, Favorite PB&J jig.... Rattles Son! Let em' find that thing... shake shake shake Uh Son! Fish on!

Clear water... .Not so much...

[Greg_Cornish]

6 no, 5 yes one who cares. Did that help?

[bassindon69]

I don't care for them on the jig, But I will put a glass rattle in the trailer now and then if it seems to get more strikes.

Don.

[Jim Conlow Sr.]

Having been caught on a rattling bait a fish could possibly become wary of things that rattle.

On the other hand the rattle could work like a call and bring fish to it from a greater distance than a bait without sound.
I think it makes sense to rig two baits on two seperate rods and throw the one with out rattles first and then if you dont get bit try the rattles.

I have done this on numerous occasions and sometimes it has been productive.