Rattling lures, good or bad for LMB? Some people say that rattlin lures will scare fish away, does this claim hold any water? How about attracting bass? 

 

I'm looking to get a Rapala Clackin Crank and want to know if the rattle is a good idea or if i should avoid it. Thanks for any input.

Depends.

 

Some days the fish want the noise and others they do not. You have to find the pattern.

 

In stained or dirty water rattles help the bass locate your bait. After they see it they will hit it.

 

Rattles can be used on jigs and in plastics.

 

Give 'em a shot and find out if they work for the bodies of water you fish and let us know.

I assume there are times when rattling baits might spook a bass, but they are a factor when it comes to attracting, especially in dingy/off colored water situations.

I carry both silent and rattle cranks and almost always start with the rattle versions.  If they aren't producing and I'm confident there are fish in the area, I'll switch to the silent baits.   I've also found that I can pick up a couple more fish with a silent bait after the bite dies off on the rattling one.

I believe in clear water when the bass can see your lure so no rattle maybe needed. It's like using a rapala original floater it's quiet. I still use a scent on it anyway. "But"in stained to muddy water I like having a rattle plus a scent. If the lure sends out a vibration like a inline spinner that could be the key to success too. I like having all the basses sences covered anyway. I throw a rattle bomber crankbait most of the time when I go threw my ritual of lures looking for a pattern. The rattle rings the dinnerbell over long distances for me and it gets there attention. Some lures come with a low pitch rattle while others have a high pitch rattle. I notice in the bomber crankbaits they use many smaller BB's in there rattle making it a unique multiple rattle sound. While other rattle sounding lures have just one bigger bb in them making them a knocker instead of a rattle. Some spooks and topwater lures are knockers rather than rattles. It depends on how fast or slow your presentation is to turn up the volumne too. A violent action makes it knock harder or rattle harder think about it. We can actually hear a knocker lure at long distances on the surface as we walk it. You can also cast it out and pause it, then just twitch it, sending out the I'm wounded, here I am too. We can use a rattle or knocker lure many different ways. I suggest going with a rattle/knocker lure anyway. And have your quiet lures ready too. We need to throw both. Bb

When the bite dies off I found the bigger fish will come in to see what the smaller fish are feeding on but they won't hit the same lure. Go larger in lure size. As the lighting conditions change go brighter in lure color as it gets darker.

My rapala original floater in blue is a quiet lure I throw at twilight I the morning. I call this lure the "blue max" because it will catch anything in its area. Sometimes a stealthy lure will sneak up on fish for a reaction bite.