I am wondering if anyone has spent some time fishing jigs with and without rattles? If so was there a noticeable difference in bites? I have thrown shakey heads in very dirty water and had many bites with no sound. A lot of the jigs on the market make sure to advertise the loudness of their jig rattles while others focus on the colors, components, and paint durability. Thanks for any thought on this topic.

I used to fish alot of ratttle jigs. Now a days Im more for no rattle, unless the water is real muddy.

I make it a point to use rattles when the water is stained or muddy...but most my jigs have rattles anyway, so I guess I use them most of the time. 

Pesonally, I don't use rattles unless the water is very,very muddy and most times I look for some cleaner water. Just my preference though. Normally when I do add rattles, I add a glass one to the plastic trailer. Just like you would a worm or creature type bait.

I am like most others. I usually only use rattles in dirty water.

Not a fan of rattles.

   -gk

There are situations where I use a rattle, water clarity has little to do with it, I have caught them in dirty water with no rattle just fine, usually they are really tight to cover when the water is dirty, and flipping or pitching right into there face will get you bit rattle or not. When I like a rattle is in heavy grass , and when there is alot of cloud cover and wind. I find that they are more active in these conditions, moving around in the grass and the rattle gets there attention better, when it's bright and calm I take the rattle off. I don't like the rattle pods that seem to come standard on most jigs now, I use a big 7mm single BB glass rattle meant to fit in a tube, on a home made rattle holder. Does it make a difference........who knows, but i have confidence in my system and that what matters.

There is a guy that I fish with and he has been fishing a loooong time and mostly with jigs.  I asked him this question a couple of years ago and he said that he never felt that he could every recall a time when either having rattles or not having rattles made a difference as to whether he caught fish or not.

For me, I think if I knew I would only be fishing rocks or rip-rap, that rattles might be a help, but since I usually fish the whole lake at some point or the other I don't want to be changing up every few casts.

My vote - it doesn't matter.

I use rattling jigs for a very slow presentation. The rattle shouldn't sound like a morroco with a lot of noise. The sound you are after is a crawfish tapping his legs/pinchers on a hard surface. It is very subtle, more of a slight tick than a rattle. I think they have their place. JMHO

Ronnie

To start, most of the waters I fish are clear.

When I am fishing structure such as rip rap or brush piles, the sound of the jig head banging on the structure is more than enough "noise" for me.  As the jig gets close to me, I can usually hear the head bouncing off of rocks, kinda weird.  Unless for some reason the fish are keyed in on rattles, I wont usually have one tied on because the jig is making enough noise on its own.

However, when I do use rattles, it is usually at night, in weedy areas, and only when I feel that the bass are in a lethargic mood and aren't actively searching for food.  I feel that it helps bass key in on a jig that they otherwise wouldnt be searching for.