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rattles in wood cranks?

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Anyone put rattles in? What did you use? I saw a fishing sow last week where an audio 'mike' or speaker was dropped over the side of the boat and it played some sort of baitfish 'sound' to try to stimulate the targeted specie into a feeding mode. It was either smallies or walleyes they were after. Does anyone believe this? Thanks.

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Don't know if its worth the trouble (rattles in wood) . I drill a hole and place a section of plastic drinking straw (1.25" lenth) and place four BB's in it. It gets a suddle rattle and its different than a plastic sounding lure. You must seal the end with a BB so it will mot stick to any glue or expoxy. BB's must move freely.

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I have used short glass worm rattles but mostly gave up on the idea. First, it's hard to get a loud rattle in a wood bait. Second, you need to be careful where you put it. At the rotational axis, you won't get much rattle. Too high will throw off the balance. That leaves low down where you're already putting the hangers and ballast. Tough to find room there in anything except a very large bait. One I tried listed to the side 'cause the BB's shifted and the rattle was too high. Lastly, IMO as a fisherman is that I don't want all my cranks to rattle. I like no rattles in clear water and reserve rattles for fishing chocolate milk. The more pressured and "educated" the fish are, the less I want rattles.

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Made some wooden baits with rattle. One is only 3,5cm long. You wouldn't believe it has a rattle in it :grin:

I believe that rattles make the fish "sound" BULKIER THAN IT IS. It accentuates the turbulences of the lure. I believe this because the fish don't have an actual ear. And due to this i believe it's the sound waves through the water that they "feel", not hear. Don't really know how2 to put it better in English. Can not tel anything yet about their efficency yet.

I'll make some more, that looke the same and have the same vibration as one without rattles, and tell you how it goes.

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BobP, u make some very interesting points. I use glass rattles on almost all my lures. mainly because I bought a hundred of them to use when worm fishing but never really used them. what i do on a say 2.5" dbait, i drill a 1/4" hole between the lip and the belly weight/hanger close to the bottom of the lure and push the glass rattle in. then score the glass rattle and snip off the end with some pliers. cover the end with a piece of left over wood, apply wood putty and sand when dry! I've also seen (i think on the TU tutorial) where the rattle was inserted by drilling a 45 degree hole on the top tail section of the bait! could give it a different action.

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I'm making a couple of deep diving basswood cranks right now and decided to put rattles in them as the cranks are intended to work deep where light penetration is limited. I drilled a smooth 1/4" hole through the bait perpendicular to the long axis, just behind the belly hanger. I superglued a small round piece of aluminum soda can over the hole on one side, let it dry, put in 2 ss bearings and glued on a cover for the other side. It's easy to cut the aluminum with small sissors and it sands down nicely after it's glued on. The vibration seems better than I get with worm rattles. The bb's whacking the metal caps just under the epoxy finish have a more direct contact with the side of the crankbait (and the surrounding water). Plus, you can use this type rattle in crankbaits of just about any thickness. Don't get glue in the chamber after the bearings are in! I don't think this would work in balsa but it seems fine in hardwood. I also use the small aluminum can covers to patch holes drilled in lipless crankbaits to add/subtract rattles - just to give Mr. Bass something different to listen to. :)

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the 7mm glass tube rattles from Bass Pro Shops works great for baits made form at least 3/4 inch material, drill a hole through center of bait behind front hook hanger , deep and large for the rattle to slide in, super glue rattle in place, then plug hole with the wood plugs you can buy at the hardware store used in cabinet work, wood filler if necessary, sand smooth and put a thin coat of epoxy over wooden plug, I also put a thin coat of epoxy on the opposite side of lure just to add strength where hole is drilled in lure. I have been using this method for numerous years and they work fine for me, doesn't affect my balance in the baits I have been installing them in, and the rattle is very loud

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There are rattles made for crankbaits. I have found them on the web before. They are made of glass and have one steel bearing in them. They are 1/2 inch long. The are made in 7mm and 5mm. The 5mm is the smaller of the two and has a better "click" than the larger ones. But they aren't cheap. I paid $40.00 for 100 of them. These are simply the best type of rattles to put in a crankbait. When I install a rattle I do not want the rattle to go behind the lead in the belly of the lure. I want my lip of the lure to lean downward in the water so that it starts to dig as soon as I turn the handle on the reel. Putting the rattle behind the weight hinders this. I understand why some would want to get the rattle toward the tail. You would think that since the tail swings so hard that that would be the best place to put it. But....... if you really study how a crankbait moves you will see that the head moves back and forth as much as the tail of the lure. The lip of a crankbait causes the head of the lure to swing back and forth. This in turn causes the tail to do the same thing. The shortest area of swing in a bait is the middle of the lure. This is the area that moves back and forth the quickest. The rattle is short. It does not need a long swing to get the bearing to hit the sides of the rattle. Therefore the rattle will get more of a workout in the center of the lure. This is where the rattle should go. Cut a hole for the rattle completely through the lure from one side to the other after you have cut out the lure. This will ensure that your hole is straight and level through the center of the bait. Then you can shape your lure. When you are ready to install the rattle put just a "drop" of 5 min. epoxy on the rattle and get it seated in the CENTER of the lure. The epoxy will hold the rattle in place. Next fill the hole with wood filler. If you use epoxy to close the holes then it will add weight and definitely muffle the sound of the rattle. Using the wood putty really helps keep the sound of the rattle good and crisp. Plus you can sand the putty down to match the sides of the lure easily. If you are adding a rattle to a bait that is already completed, then drill your hole where the kill dot is on the side of the lure. You can mix black paint in with the epoxy and fill in the holes on the sides. That way you will not have to clear coat the entire bait after it is installed. You can use the 5 min. epoxy for this. Since the black paint is in the epoxy you will not have to worry about yellowing. If you have any other questions..... just ask.

Skeeter

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Thanks for the help Skeeter. I am making BIG cranks and figured to put the rattles in the tail. I was also going to make my own, maybe just drill a hole, put in some bb's and epoxy an aluminum cover plate over the holes for the bb's to strike against. Should be loud enough. Time for more experimentation. Thanks for ALL the replies fellas. Bruce

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The 7mm glass tube rattles from BAss Pro Shop are perfect in length for a 3/4 inch or thicker wood, which I use for making large deep diving cranks.

The price is also good 10 for less than $3.00 bucks, also the wooden plugs make a world of difference in the sound of the rattle, I've tried the method that Skeeter uses and also the wooden plugs and the sound is more amplified with the wood plugs. Also I've drilled all the way through and used that method also, but , I personally don't want to weaken the sides of the bait any more than I have to. YOu can also use the small plastic rattles for tubes that BPS sells also for smaller thinner cranks, with a wood plug they sound very good also, not as loud as the glass, but a good subtle sound. This is the method that I like to use, but everyone that makes lures seem to have their own little tricks which is good, makes this hobby and these boards fun to get involved in. Also no matter what size crank I am adding rattles to, I like to drill my hole in the center of the bait behind the ballast and hook hanger, I've run my baits in a closed tank and they really sound off when I put my rattles in this location.

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Thanks for the insight Skeeter! I worked out a crankbait from Basswood (my first) and was trying to figure out where to put a rattle. Like most, my thoughts were in the tail section but I didn't due to the size of the lure compared to the 5mm glass rattles I have at the house. I might try your suggestions tonight, lure is already sealed with Devcon. I'll let you know how it comes out if I do it.

....us painters just can't wait to paint!!!!

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Directly above the belly of the lure works well also. The bait will be thick enough there that it will hold a good sized rattle.

The main reason IMO, the belly of a crank takes the most abuse. A cranks belly takes the abuse and deflections on a given retrieve. Look at a crank thats been fished hard, theres a distinct moonpie shape on the belly of a lure that is banged thru structure, rocks, channels, etc...if that belly is getting beat up, a rattle just above it is getting knocked around like crazy creating serious irratic clacking sounds.

We may be splitting hairs here :)

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Just to reinforce Skeeters point, do you guys remember the old Spots that had one large lead piece in them? (Most people now call 'em one-knocker Spots) those had the rattling piece in the head, none elsewhere, and were some real a$$ kickin rattlebaits. Just ask Mark Davis & David Fritts! :D

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Just a thought, haven't tried this yet, but how about epoxying the rattle directly under the bill in the throat area (touching both the throat and the bottom of the bill)?. Sure it will be partially exposed, but shouldn't hinder performance of the lure. I'm sure Mr. Bass wouldn't mind AND it would be loud cause it's only partially buried in the wood.

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