Rattle Trap Fishing

“Speed Trap”

It is during the Pre-Spawn that Rattle Traps are “King of the Road!”
Rattle Traps in the ½ ounce size are the most popular and versatile sizes, but when conditions change so does the size of the Rattle Trap… ¼ ounce and ¾ ounce will also come into play.
For all around Rattle Trap fishing you should tie on the ½ ounce size. Use line sizes between 12 and 20 pounds—depending on the amount of cover and sizes of the fish.
The new fluorocarbon lines are excellent for fishing with a Rattle Trap. Fluorocarbon lines offer greater sensitivity, less stretch, and are invisible to the bass. Simply changing your line can double the number of bites you get.
The best areas to fish with a Rattle Trap include: Points, creek channel bends, and ledges close to spawning pockets. Fish the Trap around stumps, lay-down logs, and around boat docks. Be sure to “bump” whatever cover you encounter to get a reaction strike.
On lakes with Hydrilla a Rattle Trap is deadly on big bass! Fish over grass lines (near spawning areas) allowing the Rattle Trap to bind up slightly in the grass and then “rip” it free. It is during this process that the fish will normally bite. The speed at which you retrieve your Rattle Trap is an important detail. By varying your retrieval speeds you can discover what the fish “prefer” at any given time. In some instances, burning the Trap in shallow water produces a killer bite! At other times, fishing more slowly in deeper water will produce more favorable results.