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Posts: 79
Location: West Virginia | Talked to a guide today and he says this time a year a 3 inch RatL trap is hard to beat. Is this something in your arsenals. I know you are supposed to downsize this time of year but never thought of a RatL Trap. |
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Posts: 2361
| Or not.
They, and occassionally I, use rattletraps here in KY in the colder water part of spring, but usually I think last resort rather than first choice. Problems with holding bigger fish is the main reason. But they work fine on shallow fish in the murky water that is often on the menu down here in the spring. Making a lot of casts and zinging them back to cover water are two of the things that make them work. I think a large number of strikes are simply reaction strikes because someone buzzes the nose of the fish, but if the fish is available and negative, I guess that presentation is as good as any for getting a strike.
I prefer bigger pull baits myself, and they also work. |
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| There is a lot of hype about rattle baits because there is a good profit margin on them, buy them for $3.00 re-sell them for $10.00. Bass guys have long known that when the sun warms the water in the spring, a rattle trap on the sand flats will produce some big bass. Many tournaments have been won this way. When conditions are right, they are dynamite for muskies too, usually when the water is above 50 degrees and the fish are really shallow. Some guys, especially at Cave Run, start throwing them when the water is in the 30's because they've heard so much about the rattle bite. IMO there are better choices when the water is cooler, but they sure work well when the window is open. the rattle thing isn't what it used to be at the Cave either. Back in the early 90's you could really work them over, nowadays, they see them so much, so early, that they just aren't the ticket that they used to be. Lots will be caught, but that's all most people are throwing. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | The last couple of yrs. on The Cave, when I see 3 or 4, or 6 boats throwing traps, I try to throw something a bit slower, like a spinner bait, phantom, hellhound, or a small Twitch bait....... Traps do produce fish, but early in the season, most of the fish are smaller... Oh, but up in N.Mn. traps shine on the first couple of weeks of the season..... I've never seen anyone throw traps up there.
I caught my first rattle trap fish on opening day in N.Mn. about 9 yrs. ago in 2 ft ow..... Don't forget to change the hooks and split rings to larger ones, or you'll be sorry.
Jerome |
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| You can do the same thing with other shallow running crankbaits with a tight wobble that can be retrieved quickly. I outfished my partner one day in Ky. 5-0 with a Crane bait vs. a Rat L' Trap. |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | Rattle Traps work good on early season musky on St. Clair. Most bass fishermen know this because they catch a lot of muskies on them during the bass C&R season. Not many of the musky casters use them.
As for guys buying them for $3 & selling them for $10, I seen that at the Michigan Musky Show. The same exact rattle baits I bought for under $4 were being sold for $10 at the show. Some were repainted with more traditional musky color patterns & some weren't.
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| Yep, funny how the Windels Muskie Snack, Bucher PT Pro Rattler, Kentucky Rattler, and the Rattlin' Shad all look the same, huh? I've seen those bodies unpainted for 10 for $12.00 and painted for $3.60 a piece.......hmmm, anybody want to buy some off of me for $10.00 with good hooks on them? They are a spring miracle bait after all. Okay that was a cheap shot, but they CAN be a productive method for catching shallow muskies. |
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Posts: 1220
| Clearly nothing new on the boards when folks talk up their stuff (friends stuff) and also nothing new that most of what we see for sale is upsized bass baits. Usually doesn't take too long either for the new bass baits to get picked up. So, if you want to talk about rattle traps, ask yourself when the bass guys use them. In the bass world you are more likely to call them lipless crank baits. So, why ditch the lip. You get a shallower running crank bait designed more to bounce off stuff more than to attain depth. You also get a narrower profile with very little wobble. One really preferred place is the grass, and another is the wind where it's easy to toss accurately and still maintain feel and control of the retrieve. Mainly, it is small and that is why it is an early season bait. Last, I saw everybody at the Cave tournament tossing them during the practice days and virtually nobody doing it during the tournament. It is not a bait to assume you are going to need any more than one you should ignore. And, if you are going to use them for musky....make certain that the proper hardware is on the model you choose. I have some that any respectable musky would rip to pieces. Marty |
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Posts: 642
Location: Richfield, MN | Sharptooth - 3/5/2011 6:32 PM
Talked to a guide today and he says this time a year a 3 inch RatL trap is hard to beat. Is this something in your arsenals. I know you are supposed to downsize this time of year but never thought of a RatL Trap.
They work great bass fishing that is for sure!!!!!!!! |
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Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Muddy, buddy, easy on the exclamation points! |
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Posts: 184
| I spent time on the Cave last spring in late March. I bought some Kentucky Rattlers and fished the paint off them, caught a few bass. The gliders were working when I was down there. Couldn't get anything going on the rattle baits. That was just me though. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | I haven`t had much luck on the smaller size but the bigger rattles have done good. |
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Posts: 79
Location: West Virginia | good info guys, thanks. |
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Posts: 909
| I think the "Down sizing" thing in spring is over rated! Just my 2 pennies!
Brian |
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Posts: 1224
Location: Okoboji | think these will work...lol 4"
(2011-03-02_20-10-10_771.jpg)
(2011-03-02_20-09-59_123.jpg)
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 2011-03-02_20-10-10_771.jpg (61KB - 292 downloads)
2011-03-02_20-09-59_123.jpg (39KB - 213 downloads)
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | kodiak - 3/8/2011 8:30 AM
think these will work...lol 4"
Hey Kodiak, I don't live far from you.....So next month when I head down to Cave Run, I'll stop by and get a few of those to "TEST" for ya....LOL.
Nice looking Lures.
Jerome |
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Posts: 1224
Location: Okoboji | As long as I can come!!! |
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