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Fall 2024
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ONE KNOCK OR TUNGSTEN OPTION
There is a difference that a few companies have tried and use to separate them from the pack. Booyah came out with bait called One Knocker. These baits do not have BB rattles. They have one oversized ball in the sound chamber.
You can tell by grabbing this bait and giving it a shake it has a different sound. I stock a few of these in my box, and I have had days that this is the sound that the bass wanted, so it will not hurt to cover your bases and grab a few for your box.
In another case, Strike King makes a bait with a tungsten ball inside. This, like the One Knock, puts off a different sound than the other typical rattle baits or the One Knock.
A few others have gone down this path, Strike King has a Tungsten 2 Tap option. The rattle is a tungsten ball, and another option is the Raptor Tungsten. This sound is more of a thumping sound than a higher pitch made from BBs rattling in a chamber.
HOOK OPTIONS
One thing you must be cautious about when fishing rattle baits is your hookup/landing. Bass can have an easy time throwing this bait. Most of this is when they grab the back hook and have a free-swinging bait that they can move around and use the leverage of the bait to throw the bait free during a jump.
The less you let them jump on the surface, the harder it is for them to throw the bait. When a bass is coming up to the surface, I will put my rod tip down to try to keep the bass from surfacing or keep the jump to a minimum as best I can.
A few other keys I have used during my rattle bait fishing is to keep my hooks sharp. The sharper
my hooks are, the better I can keep that bass that is hooked from throwing the bait.
One other thing that I have done is change my stock hooks to Gamakatsu EWG short shank trebles. It is hard for the bass to throw a rattle bait equipped with these hooks instead of standard trebles. As with all hooks, make sure that you check them regularly and keep them sticky sharp.
LINE ADJUSTMENTS
Line options have changed over the years. Today, my first choice to fish rattle baits is with a straight fluorocarbon line, but I also have a backup choice when it is vital to rip the bait off the cover to generate more bites.
In this case areas, I will take a crankbait rod with a little more give in the tip and team this with a reel spooled with 30-poiund Sunline Xplasma Asegai braid.
I will arm this braid with a 16-pound mono leader. This give-and-take factor allows me to lean towards slightly more give, so I cannot pull the bait out of the bass’ mouth. Between the rod’s give and the mono leader’s stretch, I have very few bass that have been able to pull free or throw my bait. This is the best go-between factor that makes pulling the bait free easier from the cover and not losing hookup bass on the way back to the boat.
I hope this rattle bait breakdown will help you put bass in your boat this fall season. Bass put on the feed bag at this time of the season. Covering water is critical, and placing a rattle bait in your hands allows you to do just that. Carry an assortment of baits in your box, as you will quickly find out what makes a bass bite one day may not work the next. To put more odds in your favor, carry an assortment of rattle baits. •