To rattle or not to rattle that is the question!

I am a hole hopper and love the slush punching power of the smallest Buckshot Spoon but like the action of other stuff like the castmaster or forage minnow-do crappies even care about the rattle? Does it sometimes repel them? (does I guess for Walter)

I honestly have never used anything with a rattle for crappies.

They work with rattles let the fish tell you what they want.

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I cant say if the rattle repels them,I would guess at times it might.I use alot of the smallest buckshots they make and catch alot of crappies on them.Catch alot of walleyes,pike,perch,tullibees even a few big gills also.It might scare some and attract others at different times.I guess there is no real way to know forsure.

Thanks matt-I used to fish the buckshot a lot on a lake with deep wood, did not want the spoon fluttering out too much or it would find a branch and snag, and I thought that a fish on the other side of the sunken tree would find it by going to the rattle-seemed to work.
Have the fish tell you, hmmmm so is it the change in lure, cadence time of day, so many variables-color etc.

Any more opinions?

No rattles, ditch that spoon and go back to the jig. Its still paying off like it did the day we met.

When I fished for crappie more a standard forage minnow was best.

The lateral line is super sensitive as are certain senses for all predators. Those bb’s will be sensed from a much greater distance than the motions made from a lure’s basic design as it moves. Does more lure noise make a difference when it comes to provoking fish?

One design I would never fish without rattles is the Rat-L-Trap. But as with most lure designs, time and place determine when and where I use them. In-their-face or subtle presentations? Faster or slower? The Trap is generally used with a horizontal swim whereas surface crankbaits with rattles are used at a slower speed. Both catch pan fish – crappie included.

As always, fishing with lures is about the combinations:
lure design combinations combined with what and how a lure is used – at least in my experience regardless fish species.

Heck, since live bait suspended mid-depth does the trick with their subtle or tortured noiseless motions, why bother with bb’s? Bb’s amplify sound and maybe are more annoying at times to less-than-active fish.

Bear weighs in with a g.d. solid answer. I’ll throw away all my ice spoons right now.

Had a day this winter crappies wouldnt touch a buckshot so I tried a spoon with no rattle,still wouldnt touch it.My buddy was close by using a small jig and plastic he caught 2.I then tried a #3rippin rap and had my 5 crappies in no time,they would come rite up and hit it.My buddy left with the 2 he had.So did the buckshot not have enough rattles?

Rattles will call them in easier. That’s all I know.