Rattle Traps

As long as the site is on a roll for crank baits , lets try this one. Before I place my springtime order I would like to see your preference on colors and sizes for Rattle Traps for river fishing.

I like 1/4 and 1/2… favorite colors are fire tiger and blue/silver… though craw can be good too….. I toss the first two the most….. and USUALLY the 1/2 size… cuz I like the casting distance it gives….. I can work big areas quick….. but I admit that sometimes its the smaller size that is the trigger…

Ahhh the ol Rattle trap! In the summer months this is my go to bait in 5′ of water or less. I have taken just about every species fish in the river on traps. Favorites? Shad and the off color greenish looking color that everyone saw in the bargain bins last year really produce well for me and at a great price! If had to pick one single crank bait to cast in the summer months the Rattle Trap would deffinately be my choice.

I like the 1/4 oz in the spring and go to 1/2 oz later.

Great baits that are vastly underused.

I like to use a reel with heavy mono…say 17#….and work ‘en right through the boil line of wing dams. Unreal hooking a large walleye in less than 2’ of water.

In other situations, I use 20# Fireline on St Croix cranking rods. With no-stretch line you need a rod that flexes.

As far as colors….I use reds in the spring, then chartreuses and greens and some chromes as the water clears.

One word of advise…….change the hooks.

Beav

Changing the hooks? To what might you recommend Beaver and why? I’ve heard of changing them to double barbs for less snags………..is this what you mean?

I go to Mustad round bend trebles because the nickle hooks that come on Rattle Traps just aren’t sharp enough and are hard to sharpen.

I go 1 size bigger on the main body hook, and on the rear treble I make sure it’s just the right size so that the two hooks can’t tangle.

Maybe not a necessity to some, but I like quality hooks.

Beav

Big time change the hooks. I went with the #4 or #6 vmc (cant remember which) vanadiums and upped the hooking percentages tremendously the hooks that come with traps are pretty poor.

Thanks for the tips! I bought some VMC’s on clearance a while back and have used other hooks they make with great success so I’ll have to dig into the traps and see what I can change out! Anything to increase the hook ups! Thanks again!

Traps,, all three major brands are great. Metalic silver, metalic gold, shad, and last but not least almost all the holigraphics. From Late April till December I will throw this bait some part of almost every day. Lawrence

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I like the 1/4 oz Frenzy Rattl’r in the Gold/Black color. (They even come with the hooks like Beav talked about……larger on front and smaller on back and sharp……I think they are VMC)

Like it has been said, lipless crankbaits catch everything that swims and they are fun to fish. Try one this season, I think they work great.

Good Luck,

Eric Naig

I love throwing traps, but I would not suggest the holographics, unless you can get a great deal. I bought a couple of them and all the paint peeled off the second time out. No real biggie, I now have two all chrome traps. I like both the 1/2 and 1/4. I also like the Frenzy 3/8oz I believe.

I fish traps like I fish all cranks – the favorites are the biggest, ugliest ones made. The ones that catch fish… well… aren’t.

One day I was horsing around and started flippin’ a trap along a weed edge and jigging it 2-3 feet back to the boat along the bottom. The fish couldn’t leave it alone – the only problem was that if you put too much slack in the line the hooks could tangle.

I have rattle traps in my tackle boxes but have not used them much. But thanks to you guys sharing how well they have worked for you, I am going to use them this year for sure. There are so many different techniques that sometimes I think we forget about some of them and could be missing out on alot of fish catching enjoyment. Just like Jame’s reports all last year on plastics. The 1st. thing I bought for my tackle boxes when I first started fishing was plastics. But I hadn’t used them for years. Yet they catch fish like crazy. Seems like no matter how many years I fish there is always somrthing to learn and to relearn. Thanks everyone. Bill

IT sounds like you guys all are casting the rattle traps. Do you ever troll with them. Or jerk them like a sonar type blade.

I will give them a try I have a bunch I keep for smallie’s

thanks

I have trolled with them on flats and caught walleyes but haven’t done much casting with them. But that will change. Bill

I saw a guy longlining them on the croix one day on a 12 foot flat.. and he was NAILING the fish with them……

I found that jerking like a sonar is an awsome technice for winter pike. I have thought about using them for eyes in the summer and fall like a sonar but have not got to it yet.