Rattle placement

[grinder]

Hello friends,

I would like to know where exactly one would place an internal rattle in a small crank (2"-3"). Near the tail I would guess,(most amount of side to side movement), but also not to interfere with the tail screw eye obviously. Is the insertion made vertically from the top or bottom, or horizontally from the side? Any help much appreciated!

thanks........Jeff

[Terrydabassman]

I place mine in the center of the bait right behind and above the ballast....I don't know where others place theirs.

[6_feet_deep]

All depends on the bait...some plugs will have a ever so slightly different action and some will not. I've put glass rattles in SR#5's and it worked out great. I just put it in the thickest spot of the plug if it's small. It bulged a little bit on both sides, but it catches fish. I've always done mine in a horizontal fashion...bigger plugs I try to place it as close to center as possible. There are some guys on here that carve and craft baits and they can probably give you some good advice as far as how weight in different parts of a lure affect the lure. Good Luck!

[Spike-A-Pike]

I place mine in the center of the bait right behind and above the ballast....I don't know where others place theirs.

Terry,

Are your baits cut in two or one piece, wood or foam or something else? Just curious?

[benton B]

right behind the balast on my baits

[Palmetto Balsa]

Crankbait rattle placement is cross-ways and where I can make it fit the best. Usually in the middle and above the ballast.

Topwater and jerkbait rattle placement is front to back and I try to fit in near the middle or toward the head.

I have tried all kinds or rattles and the glass worm rattles are the ones I like best.

If I was going to make a large 6" topwater bait, and wanted a very loud rattle I might go with the plastic jig rattles with the steel ball in the end. Those will really thump in a wooden bait.

[sagacious]

Crankbait rattle placement is cross-ways and where I can make it fit the best. Usually in the middle and above the ballast.

...

I have tried all kinds or rattles and the glass worm rattles are the ones I like best.

...

I agree.

You can also make a great rattle from a fired 22lr case and a bb or small ball-bearing. Use a thin piece of brass to cover the open end of the case. I just cut open another fired 22lr case with snips, and then punch out a brass disk with a hole punch to cover the open end.

Works great, won't break, cost-effective, catches fish, and is plenty LOUD!

Hope this helps, good luck!

[rofish]

My experience with 2 cranks in which I placed a rattle in the middle area of the lure has lead me to find other places for the rattles, because such rattles would not make any noise, and that's because the BB would not move, or not move enough. But when I placed the rattle towards the head or towards the tail, the rattle worked very well. This is not only a placement issue, it also has to do with the distance a BB would have to travel to one side and to the other. The longer the distance, the less chanses for the rattle to make noise.

[Terrydabassman]

Baits are all xx hard balsa.

[pikeman]

I'll second rofish on this one, although I didn't worked too much with rattles I think the best place to place them is in the back of the lure. It is easier to place them in front cause it will be near the balast, but I think the tail should produce the sound with the movement

[BobP]

I think anywhere is OK as long as it's not at the pivot point around which the crankbait rotates when it wiggles. The pivot is often (but not always) at the ballast. Always put it in across the width of the crankbait for most noise. On smaller 2" crankbaits, it can be hard to find a place that's wide enough to hold the rattle. I usually put mine slightly above and behind the ballast too.

[grinder]

Thanks for all the advice, one can save alot of experimentation time, asking those with the knowledge.