Ways & Means
Considering noise
By Michael JonesLike it or not, bass fishermen often have to rely on assumptions and guesswork. Backed by experience and good angling instincts, this orchestrated form of mental chaos can appear rather academic when an assumption produces results. Still, much of what we think we know about bass behavior falls into the hazy gray area of educated guesses.
Take noise for instance. We know that sound travels approximately five times faster on water than through the air. We also know that bass can process that sound quite effectively utilizing an inner ear, a swim bladder and its lateral line. Beyond these basic facts, what we understand about how bass respond to noise-making lures couldn't float an 8-foot johnboat.
For an angler pursuing less aggressive bass in late fall and early winter, the choice of whether to use rattles is always a concern.
Will too much noise be a turn-off? Will too little not stimulate a strike response?
Instead of becoming entangled in countless environmental factors from water temperature to water clarity, a more direct method is simply deciding how far a bass must move to strike your lure. If you're making highly targeted casts to structure, places where bass have been pinpointed with sonar, a rattling bait probably isn't necessary. That is, unless a lack of strikes has told you that the fish require something more. At this point, the game has probably shifted from encouraging a feeding response to generating a reaction strike.
If your presentations were less targeted (crankbaits for example), a rattling lure would most likely be the first choice. Even though a bass is now less likely to move as far to the lure as it might in the summer, it's still being forced to make a commitment. Remember, seasonal conditions make distance a relative thing. As a result, the pulling power of noise is a prime consideration. However, if those same crankbait casts require extreme accuracy (placing the lure directly in front of the bass), then noise may be an unnecessary and potentially unproductive factor.
The trick is to live by your assumptions, not die by them.
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