Rattle Reels???

[RJ]

Tell me more. Sounds like a reel, mounted inside the shanty. I often have a tip-up in the second hole. Is this available thru the site? Have never seen one, and I've always thought I was pretty well versed on fishing gimmicks.

[Dan Thiem]

The rattle reels we have in our fish house we bought at Fleet Farm. They basicly consist of a cheap plastic spool that's hollow in the middle.Inside there is usually bells or balls that will make a noise. Then when it is wound or unwound you can hear it. Mine swing out on hinged arms that come out from the walls. They have a tension knob on them to make them free spool as tight as you want.

[hanson]

I realize that Rattle Reels are on the cutting edge of ice fishing technology but I'm looking to get some opinions too.

I plan on putting 2 for sure, possibly 4 in my sleeper house I'm finishing up for this winter. Is a rattle reel a rattle reel, or are some better than others?? I've heard good things about the Lewandowski rattle reels. They mount to the wall with a bracket so you can remove them when you leave. This would be a good option for me. I don't want to leave quality gear laying around for thieves.

Also where do you think is the best place to put them. I've heard on the wall above the hole. I've also heard on the wall up by the ceiling so they are out of the way.

Any opinions on line?? I would assume braided dacron like my tip-ups with a mono leader. I've also heard of people using fly line.

[Aqua Eye]

Here are a couple ideas to try in your fish houses. One thing I like with a rattle reel is to mount the reel to one half of a hinge and then mount the other half/ halves of hinges at other holes in the shack. That way all you have to do is pull out the pin and move your rattle reel to another location for a spin.(no pun intended) A small allen wrench works excellent as a hinge pin in this situation.

The second idea is to mount a little hook in the ceiling over the center of your ice holes. Then attach a loop of some material to the handle of a couple of your rods,ie leather, rope, nylon strap etc. Next, leave the bail open with the rod hanging upside down from the ceiling hook. I prefer a baitcast reel for this idea. The line free spools straight down the hole when a fish takes the bait. Just do this right so only your line goes down the hole instead of everything else. Give these ideas a shot, they have always worked well for me.-TROY

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Rattle Wheels work great as a second line, or in all of your fish house holes.

I bought mine at the local L&M Fleet Farm. They are made in Brainard I think.

Use the plastic coated braided line made especially for tip-ups on it. Easy to hand line and very few tangles.

Tie on a small swivel, add a 3 foot mono leader, and a plain hook or small jig and you are ready to fish.

Set your depth and then put a very small clip on bobber just below the Rattle Wheel for quickly reseting for the next bite.

The Wheel will many times out fish jigging for reluctant fish!

Cliff

[HUNTER2]

I fasten mine close to the ceiling so you dont break them off or get hooked on the hook's.

[huskiesplayer15]

I would buy the kind where one revolution, means one foot of line wound up, we have them swivel to tuck against the wall when not in use. Did I read the first post right and see he has a tip in his house? My eyes are going buggy tonight! We also use fly line, its easier on the hands, especially if you get a screaming northern on the line, for people who dont know mono will do a number on your hands! We usually go with a 6 foot leader of four pound vanish for walleyes, then a flirty girty, gem-n-eye or fat boy, anything that glows typically.

Best Fishes

Chris

[LocalGuide]

Yeah my Grandpa(carpenter) and I got together last winter and made about 20+ Rattle Reels. They kinda look like the wood rattle reels in the stores but ours have more spokes and different hinges for the house. We also used the kind of wing-nuts that are metal with a nylon lock nut inside (forget what exactly they are called) instead of the plastic (nylon) ones in stores. Its much easier to fine tune the resistance with them instead of the plastic ones.

Its nice to make them so they are 1 foot per revolution. We also made some of them portable real easy. At Menard's one day we found some nice clamps that were on sale for $1 each. We got a dozen of them or so and then made some more RR with a clamp on instead of a hinge. It works slick for portable fish houses and you can go from house to house as long as there is something to clamp on.

Personally I don't like the little orange ones, but if your on budget they are cheaper to buy. But in a sense you pay for what you get.

[I'llTakeWhatiCanGet]

I would agree with everyone who said to mount them up high, its nice to be able to set your lines without bending over. As far as i've heard, there's not too much difference between brands. I did see a nifty little trick last year though. My buddy spooled up all his rattle rigs with cheap flyline (an mono leaders). He was having trouble with other types of line getting tangled up when he pulled in a fish and the line piled up on the floor. The flyline worked real nice in that respect.

[RJ]

Great Ideas. I'll be puttsing around the garage for the next month and a half trying to build one out of scrap aprts laying around. Bet I can make it work.

I have, many times, put a tip-up in the second hole inside the shanty.

Thanks for the ideas.

[Uncle Grump]

RJ

I made mine - used masonite for the sides, and 1/4" dowels

for the "spreaders" (a place to wrap your line), put a couple of bells inside for noise. The axle is a 1/4" x 3" stove bolt w/ some washers and a wingnut. Mounted them to

a square of 1/4" ply/masonite as a base, and to them I added either a loop of cord for hanging on hook, or added a cheap spring clamp from FF for griping a wall support in a shack.

I think I made about a dozen - just as easy to make a bunch as it is to make one. Gave the excess to my boys and some friends. Size your wheel so that one turn is = 1ft.

UG

[backlash 1]

I have not fished in a perm house with rattle reels for many years so I am not up to speed on them. I guess lately everyone I have noticed using rattle reels had used bobbers.

Am I catching the drift here that it is prefered not to use any float with these, Just adjust the tension to the bare minimum?

[Ronsay]

I have Lewandowski reels in my house and I have always used slip bobbers on mine with good results. I leave just enough slack in the line so that the minnow can swim freely around the 10" hole.

Ron

[LundDude]

Three years ago when i bought my big house i bought four of thr lindell rattle reels. They are awesome and can be removed from the walls in seconds, they also reel up real fast and can be turned to any angle you want. They are on the expesive side, so i figured out how to make them for alot less money.They can be copied pretty easy, if you can get your hands on the spools,all they are, are the 300ft. spools from berkley fishing line. The rest of the things can be purchased at your local hardware store. If need more info let me know.

[riverrat56]

what i do when fishing with a rattle reel is use 2 bobber stops, one is used to stop the line at the bobber(like they are meant to do) and the otherone marks the bottom, that way to adjust depth all you hafta do is look at your second stop. i usually use as small a bobber as i can so the fish feel no resitance, sometimes if they are real finicky i wont use a bobber at all and i set the wheel so it will turn at the slightest bite, just tight enough to keep the minnow from pulling out line. i usually use dacron line or sometimes i will use heavy mono and then a 8lb leader of about 4 ft.

[LocalGuide]

I use really small split shots, the smallest I can find. That way they dont slip and you can take them off if you want. I normally have 2 on my line, one for the bobber stop and the other to mark bottom (like riverrat stated), and if you want to take them off for some reason its really no hassle.

I like to use the bigger ice buster bobbers too. That way I can clip them on and off the line really fast, also if the hole freezes over they are much easier to get out than a plastic bobber, and I can trim them down to any size I want to.

[backlash 1]

LG

I like that idea with the splitshots! Normally for me the string bobber stops either loosen up and slip or they're to tight to move.

[Lost]

Are these something you can use inside your portable shelter? If so, how would you go about mounting it?

[Norsk Fisker]

When using a rental house, I had two cheaper reels that I mounted on a piece of 2x2 laid them across the hole opening. You may be able to use a set up like this in a portable. If you are a bit handy, you could come up with something portable, say hung off the side of a bucket? I like to use one stationary reel with live bait and jig the other line.

If you are looking for the low cost version, just use the reel that the braided line comes on and fit a bolt or 16 penny nail through the spool. Once you figure out the best prototype, mount a nice rattle reel on it.