Rattle Your Way To Victory

If you don’t already have some VMC Rattling Roach Spoons for the upcoming ice fishing season, don’t wait any longer. This in-demand, premium jigging spoon catches walleye, jumbo perch, crappie, lake trout, northern pike and a number of other species, and was designed in collaboration with professional guide and ice fishing expert Tony Roach. Here’s an overview of the Rattling Roach Spoon’s unique features and how to use it to rattle your way to victory this hard-water season. 

The Rattling Roach Spoon has an intense fluttering action and enticing marabou teaser tail fish can’t help but notice. Adding even more attraction are distinct vibrations produced from the spoon’s exposed rattle chamber. The available 16 captivating colours also contribute to this lure’s ability to call-in fish and make them bite.

As a multi-species, all-season fishing guide on Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake, Tony Roach knows more than his fair share about what makes fish bite, so naturally his namesake spoon is loaded with strike-triggering characteristics. For instance, the marabou teaser tail sways and flares with a tantalizing, tempting lifelike action that’s irresistible to fish. 

Further enhancing the Rattling Roach Spoon’s ability to draw strikes are its holographic eye and the available colour choices, which include glow, UV, live baitfish and holographic attractor patterns. The 1/16-, 1/8- and 3/16-ounce sizes also give anglers several options for determining the best profile and fall rate for the given fishing conditions.   

Now that you understand some of the high-performance features of the Rattling Roach Spoon, here’s a look at just three of the many jigging tactics you can use to catch more fish with this all-new ice lure. Up first is the smash-and-shake technique.

For this method, the spoon is to crashed into the bottom. Nothing complex here. Simply raise the spoon with a rod snap and let it fall to the floor.

When hitting a soft bottom the spoon stirs-up silt and debris. On rock, the impact produces a ticking noise. These disturbances will attract predators, and the fact the Rattling Roach Spoon sounds-off a rattling ruckus only strengthens the drawing power of this bottom-crashing maneuver.

Dead-sticking the spoon on bottom for a few seconds is worth trying now and then. When the spoon sits motionless, the marabou teaser continues to sway seductively, like the tail of a resting minnow — a visual cue easily capable of pushing onlooking predators over the brink. 

Another tactic after smashing bottom is raising and then shaking and briefly pausing the Rattling Roach Spoon. The noise produced can jump-start a fish’s feeding instincts. The rattling also makes it easier for a fish to pinpoint the lure’s position using their acoustic senses.

Many ice anglers learned how to catch fish working a lure with a consistent, steady upwards jig stroke, and the Rattling Roach Spoon’s intense fluttering action is well suited for a basic lift-fall sequence. But as the saying goes, “variety is the spice of life,” so it’s a good idea to experiment with different jigging patterns. This brings us to the potent double-snap technique. Here’s how to do it.

Snap your wrist to flick the rod tip and pull the spoon upwards. Continue upward momentum by raising the rod with your forearm — this distance can vary from a few inches to a foot or so. Add a second wrist snap, then allow the Rattling Roach Spoon to fall. 

This double-snap technique makes the lure move erratically, and mimic panicking prey. The ruse gets even more enticing due to the Rattling Roach Spoon’s flutter-focused design, rattling sounds, flashy premium paint patterns and flaring marabou-dressed VMC treble hook.

Tip: This two-snap method is a basic recipe. Free-styling and experimenting are encouraged. Triple snaps will also trigger fish, and so will brief stalls or a very short drop preceding a snap.

As noted above, shaking the Rattling Roach Spoon is a reliable way to entice strikes from fish. Important to appreciate, though, is a range of shaking intensities can be used. No matter how decide to work it, the Rattling Roach Spoon is precision-tuned and ready for whatever shaking symphony strikes your fancy.

For instance, playing a soft melody with light shakes is effective for coaxing reluctant fish. Alternatively, creating a loud, rattling soundtrack with hard, pounding shakes will attract fish from far away as well as antagonize strikes.

It gets better...

Each shake causes the Rattling Roach Spoon to dance tauntingly. What exactly this looks like will vary, depending on the frequency and intensity of the shaking sequence. Regardless of how you decide to manipulate the spoon with an ice fishing rod, though, The Rattling Roach Spoon is going to flutter, juke-and-jive and scream “Dinner Time!” 

With an all-new Rattling Roach Spoon on the end of the line and these three jigging techniques in your repertoire, you’re well positioned to stay on winning side of the ice-fishing game this winter. Best to get some now before first ice arrives.