SEBILE Rattsler ~ Flat-Sided Crankbaits

The Rattsler is a flat-sided crankbait having a thin, compressed body but comparatively tall side profile. Truly the Rattsler's body shape and profile appears much more natural-looking and lifelike than many other crankbaits.

Its huge side surfaces forcefully push water out and away, creating a rippling trail of strong turbulence which is the most important signal that predator fish follow with their lateral lines in order to track and hunt moving prey.

The lure's swimming movement can be considered tight and frantic. There is a lot of side-to-side full body flipping and flashing as the Rattsler paddles along, vigorously pushing a lot of water out to the sides in the process.

All Rattslers come with a superior designed mass transfer system. Most of the weight goes to the tail for long distance casting, and the weights return to the mid-belly where the heavy beads are baffled in a rattle chamber in order to produce a fish-calling chatter and swimming action. The chattering sound made by a swimming Rattsler is designed to reproduce the collective sounds of a swimming shad school, a natural noise that's known to put predators in an excited feeding mood.

There are two Rattsler sizes - larger 85 (left) and smaller 65 (right).

Smaller Rattlser 65 models from top down: 65 SL, 65 ML, 65 VLL.

Larger Rattsler 85 models from top down: 85 VLL, 85 ML, 85 SL.

From top down: 65 SL, 85 SL, 65 ML, 85 ML, 65 VLL, 85 VLL.

Model	Size	Weight	Type	Casting	Trolling	Line Test
Rattsler SL 65	2-1/2" / 65mm	1/4 oz / 6.2g	Floating/Diving	6" to 10"	10"	4 to 12 lb
Rattsler ML 65	2-1/2" / 65mm	1/4 oz / 7.2g	Floating/Diving	1 to 2 ft	2 ft	4 to 12 lb
Rattsler VLL 65	2-1/2" / 65mm	5/16 oz / 8.2g	Floating/Diving	≤8 ft	≤15 ft	4 to 12 lb
Rattsler SL 85	3-1/4" / 85mm	1/2 oz / 12.5g	Floating/Diving	10" to 1-1/2 ft	1-1/2 ft	8 to 20 lb
Rattsler ML 85	3-1/4" / 85mm	1/2 oz / 14g	Floating/Diving	2 to 4 ft	4 ft	8 to 20 lb
Rattsler VLL 85	3-1/4" / 85mm	5/8 oz / 17.5g	Floating/Diving	≤10 ft	≤20 ft	8 to 20 lb

Rattsler SL Small Lip

The Small Lip (SL) model is designed to be the perfect choice for shallow areas, boat and wade fishing the flats, and also to fish around and above any submerged structure. Use it confidently around weed flats, flooded brush, mangrove roots or any form of shallow, emergent cover.

The Small Lip is also deadly for fish busting bait early in the morning or anytime fish are feeding on or near the surface.

Rattsler ML Medium Lip

The Medium Lip (ML) is voted most likely to be the Rattsler model you have tied on a rod most of the time. It's not too deep nor too shallow a runner. It's just right at modest mid-depth levels where most crankbait fishing gets done. The Medium Lip is designed for covering open water and mid-shallow zones. It's a great choice around any type of man-made or vertical structure that has a modest depth to it, such as docks, boathouses, marinas, canal walls, bridge pilings, riprap, wingdams or what have you. The ML is the medium running Rattsler especially designed to meet your cranking needs under the widest possible range of conditions and situations faced in fresh or saltwater.

Rattsler VLL Very Long Lip

The Rattsler Very Long Lip (VLL) is for casting or trolling in fresh or inshore saltwater. It can be used with a variety of trolling gear, weights or devices designed to extend the lure's natural trolling depth.

VLL's are great for throwing good long casts too. The smaller 65 VLL is especially effective around the outside edges of deeper grass beds. With its smaller, thinner body and hooks that are small (to avoid snagging) but strong, you can burn and rip the 65 VLL through grass, reeling rapidly to provoke instinctive reaction strikes. Try to make bottom contact if possible or just barely tick the outside edges of the grass. What you want to do is crank it down until you bump the bottom and if it's grass, just kind of jerk it out of there and get that reaction strike that typically happens as it pops free.

The 65 VLL can wiggle its tail through submerged tree tops and deep brush beds that would snag bulkier lures with bigger hooks. When it does get hung in wood or brush, you can't really rip it out like in grass. However, the 65 VLL is a fast-riser so it may float up quickly when you pause it, often rising free of whatever had been impeding its forward progress.

In the above kinds of situations, the small 65 VLL is quite capable of landing big fish when used with medium strength line and rods necessary to handle big fish in thick grass or other kinds of cover.

The 65 VLL is also suited for light tackle in open water. It is ideal for trolling or casting on small waters, for smaller gamefish, for spooky fish that refuse larger lures or when faced with sparkling clear water conditions, the 65 VLL is superb.

The larger 85 VLL gets down even deeper. The 85 VLL will bog down in weeds, so it's harder to rip it out. It is a comparatively slow-riser. So it won't float up out of wood or brush as easily. Nevertheless there are days when fish want that 85 VLL cranked right along deep grass edges or coming past deep flooded brush, so you need to "snake" or "worm" the 85 VLL through cover to make it work. You may see now that although the 85 VLL and 65 VLL look similar (except for size), there are key differences in how best to use them.

The fact it is a slow-riser when paused, that it tends to stay down at the level it's at, makes the 85 VLL a stellar crank for bottom-bouncing relatively open water structure like ledges, humps, points, ridges, drop-offs, etc. There are days when many strikes happen during little lingering pauses or hesitations you make in the action after the 85 VLL stutters or skitters across high spots on deep structure.

Whenever you detect that the 85 VLL has hit a high spot, a rock or raised obstruction on bottom, get ready for action! The 85 VLL reacts by canting over on its flat side as its long bill tap-tap-taps its way sideways, skittering toward the side edge of the obstruction. Many times it may never make it off the edge, however. The instant before it does, a greedy predator may decide it's the perfect time and place to pummel it!