Chatterbait Bass

[gardnerjigman]

I like the rage menace on them too. Smoke shad color

[ww2farmer]

I owe WNYbassman props for turning me on to bladed chatterbait style lures. I was always a spinner-bait guy before. Now the chatterbait,and the swim jig have all but replaced the spinnerbait for me.

[retiredbosn]

I noticed s few have already mentioned this but it is important. Not all chatterbaits are the same, Z-man's hooks are just plain horrible. All isn't lost though, sharpen the hook and also close it a little. Most Z-man hooks actually have an almost imperceptable outward bend., near the barb. Makes it hard to hook up and very difficult to keep the fish buttoned.

[Charlie Hicklin]

i had quite a bit of luck this year with a chatterbait...ive been planning on trying the rage blade but haven't bought any yet.. i don't like the way most others work though.. for me the original chatterbait can be fished slower/deeper and is easier to keep the blade vibrating... these work good by just using them sort of like you would a spinnerbait but they really work great when you slow them down and are just skipping over the top of the bottom or grass.. i consider it like trying to imitate a fast crawdad and not a baitfish... most spinnerbaits are used to imitate baitfish... i think where some people have no luck is trying this with the chatterbaits.. they'll work like that sometimes but for me the best way is to use a color that looks like a crawdad and fish them in and around cover almost like you would a jig and over the top of grass and just off the bottom... i know some people use spinnerbaits in the same way by slow rolling them but ive never been a big spinnerbait fan... i use crankbaits and chatterbaits for most of my fishing..

[Ozark_Basser]

Chatterbaits are awesome baits. I make my own with bio silk and silicone skirts mixed in on an arky head.  The bait will actually hunt like a crankbait if you throw one with an arky head with no trailer. 

[Wayne P.]

I noticed s few have already mentioned this but it is important. Not all chatterbaits are the same, Z-man's hooks are just plain horrible. All isn't lost though, sharpen the hook and also close it a little. Most Z-man hooks actually have an almost imperceptable outward bend., near the barb. Makes it hard to hook up and very difficult to keep the fish buttoned.

The Z-man Chatterbait is also available with GOOD hooks in the Elite and Pro versions.

 

 

If you bend the hook any (close it a little) on the junk version, it will make it a lot weaker.

[mikekurinka]

My top 4 fish all on chatter baits. Play with the trailer and you can almost always catch something on it. I think of it as a swim jig not spinner bait. Slower, more stop and go, or in the same cover you throw an arkie jig it's chatter bait. Speed,edges of weed beds,sparse cover, steady retrieve use spinnerbait. Gambler big ez as trailer is going to catch you a road for sure. I always change the snap (where you tie your line ) to a larger size. It here than that it is by far my most confident lure I have

[mikekurinka]

Other*

[MacDaddyFishin]

Nice fish! Like it was posted above I only use a chatterbait in stained water and slow roll it. Bumping the bottom and getting that blade to vibrate. It works really well for me in grassy areas.

[Jazzybass]

I've hade some luck vs spotted bass using a white/chartreuse bait with either a 3 1/2 inch white fluke with sparkles or a plain white 3 inch grub.

[JLeon77]

I've caught a ton of fish on a chatterbait.  Definitely a confidence bait for me.  You can always feel the blade vibrating which helps me detect bites.

[bbodkin]

They are my trust lure. Used craws, lipless cranks, square bills, worms, spinnerbaits, and flukes with no luck. Ten minutes with a chatterbait and I caught this nice bass

I love chatterbaits. Zman is horrible quality but they are the most effective for me. D&M is more high quality but don't produce as much.

[bbodkin]

I've found the opposite of this to be true, normally I do better with a spinnerbait than a bladed jig when it's calm and clear. Just shows the importance of experimenting and finding what works best in each situation and location.

Same here. Chatterbaits on a slightly windy day, sun not showing, looks like it's about to pour, that's the most effective time for me.

[SFL BassHunter]

Wow glad I came upon this. I picked up a chatterbait for the first time this weekend at basspro. I will keep all this info in mind when I go out and use it. 

[Smokinal]

Same here. Chatterbaits on a slightly windy day, sun not showing, looks like it's about to pour, that's the most effective time for me.

Funny you mentioned this; I had a stupid good day on a blk/blue chatterbait during a horrible downpour of a day. Fish were very active and the jig was working pretty well so I thought I'd try a faster moving, similar bait and that was the ticket.

[Gotfishyfingers?]

Chatter baits are definitely part of my arsenal. One thing I prefer is to throw it on a smaller gear ratio instead of a high speed one. 

[Jtrout]

The chatterbait was one of the first lures I used as I was getting into bass fishing. I caught my PB on a white one with the stock trailer. Now I have tons of them my best producing is the bluegill color with a gold blade and a fluke on the back. There is a pond nearby where all the visitors feed blue gills with bread and I seen big bass acting like sharks swiping at them so I threw the bluegill color behind the school and whacked them.

[shanksmare]

I am a big fan of chatterbait type lures. I use them quite a bit and have had very good success with them. They are not a magic lure, if the bass are not in a chasing mood then they like most reaction type baits can be a tough sell.

I have noticed that the trailer can make as much or more of a difference than the make of bladed jig you are using. A paddletail swimbait will give you a much different action than a fluke type bait. The combinations are endless and each will give you a slightly different action.

Yesterday while fishing a Bagley version of the chatterbait I noticed something I had never thought of before. I had taken the skirt off the CB and was fishing it with a Hybrids Flurry trailer (a 3# paddle tail). I noticed that the CB was running slightly to one side. A careful inspection of the trailer indicated that I had been put it on slightly off center. However on a slow retrieve the bait would "hunt" at the slightest twitch. When I rerigged it straighter it was difficult to get it to "hunt" at all. Interesting!