chatterbait techniques

[avidone1]

I'm wondering how y'all fish the chatterbait?

straight retrieve, vary the speed, sweeping motion etc.    

like any bait there are a lot of ways to fish it, and they will all work at one time or another,

but that being said most baits have a "best" way, that can vary from lake to lake.

What's your 'best' technque

[buzzed bait]

just as slow and steady as i can go with the blade still vibrating seems to work the best for me.  don't forget about on the fall though, much like a jig, they'll take the bait on the initial drop too.

[Scarborough817]

there are a few ways to fish a chatterbait slow and steady is always good i like to add some twitches in for some erratic action.

stop and go also has it's place though it works better in clear water since fish can see a little better.

i have had plenty of fish hit it on the initial drop especially with a subtle trailer like the strike king blade minnow.

[XzyluM]

Slow rolling on the bottom has worked best for me. 

[Hurricane]

1 hour ago, buzzed bait said:

just as slow and steady as i can go with the blade still vibrating seems to work the best for me.  don't forget about on the fall though, much like a jig, they'll take the bait on the initial drop too.

Ditto...

[bigbassin']

Most of the fish I've caught on them came while waking them over shallow grass.

[tander]

Caught 2 bass around 6 lbs the last 2 weeks. Both were caught running it just under the surface.

[blckshirt98]

I always fish it on a straight retreive, just vary the retreival speed.  Some chatterbaits burn well, some do very well fished really slow.  The Picasso Shock Blade is one that seemed to work the best when you're trying to use the slowest retreive possible, and, it even has a nice flutter on the drop if you want to kill it and let it fall (i don't fish my chatterbaits like this but I always check my baits in the water in front of me to see how they move in the water based on retrieve, drop, jerking, sweeping, etc).

[Bankbeater]

I let it fall to the bottom and then slow roll it back in.

[Mike L]

Exact same way as I fish a spinnerbait...Slow roll, high and fast, mid depth with a hard pull once in a while, stop and go, free fall. Let the fish telll you how they want it.  

 

 

Mike

[Hog Basser]

Caught 3 on a chatter in the10-15 minutes of total fishing I snuck in this weekend.  Two hit on the initial drop and the 3rd hit on a slow/steady retrieve.  

[Bluebasser86]

Slow and steady is my favorite, even bumping the bottom if possible. Just like anything, they'll prefer it other ways at times though. Sometimes I'll burn it, stop and go, snap the rod, stroke it off the bottom, lots of retrieves that can work, but usually I just reel it as slowly as I can keep the blade working. 

[Fish the Mitt]

Thanks OP, for posting. I am new to bladed jigs.... and this was extremely beneficial! Just another reason I love this site. Even when I'm not intending to, I learn.

[avidone1]

As with ALL baits there are various ways of fishing it that will work, but it seems with chatterbaits the PREFERRED method is slow and steady.    thanks to all who replied

[ww2farmer]

8 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Slow and steady is my favorite, even bumping the bottom if possible. Just like anything, they'll prefer it other ways at times though. Sometimes I'll burn it, stop and go, snap the rod, stroke it off the bottom, lots of retrieves that can work, but usually I just reel it as slowly as I can keep the blade working. 

This............also,in very cold water I will sweep the rod just hard enough to get the blade moving, and then just kill it for a few seconds.

[Oklahoma Mike]

Typically a slow, steady retrieve, but I will vary techniques depending on what the fish want. Will sometimes give it a jerk-jerk-pause, sometimes, sometimes use a yo-yo retrieve, sometimes let it fall and drag it back across the bottom or even burn it back as high in the water column as I can keep it. Don't be afraid to try different techniques, and use whatever is working for you on that day.

[Philo Beddoe]

Slow rollin' for me. Not sure there is a wrong way though. Always have one tied on.

[Airman4754]

I only really fish chatterbaits in wood, but I just steady retrieve them and let the deflections off of the sticks make up the variation. 

[ThePolkFolk]

Does anyone have personal recommendation on brand? Is Z-man the standard?

[Hurricane]

Such an awesome bait ...

[roadwarrior]

18 hours ago, ThePolkFolk said:

Does anyone have personal recommendation on brand? Is Z-man the standard?

Z-Man project Z  http://zmanfishing.com/store/categories/chatterbait

Rage Tali Rage Blade

 

Siebert Outdoors Foggy  http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Fogy_c20.htm

 

[Lawsonfishing1]

I like fishing chatterbaits with a boot tail swimbait like a caffeine shad on a slow to medium retrieve an that's about all I do. an it seems to work fine for me. 

[Fish the Mitt]

On 4/12/2016 at 8:49 AM, SemperBass said:

Thanks OP, for posting. I am new to bladed jigs.... and this was extremely beneficial! Just another reason I love this site. Even when I'm not intending to, I learn.

Went out this evening with a ZMan Project Z & Havoc Craw Fatty in Black/Blue Fleck. First time throwing a bladed jig. Slow retrieve to keep it lower in the water column and man, it catches pike good! lol

[Kevin22]

On 4/14/2016 at 5:01 PM, ThePolkFolk said:

Does anyone have personal recommendation on brand? Is Z-man the standard?

I use zman original and project z. The project Z is easier to fish in grass for sure. Easier to keep the skirt and trailer on and the head comes through grass better. I also use strike king pure poison. I use the orig chatter and pure poison around rock and wood. Keep a bottle of loctite gel super glue in your box. It will help keep your skirts and trailers from moving around, makes life a little easier. 

[Luna2406]

just recently began using chatterbaits, I was introduced to them by LTB with a chatterfrog. I'm just mad I hadn't used them before, they are awesome and I've caught some of my biggest fish on them over the past few weeks. I only use the trailer that comes with the z-man original chatterbait, what trailers do people use? I've been thinking of going and buying some trailers just not sure which ones.