Chatterbaits in place of squarebills/lipless?

[Grim_Reaver]

I'm currently having a fishing crisis (thanks to saltwater) and I'm trying to streamline my selection, getting rid of what I don't use. I fish a lot of shallow, weedy lakes so would it be fine to sell all my squarebills and lipless cranks (except my super spots and my gold one knocker) and replace them with chatterbaits? Is there anything they do that a chatterbait or swim jig can't?

[Bluebasser86]

I wouldn't sell all of them, but they've basically taken place of my squarebills, especially in the situation like what you've described. Lipless baits are a lot different than a bladed jig though, I couldn't get rid of them or even thin them down much.

 

I've done really good running squarebills over the tops of grass if there's room, and ripping them through and out of grass also. They sound different, can have different color and profile. So while I much prefer the bladed jigs, squarebills still certainly have a place, even for someone like me that doesn't really enjoy fishing them.

[primetime]

I would certainly save a few crankbaits and keep most of your lipless cranks....Plus they both work well in Saltwater as well....Especially the lipless cranks since they work great in saltwater and in weeds. 

 

I find most bass fishing lures interchangeable for saltwater whether Stripers, Snook, Reds etc....Just need to make sure the hooks are strong enough when fishing saltwater.

 

Chatterbaits are easier to fish in weeds most of the time, but sometimes ripping a trap is tough to beat. 

[Fishes in trees]

There is a time and a place for each of the three baits mentioned.  I wouldn't get rid of them.

[fin]

8 hours ago, Grim_Reaver said:

I'm currently having a fishing crisis (thanks to saltwater) ...

What does saltwater have to do with it? Are you trying to raise money for saltwater gear?

 

9 hours ago, Grim_Reaver said:

Is there anything they do that a chatterbait or swim jig can't?

Obviously there is, or they wouldn't exist, but you can probably catch just as many fish by substituting a chatterbait or swim jig. There's really nothing like slowly retrieving a squarebill just below the surface, or dancing a lipless.

 

Selling them you'll probably get less than half of what you paid for them and they'll be gone forever. I'd like to thin my herd a little too, but I wouldn't get rid of a whole category of any kind of lures.

 

[Grim_Reaver]

42 minutes ago, fin said:

What does saltwater have to do with it? Are you trying to raise money for saltwater gear?

Learning from my friend who is a speckled trout addict has really opened my eyes to how a few baits worked correctly will work in many different conditions. Plus, I've been wanting to simplify my arsenal. 

 

42 minutes ago, fin said:

but you can probably catch just as many fish by substituting a chatterbait or swim jig

This is what I've been thinking about. The vibration from a chatterbait reminds of the vibration from a lipless. A swim jig with a boot tail has a nice wobble and can be fished almost anywhere like a squarebill.

 

Again, it's just an idea I've been toying with and wanted some other opinions. When other anglers talk about replacing their spinnerbaits with chatterbaits (blasphemy) or switching from traditional football jigs to almost exclusively swing heads, it gets me thinking.

[Spy]

The chatter bait is my go-to, always tied on and fished more than everything else in the box. That being said it does lack one important attribute of the square bill, buoyancy.

[Dens228]

I can rip a swim jig through vegetation that a chatter can't get through.  Well not while retaining the "chatter" of a chatterbait.   I do prefer a squarebill most of the time though. No particular reason other than I seem to do better with them.  

[Hook2Jaw]

2 hours ago, Grim_Reaver said:

Learning from my friend who is a speckled trout addict has really opened my eyes to how a few baits worked correctly will work in many different conditions. Plus, I've been wanting to simplify my arsenal. 

 

I fish both saltwater and inshore and can regularly cross over baits, but to be honest, most inshore guys still throw live bait like it's the only thing that works.  Inshore fishing is so archaic in comparison to bass fishing because bass are a more popular and more accessible game fish.  Believe me, we know so little about bass -- but we know so much more about bass than we do speckled trout, redfish, pompano, sheepshead, tarpon, etc.

 

I guarantee there are more presentations that will work better during different seasons while fishing inshore, it just hasn't been figured out to the degree bass has.

 

You can't bring a topwater, quarter ounce shrimp jig, twitchbait, chatter, spinner, and a paddle tail swimbait and whip me on bass.  I've had saltwater anglers try it.

 

Don't liquidate your bass arsenal unless you're not serious about it.  Yeah, a lot is marketing, but a lot of it actually works.

[swhit140]

Some of my best producing baits are crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs. Those are some of my best producing baits in my arsenal. I've caught my largest fish & good numbers on all of these baits. 

[Shimano_1]

Definitely times I've caught em on squarebills and rattle baits that they wouldn't touch a bladed jig. Sometimes it doesnt matter but I certainly wouldn't get rid of any of them. I've narrowed down my selection of baits to a cple colors and baits I have confidence in. 

[Dwight Hottle]

Lipless provide depth control that a chatterbait doesn’t because of its buoyancy and lighter weight. It also offers sound as well as vibration. A one ounce lipless sinks like stone but a chatterbait is not as efficient for fishing deep. A crank bait floats but also offers good depth control based on the model you select creating sound disturbance & vibration. Even though all three baits are somewhat similar they provide different functions. Three different tools in your fishing toolbox. 

[Grim_Reaver]

Alright, well I've been convinced to keep a few squarebills in a few assorted colors (sexy shad, reflective, red, and I'll be getting a translucent color) and I'll keep my lipless cranks. Thanks for the insight everyone.

[fin]

I think it's good to focus on fewer baits, just not wise to sell all the others.

[Bankbeater]

I inherited a bunch of crankbaits that run at different depths. I use the shallow running crankbaits the most, but I’m holding on to the rest since I never know when I will need them. 

[Dens228]

12 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

I inherited a bunch of crankbaits that run at different depths. I use the shallow running crankbaits the most, but I’m holding on to the rest since I never know when I will need them. 

This past year was the first time I used cranks that went deeper than 12 feet.  Under the right conditions they worked quite well.