Muddy water preference:chatterbait or spinnerbait ?

[DitchPanda]

So we have ice out coming soon here and normally with snow\ice melt plus spring rains that means dirty to downright muddy water. So in a spring muddy water situation are you reaching for a bladed jig or a spinnerbait?

[Dens228]

I always go spinnerbait first, chatterbait second.  So I have one of each tied on when I get there. 

[TnRiver46]

Chatterbait. Spinnerbaits are the devil 

[DitchPanda]

20 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Chatterbait. Spinnerbaits are the devil 

Say whaaaaaat?

[TnRiver46]

Just now, DitchPanda said:

Say whaaaaaat?

That’s right I said it. Useless dangly things 

[PotatoLake]

Begin the laughter, I've never caught a fish on a chatterbait, so spinner by a mile. The cop-out answer is, it depends on what body of water you're fishing. Grass vs. Rock vs. Timber. I don't fish a ton of grassy lakes, hence my theory on why no chatterbait fish.

[DitchPanda]

27 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

That’s right I said it. Useless dangly things 

Wow man. I've caught thousands of bass on spinnerbaits..if I could have only 2 baits it would be a T rig worm or jig...that ones a toss up...but without question the other would be a spinnerbait.

[TnRiver46]

Just now, DitchPanda said:

Wow man. I've caught thousands of bass on spinnerbaits..if I could have only 2 baits it would be a T rig worm or jig...that ones a toss up...but without question the other would be a spinnerbait.

I know I know..... been reading that same paragraph you just typed since my first field and stream magazine in ‘91. And still....... useless

[Fishes in trees]

I have a spinner bait box dedicated to muddy water spinner baits.   In that box are a half a dozen half ounce single Colorado blade spinner baits.   Some have a medium size blade on them and some have the next size larger.  I like throwing copper Colorado blades in stained muddy water mostly because no one else throws them very often.  The heads of these baits are chartreuse with a chartreuse/purple skirt.    I have a half a dozen of the old ( 20 years of so old) J & J spinnerbaits in the half ounce size.  These baits are white/chartruese with painted willow blades, 1 beads gold & white, the other gold & chartreuse.   I always use a trailer, most often a Bass Pro Cajun trailer white / chartreuse tipped tail.

 

Just for the record, my spinner bait game got considerably upgraded last season when I got a couple of Curado DC reels.   Seems like I get an extra 20 feet or so of distance with the same amount of effort as before, with MUCH fewer backlashes.  I'm a big fan of the DC reels with reaction baits.   I'm considering another one this season to throw square bills with.

[JLBBass]

I love it how alot of guys are shying away from spinnerbaits in the last several years! The bass are starting to treat them as "something new"...? 

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, JLBBass said:

I love it how alot of guys are shying away from spinnerbaits in the last several years! The bass are starting to treat them as "something new"...? 

Shoot. I can hear them laughing when Im

reeling one through the water. I do the opposite of shy away from them, I toss them relentlessly in exchange for nothing 

[TriStateBassin106]

Chatterbait wins this round 10 times out of 10 for me.

 

I understand people like colorado blade spinnerbaits and all but around here the "hmmmmmmmmmmmmm" vibration of a jackhammer going through the muddy water does wonders on the fish. 

 

I've never seen a bass so aggressively hit a bait like the chatterbait. 

[river-rat]

I always go with the spinnerbait in this situation.

[Mike L]

If I decide to throw a blade, I usually start with a bronze Colorado spinner and then switch to a bluegill chatter.
 

But neither would be my first choice.
 

 

 

 

Mike 

[Mr. Aquarium]

1 hour ago, DitchPanda said:

Wow man. I've caught thousands of bass on spinnerbaits..if I could have only 2 baits it would be a T rig worm or jig...that ones a toss up...but without question the other would be a spinnerbait.

Only 2 would be a t Rig and a jig.

I’ve caught some nice fish in muddy or stained water on chatterbaits fishing it like a jig 

[TriStateBassin106]

36 minutes ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Only 2 would be a t Rig and a jig.

I’ve caught some nice fish in muddy or stained water on chatterbaits fishing it like a jig 

This^ especially in post frontal conditions. I caught a bass last summer on a chatterbait that was deadsticked because I was browsing my phone and slowly moved the rod every now and then hahahaha 

[Dens228]

7 minutes ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

This^ especially in post frontal conditions. I caught a bass last summer on a chatterbait that was deadsticked because I was browsing my phone and slowly moved the rod every now and then hahahaha 

I caught a decent bass digging out a backlash once.  I try not to replicate that though.......

[Bankc]

2 hours ago, PotatoLake said:

Begin the laughter, I've never caught a fish on a chatterbait, so spinner by a mile. The cop-out answer is, it depends on what body of water you're fishing. Grass vs. Rock vs. Timber. I don't fish a ton of grassy lakes, hence my theory on why no chatterbait fish.

Ditto.

[Mr. Aquarium]

15 minutes ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

This^ especially in post frontal conditions. I caught a bass last summer on a chatterbait that was deadsticked because I was browsing my phone and slowly moved the rod every now and then hahahaha 

 

7 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

I caught a decent bass digging out a backlash once.  I try not to replicate that though.......

 I remember sticking a 6.6 one afternoon in September years ago. I just got out of work had to pickup my sister from school so I hit a pond quickly That was super close by. Trying out my new Zman og chatter bait I got at Walmart, cast over  blow down, it gets smoked. Missed it, cast back again gets smoked again. Now the fish is on. I couldn’t land the fish so I got took my work shoes and rolled up my pants. I was in a uniform, waded out in muck and weeds to land the fish. 

[optimator]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Chatterbait. Spinnerbaits are the devil 

[TriStateBassin106]

34 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

I caught a decent bass digging out a backlash once.  I try not to replicate that though.......

This has happened to me before but with a spinning combo. I dropped the rod and just started pulling the line with my hands. After multiple cuts from the line later I managed to pull the fish in, 2.6lbs on a senko weightless. 

[ironbjorn]

Spinnerbaits are garbo around here. Chatterbaits win each and every time.

[Captain Phil]

My observation is Chatterbaits work best when pulled fast. Spinnerbaits work best when pulled slow.  Many fisherman fish fast. This may explain why they prefer Chatterbaits over Spnnerbaits.  In muddy or murky water, fish hang close to cover and won't move far to chase a bait.   Under these conditions, fishing slow and making repetitive casts to the same target catches more fish.  Slow rolling a spinnerbait is a very effective big bass technique.  I carry both and don't care which one works better.

[keagbassr]

Spinnerbait, with copper colorado blade.

[swhit140]

White or Black Spinnerbait