Chatterbait Questions

[NeroXyn]

I am pretty sure they are many variant of answers for this, so I'll go straight to my questions.

People say that ideally chatterbait works around grass, although it catches more weeds and stuffs (not slime surprisingly) more often than spinnerbait. What I am thinking is how do you detect bite if the blade stops working because you are dragging all those weeds and stuffs? 

For context; 

I caught my first bass using a bluegill chatterbait on Echo Park, CA.
The urban lake is very pressured, even at 5:45 AM, and has max. reachable depth of 8 ft. from the bank. The grass/weed rises from the bottom up to 5 ft., so effectively the grass line is about 3-4 ft. from the surface. The edges are covered with lily pads and lotus and gated to prevent growing further to the main water body. The water color is dark blue (might be treated due to vegetation).

[Koz]

"People say that ideally chatterbait works around grass"

 

What people? Chatterbaits work great everywhere.

 

If the blade stops moving and you can still reel it in, that's not a fish on the end of your line.

 

If the blade stops moving and you can't reel in for seconds you're snagged on something hard.

 

If the blade stops moving but your line starts moving left, right, or back chances are there is a fish on the end of your line. ?

[Biglittle8]

I use a chatterbait a lot in all types of situations. The situation you are describing, is perfect for a chatterbait (3-4 ft of water above the weeds) you should have no trouble keeping a chatterbait above the weeds in those conditions. Either cast to the edges of the lilly pads or cast parallel with them if possible. When I cast to grass or weeds, I get the bait moving as soon as it hits the water. (You can slowly sweep your rod back before reeling) If you are running it through a weed bed just rip it through. Sometimes this will cause a strike. As far as weeds stopping the blade, I try to jerk the rod back to clear it,  but the best method is to avoid this situation by getting and keeping the lure moving. I personally have never caught a fish on a chatterbait clogged with weeds. Some people will fish this lure slow, I fish it relatively fast almost all the time and have had excellent luck.

[BrianMDTX]

I have not gotten a strike on a chatterbait. Still trying, but nothing yet. 

[MN Fisher]

My last decent outing, both fish caught on chatterbait...always have one tied on.

[BayouSlide]

I've caught more fish on chatterbaits than spinnerbaits...it's nearly always the first bait I try. If that's all I had, I would feel very confident.

[NeroXyn]

14 hours ago, Koz said:

If the blade stops moving and you can still reel it in, that's not a fish on the end of your line.

 

What'd you if this happens, especially when it's all grass? Do you still reel it in while dragging grass or immediately reel it back and remove the bits and throw them back? 

 

My confusion lies when people say if the blade ever stops moving, that might be fish so you immediately make a strike. When I get the blade stopped, most of the time I know it is because of grass, and I can't differentiate it. When I move the rod little bit to detect whether it is a bite, It is already too late to strike before the fish spits it out.

14 hours ago, Koz said:

What people?

TacticalBassin, TylerReelFishing, BassResource in general, you name it.


 

 

10 hours ago, Biglittle8 said:

I use a chatterbait a lot in all types of situations. The situation you are describing, is perfect for a chatterbait (3-4 ft of water above the weeds) you should have no trouble keeping a chatterbait above the weeds in those conditions. Either cast to the edges of the lilly pads or cast parallel with them if possible. When I cast to grass or weeds, I get the bait moving as soon as it hits the water. (You can slowly sweep your rod back before reeling) If you are running it through a weed bed just rip it through. Sometimes this will cause a strike. As far as weeds stopping the blade, I try to jerk the rod back to clear it,  but the best method is to avoid this situation by getting and keeping the lure moving. I personally have never caught a fish on a chatterbait clogged with weeds. Some people will fish this lure slow, I fish it relatively fast almost all the time and have had excellent luck.

What size do you usually use? I only have 3/8 oz with a paddle tail, making it around 5/6 oz.
Sometimes if I reel it too fast after the bait hits the water, it just splashes on the water surface. But if I slow down a bit, it already swims through the weed jungle, so I am not sure size the the problem.

[throttleplate]

throw something else thats much more weedless and wait till the time of year when less weeds less hangups.

[NeroXyn]

7 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

throw something else thats much more weedless and wait till the time of year when less weeds less hangups.

ain't that a relevant answer.

[throttleplate]

5 minutes ago, Bryan F. S. said:

ain't that a relevant answer.

ok then try this, just put the chatterbait away and move on to something else like bowling?

[Biglittle8]

1 hour ago, Bryan F. S. said:

 

 

 

What size do you usually use? I only have 3/8 oz with a paddle tail, making it around 5/6 oz.
Sometimes if I reel it too fast after the bait hits the water, it just splashes on the water surface. But if I slow down a bit, it already swims through the weed jungle, so I am not sure size the the problem.

3/8... But I use a smaller trailer like a paca chunk. Sweep your rod back slowly then reel. I fish the same kind of waters your describing and it takes a little practice... You'll still get weeds sometimes, but not as often. Again, practice. Try casting just short of the heavy stuff.

[NeroXyn]

1 hour ago, throttleplate said:

ok then try this, just put the chatterbait away and move on to something else like bowling?

I'd rather fish a bowling-sized bass, if you don't mind lmao.

I already tried swim jigs, but I thought I can still do better with Chatterbait since I gained my confidence in it. Also, I never like slow-moving bait like a Texas-rig or dropshot, which are more effective methods.

[Koz]

3 hours ago, Bryan F. S. said:

What'd you if this happens, especially when it's all grass? Do you still reel it in while dragging grass or immediately reel it back and remove the bits and throw them back? 

 

My confusion lies when people say if the blade ever stops moving, that might be fish so you immediately make a strike. When I get the blade stopped, most of the time I know it is because of grass, and I can't differentiate it. When I move the rod little bit to detect whether it is a bite, It is already too late to strike before the fish spits it out.

TacticalBassin, TylerReelFishing, BassResource in general, you name it.


 

 

What size do you usually use? I only have 3/8 oz with a paddle tail, making it around 5/6 oz.
Sometimes if I reel it too fast after the bait hits the water, it just splashes on the water surface. But if I slow down a bit, it already swims through the weed jungle, so I am not sure size the the problem.

If I feel that I've picked up some grass I'll let it sink, then lift hard trying to free it. If the blade engages again I'm fine. If not I just rip it in and start again.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

23 hours ago, Bryan F. S. said:

What I am thinking is how do you detect bite if the blade stops working because you are dragging all those weeds and stuffs?

Ive never caught a fish on a bait thats covered in grass.  The bite comes when you rip the bait free from the grass.  Either they smash it, ot they hit it when it starts to sink again and you just feel the fish hanging on when you tighten the line.

[Holetail]

On 7/2/2021 at 1:51 PM, Bryan F. S. said:

What'd you if this happens, especially when it's all grass? Do you still reel it in while dragging grass or immediately reel it back and remove the bits and throw them back? 

 

My confusion lies when people say if the blade ever stops moving, that might be fish so you immediately make a strike. When I get the blade stopped, most of the time I know it is because of grass, and I can't differentiate it. When I move the rod little bit to detect whether it is a bite, It is already too late to strike before the fish spits it out.

TacticalBassin, TylerReelFishing, BassResource in general, you name it.


 

 

What size do you usually use? I only have 3/8 oz with a paddle tail, making it around 5/6 oz.
Sometimes if I reel it too fast after the bait hits the water, it just splashes on the water surface. But if I slow down a bit, it already swims through the weed jungle, so I am not sure size the the problem.

Ive used 1/4-3/8 and started out using craw trailers or a rage menace with chatters, and still do when I want to run it more shallow. Had good luck with a jointed swim bait (razor shad) that will definitely help get the bait deeper while being able to adjust reel speed to control depth more consistently. When the blade stops, a quick pop of rod tip usually clears it and if it’s a fish instead of weeds, you will feel the difference. I like to use a moderate action rod or at least a softer tip which gives you a larger window to set the hook without pulling it out of their mouth. Will sometimes set hook a second time if I didn’t feel I got it buried the first time. Possible to lose a fish this way I guess but haven’t had an issue yet. 

[Boomstick]

On 7/1/2021 at 11:07 PM, Koz said:

If the blade stops moving and you can't reel in for seconds you're snagged on something hard.

Or you potentially got a biggun

 

On 7/1/2021 at 5:33 PM, Bryan F. S. said:

People say that ideally chatterbait works around grass, although it catches more weeds and stuffs (not slime surprisingly) more often than spinnerbait.

I would not say this is necessarily true. Spinnerbaits sometimes end up not taking the weeds back because it'll just deflect off of them but if it doesn't take much to pull the weeds out then a spinnerbait will take a whole lot more back with it than a chatterbait. Generally if I see grass, I'll go for the chatterbait and if I see wood, I'll go for the spinnerbait.

 

What you want to do with a chatterbait when it gets covered in grass is aggressively rip it through the grass. Sometimes the fish hit as it comes free.

 

[gim]

22 hours ago, Holetail said:

When the blade stops, a quick pop of rod tip usually clears it and if it’s a fish instead of weeds, you will feel the difference.

 

I just give a quick snap or jerk too, which often triggers a strike.  A more erratic retrieve is often more effective than a straight, consistent retrieve anyways (but not always).

[Dumbbassanglr]

You just need to practice. Usually a Chatterbait bite throws slack in your line and it’s obvious it’s a fish not just because the blade stops but also because it feels weightless for a second. You already said that if you reel fast enough the bait will come to the surface so if you practice you should be able to find the right speed where the baits lightly touches the top of the grass but doesn’t hang up. That is what everybody is referring to when they say that a Chatterbait is good for grass. If I get a bunch of grass on my Chatterbait i try to rip it off with the rod and if that doesn’t work then I speed reel it in and clean it.

[NoShoes]

That’s a bait I tried hard to love, just never had any luck on it

[desmobob]

I've had great luck with them.  

 

Tonight I unwrapped a couple of tiny 1/16 and 1/8 oz. Z-Man Chatterbaits from my Bait Finesse Empire order that arrived today and put them in my BFS tackle bag.  

[rtwvumtneer6]

12 hours ago, gimruis said:

On 7/5/2021 at 10:01 AM, Holetail said:

When the blade stops, a quick pop of rod tip usually clears it and if it’s a fish instead of weeds, you will feel the difference.

 

I just give a quick snap or jerk too, which often triggers a strike.  A more erratic retrieve is often more effective than a straight, consistent retrieve anyways (but not always).

All of that.  Often when you rip it free, the bite that follows is a no-doubter.  

[Bogeypro]

I love chatterbaits!  I'm on guntersville (lots of grass).  Just like others have said, I try to let it touch the top of the grass...rip it through it when needed.  I'll use a yo yo  or jerk bait like retrieve if its in area with no grass or cover to bounce off.