Chatterbait Mini Max

[jimanchower]

UPS delivered a couple to me today. I went with the 1/4oz size with the intent of fishing them shallow, and on slightly lighter tackle. It's not really chatterbait season, but anybody have any experience with these? I think I need some in different weights.

 

Here's the 1/4oz next to a 1/2oz Jackhammer, for comparison.

[Luke Barnes]

Whats the difference between these and the micro? As far as fishing it, I, like you, would fish it in the shallows, probably mainly in pressured water because ive had better luck really downsizing things when the bite gets tough. If Im trying to get to pressured fish more deep I'll throw a weighted fluke and work it deep. Well that's what has worked for me atleast. 

[QED]

What does John von Neumann's minimax theorem (1928) have to do with chatterbaits?

[jimanchower]

8 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

Whats the difference between these and the micro? As far as fishing it, I, like you, would fish it in the shallows, probably mainly in pressured water because ive had better luck really downsizing things when the bite gets tough. If Im trying to get to pressured fish more deep I'll throw a weighted fluke and work it deep. Well that's what has worked for me atleast. 

 

The micro is the 1/8oz version (I have a few), but I think you're asking about the difference between the Mini and the Mini Max. The latter seems to have better hardware (hook, snap, skirt), but I think a lot of the excitement is about these being available in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2oz weights.

[Deleted account]

6 hours ago, QED said:

What does John von Neumann's minimax theorem (1928) have to do with chatterbaits?

With the caveat that InterWeb boards' humor is best done a la Larry the cable guy v Dennis Miller, I'll play;

 

Trying to prove if the blade will function (I would say vibrate, but that would be more like a transformation...) if it's concave..., see? crickets...  

[BlakeMolone]

It actually looks really similar to the jackhammer component wise. Can’t wait to grab a few.

[jimanchower]

I got out today to try a few different things, and the only lure that caught fish for me was the mini max. I caught one on the first cast with the green pumpkin (1/4oz, with a baby? rage menace trailer). I was fishing this on a totally different setup from what I fish 1/2oz jackhammers so I can't comment too much on feel or "thump." I can say that the hooks are sharp. Even when I didn't get a good hook set I almost always landed the fish. These are pretty decent fish for this little lake. Nothing special but still fun.

[ironbjorn]

Not to be confused with the micro. I got a BPS gift card for Christmas and I want to get a couple of these. For those that have used them, which trailers are best: full bodied or baby versions?

[Tim Kelly]

I'm looking forward to getting hold of a couple of these, the 2/0 hook is more appropriate for the species we have here in the UK, other than Pike. Hopefully with the smaller blade the 1/2oz one should run a little deeper too.

[ATA]

Z-Man Slim SwimZ 3 inch

Z-Man Baby GOAT 3 inch 

Thats the best two Ive seen for it that was recommended.

[Big Rick]

12 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

Not to be confused with the micro. I got a BPS gift card for Christmas and I want to get a couple of these. For those that have used them, which trailers are best: full bodied or baby versions?

The blade is considerably smaller with a faster/tighter vibration. Any larger trailer will overpower the blade. I recommend 3.5 inches or less. I love the Big Bite Baits Swimon in the 3.75 length. It has great movement feeding off the blade vibrations and doesn't fight against the natural movement of the Chatterbait. 

 

[Luke Barnes]

1 hour ago, Big Rick said:

The blade is considerably smaller with a faster/tighter vibration. Any larger trailer will overpower the blade. I recommend 3.5 inches or less. I love the Big Bite Baits Swimon in the 3.75 length. It has great movement feeding off the blade vibrations and doesn't fight against the natural movement of the Chatterbait. 

 

I have these in flamethrower and love them! They work really well. 

[Junger]

Do your mini-max's ride up when retrieving? I've been using a small grub as the trailer, but it rises up, almost creating a wake at speeds to make it thump. 

[The Bassman]

I use several different models of Z-Man chatterbaits. One thing I notice is that some run perfect and others don't want to start up or veer off center and stop vibrating. If this is what they refer to as hunting I don't care for it. I've had less than consistent performance with the Chatterbait mini (not the new one but the older cheaper one). Maybe the Mini Max is engineered better. Lately I've been doing well with the Micro. The one I have starts up and tracks perfect.

[Big Rick]

19 hours ago, Junger said:

Do your mini-max's ride up when retrieving? I've been using a small grub as the trailer, but it rises up, almost creating a wake at speeds to make it thump. 

What size and type of line are you using?  Often times a larger diameter line will overpower the weight of the bait and cause it to rise. These are a more finesse bait with a much smaller blade and hook, so downsizing your line is optimal. 

[Junger]

7 hours ago, Big Rick said:

What size and type of line are you using?  Often times a larger diameter line will overpower the weight of the bait and cause it to rise. These are a more finesse bait with a much smaller blade and hook, so downsizing your line is optimal. 

30lb J-Braid Grande X8. I might just have to play with the trailer, or no trailer, or bend the blade. But out of the box, I was not impressed for what I thought it would run.

[jimanchower]

I picked up a couple of the 3/8oz Mini Max to go along with my 1/4oz. I figured I'd see what the weight difference is.

 

1/4oz Mini Max: 9g

3/8oz Mini Max: 11g

3/8oz Custom: 15g

 

Two obvious observations:

• The weight difference between the 1/4oz and 3/8oz Mini Max is not much (2g) - a bit more than 1/16oz.
• Even though the Custom and the Mini Max have the same weight jig head, there is a big difference in total weight! One of my preferred trailers, a Rage Menace, weighs 6-7 grams. So we're looking at a 5/8oz total weight for the 3/8oz Mini Max with a trailer versus a 3/4oz total weight for the Custom with the trailer.

 

For reference, this 1/2oz Jackhammer I have here with a Zako trailer is just a hair under 1oz.

 

Looking forward to fishing the 3/8oz Mini Max. I told myself I wouldn't buy any of the 1/2oz since I already have several 1/2oz Jackhammers, but we'll see.