Crankbait vs chatterbait for finding schools in grass?

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

What do you like to use to find schools in deeper offshore grass? Ive heard chatterbait and crankbait (like a DT6 or DT8) but I’m not exactly sure when to use one or the other. Maybe chatterbait when you don’t know the exact depth because it’s a little more versatile and crankbait when you know the exact depth so you can tick the tops of the grass? Is there some other moving bait I should be using in this scenario? 

[PaulVE64]

Neither. Treble hooks and weeds equal frustration.

 

I might suggest a spinner bait or a senko

[casts_by_fly]

If it is isolated strands of grass you can get a crankbait through it. Any more than that and you’ll be clearing grass off the hooks every cast. A chatterbait will get through more grass, but if it’s semi thick then you’re going to fight it with a chatter bait as well. I find a chatterbait and spinnerbait similar for the thickness of grass they can get through.  A swim jig will get through a bit more grass. Then you get into plastics.

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

24 minutes ago, PaulVE64 said:

Neither. Treble hooks and weeds equal frustration.

 

I might suggest a spinner bait or a senko

Do you fish spinnerbaits on that deep of water like 10-15ft?

[Scott F]

Does the grass come up to the surface? I use lipless crank baits like Red Eye Shads over the top of submerged grass. You just have to find the speed to keep it close to the weed tops 

[PaulVE64]

1 minute ago, August said:

Do you fish spinnerbaits on that deep of water like 10-15ft?

Yes, I would

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

26 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Does the grass come up to the surface? I use lipless crank baits like Red Eye Shads over the top of submerged grass. You just have to find the speed to keep it close to the weed tops 

No, it’s submerged, it comes up about 6-10 feet from the surface, and I target the edges in 12-15 feet of water 

26 minutes ago, PaulVE64 said:

Yes, I would

What weight would you go with?

[Pat Brown]

I'd use a weightless plastic and a topwater.

 

Grass really limits what I will throw a lot in a way that is both frustrating AND exciting!

 

I enjoy casting / retrieving/ setting the hook.

 

Don't enjoy cleaning my bait every cast and not catching much.

 

For OVER submerged grass - TONS of stuff can work.  Crankbaits that just tick the grass and chatterbaits reeled just over the tops can work but I bet they seen it a lot.

[RRocket]

2 hours ago, PaulVE64 said:

Neither. Treble hooks and weeds equal frustration.

 

 

Chatterbaits don't have treble hooks..just a single hook identical to ones used in spinnerbaits.

 

 

[PaulVE64]

1/2 oz 

8 hours ago, RRocket said:

Chatterbaits don't have treble hooks..just a single hook identical to ones used in spinnerbaits.

 

 

Yeah, but the blade up front is a problem

[RRocket]

1 hour ago, PaulVE64 said:

1/2 oz 

Yeah, but the blade up front is a problem

I don't find it any more problematic than a spinnerbait.

 

YMMV.

[gim]

I thought he was originally referring to the crankbaits when he stated "treble hooks and weeds equal frustration" but maybe he wasn't.

 

Fish have seen too many chatterbaits recently.  I'd try something else personally.

[Cgrinder]

Get treble hook or chatterbait blade hung in grass. Rip out. Get bit.

 

Repeat.

[FishTank]

Usually when fish are feeding in grass this time of year, at least in my neck of the woods,  they are chasing small fry. So, I will rig a small 2-3in paddle tail swimbait weedless or a 4in with a weighted ewg hook and fish right through the weeds (if it's not too thick).  Around the edges of the grass, I fish an ewg ned rig. 

[Mike L]

For me in topped out shallow to mid depth submerged grass, nothing is better than a swim worm or paddle tail swim bait. 
That condition is made for those. 
With almost anything else you’re purposefully eliminating a potential sweet spot by just fishing above it. 

Throw a UV Speed Worm, Skinny Dipper etc all through that stuff. 
If it’s not too thick dragging on the bottom can also produce. 
 

If it is too thick to get in the middle of it, pitch a craw style or stick bait changing angles as you go. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

[casts_by_fly]

18 hours ago, August said:

No, it’s submerged, it comes up about 6-10 feet from the surface, and I target the edges in 12-15 feet of water 

 

 

If you're in 12-15' of water and the grass is 6-10' from the surface then you have 6-12' of water column to fish.  That's a lot of open water, especially if the grass is relatively even in height.  Depending on how wide of an area you want to cover, a set of 6-14' crankbaits that just clip the top of the grass, any bladed moving baits in the 3/8-3/4 range depending on design and how fast you want to fish them, a paddle tail swimbait (something bigger and heavier for me) that is just clipping over the grass and dripping down into it, a jerkbait that goes 6-8', etc.  The main thing is ensuring you're getting down to the grass.  You'd be surprised how shallow some baits run when you're not paying attention.  Watching on FFS has taught me that one.

 

On the flip side, if you're in 15' of water and the grass is only 2' off the bottom then a texas rig or jig will bounce through that.  A carolina rig with a longer leader and floating bait also.

[Bankc]

If the grass is all about the same height and there's room to pull a lure above the grass, then I like to use a lipped crankbait, because they're pretty good at maintaining a constant depth.  If the weeds aren't too thick, and I want to fish down in them, then I'll use a chatterbait, as they usually come through the grass more cleanly than anything with treble hooks.  If it's a little of both or the grass height and density varies a lot, then I'll use a lipless crankbait, as that can either be pulled over the tops or ripped through.  If the grass is thick and tall, then I usually switch over to a T-rig with a heavy weight to get down in it, or a topwater to stay above it.  If it's really thick and all the way to the top, I might throw a frog or toad to keep the topwater from getting fouled up.  If it's extremely thick, I'll probably avoid the grass and just try to fish around it.