Chatterbaits

[Dixon]

Maybe its just me but I cant catch a thing on a chatterbait.  Tried the chatterfrog yesterday and nothing.  Caught plenty of fish yesterday just none on a chatterbait. What am I doing wrong with these baits?  Any tips.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

First off it is my belief that these are truly hit or miss baits.It seems it will not appeal to the fish if not worked just the way they want it.Use it in situations where you might throw a spinnerbait.It is also a great night bait.

I assume that you are changing your retrieves and depths? If not then it is real important. Wake it on the top over weeds,Slow roll at a variety of depths or bottom.Yo-yo retrieve with rips and pauses.Dragging and jigging on the bottom.Can even be pitched directly into cover.Basically I use it just like a rattletrap.It can be a good reaction strike bait,at times.

Of course the weight of the head can determine how effective different speeds and retrieves work too.This bait gets a lot of "lift".I like a 3/8 for most purposes.

I am not a huge fan of chatterbait style baits but I can say the best thing is the huge variety of different trailers that can be used.Skirt on or off.

[Shad_Master]

When these things first came out, they were "HOT" around here both for fishermen and fish.  But after that first year, the production level started to decline.  It is my primary go-to bait in stained or muddy water, but I hardly ever throw 'em if the water is pretty clear.  Don't really know that I can explain it, but I have heard and experienced that they seem to work best on braided line - might be something to put in your "hummm??" file.

[Buzbait88]

they were hot when they first came out and IMO, they still are.  First off that chatterbait is junk.  Get yourself a good chatterbait.  My personal favorite that outproduces most others is the Vibrashock by Karulures.  Hook up ratio is far greater and the componets are 10 times better than the cheap stuff on the chatterfrog or any other zman bait.  Then fish it just like a spinnerbait.  In and around wood, lilypads, over grassbeds, slowroll in deepwater.  Once you learn how to really fish a chatterbait it will produce fish in almost any scenario.  Its getting the confidence in that bait that is hard.

The vibrashock is my personal go to bait on anyday.  Granted, I'm fishing a river system that will generally have dirty water, which is where this bait really excells, but I have had several days fishing extremely clear lakes with the vibrashock and still caught decent fish.

[Wayne P.]

The Vibrashock lure is not as good as the Chatterbait or knock-offs that have the blade attached directly to the jig hook eye. The split ring connection absorbs some of the vibration. While the components of the latest production of the Chatterbait are not as good quality as the original lures before the company was sold, the vibration factor more than makes up the difference over the split ring assembled models.

Yes, fish those type baits on braided line to get the most vibration.

[Buzbait88]

Really.  I've fished the original chatterbait as well as others that don't have a split ring and think that they have as much vibration if not more than the other knock offs.  Personall opinion I guess, but i see no effect in having the blade attached to a split ring.  

[Marty]

Maybe its just me but I cant catch a thing on a chatterbait.

I think you've just been using them at the wrong time in the wrong place, as I find this style lure to be a very good fish attractor.

The Vibrashock lure is not as good as the Chatterbait or knock-offs that have the blade attached directly to the jig hook eye. The split ring connection absorbs some of the vibration.

While I haven't used the Vibrashock, I've used Gambler Swim Blades with the split ring connection and I wouldn't say that one connection is better or worse than the other, but that they are different.

Personall opinion I guess, but i see no effect in having the blade attached to a split ring.

I don't know if the Swim Blade is representative of all the baits with a split ring connection, but there's definitely a difference. Compared to direct connections like the Chatterbait or Booyah Boogee Bait, the Swim Blade has more lift, a more wild and erratic action and needs to be retrieved more slowly to keep it under the surface.

Among the three baits I've been unable to detect any difference in their effectiveness at attracting strikes.

[Buzbait88]

I don't know if the Swim Blade is representative of all the baits with a split ring connection, but there's definitely a difference. Compared to direct connections like the Chatterbait or Booyah Boogee Bait, the Swim Blade has more lift, a more wild and erratic action and needs to be retrieved more slowly to keep it under the surface.

Among the three baits I've been unable to detect any difference in their effectiveness at attracting strikes.

The vibrashock actually has 2 weights 3/8 ounce and 1/2 ounce.  The 3/8 version has more lift, obviously and a more erratic action where the 1/2 ounce has to be "fished" meaning your not going to get the erratic action by just reeling it in.  Yu have to jerk it and stop it much like a spinnerbait.  I kind of see where your coming from.  They probably have more lift, because the blade has more freedom to move back and forth.

[djmax22]

Try it at night during the summer months. Pitch it up against the bank and hold b/c you might get your arm broke. It was my goto bait last year during the night. Absolutely hammered them. I use the Boyah Boogie Blk/Blue 3/8oz. I like the flexible hook which seemed to increased my hookup over the orignal chatterbait.

[retiredbosn]

I use the chatterbait in off color water and at night.  I have success with slow retrieve, yo-yo, or just jigging it like any football head jig.  The bait is good and exceptionally good at particular times, but just like any other bait there is a time and place. Tight lines

[flatbass]

My number one night time bait  in summer. I use the vibrashock too because I had the lip pull off a couple of chatterbaits. One other thing about the vibrashoch, it has a football head jig and the blade is supposed to contact the jig and create noise.

[FD.]

I fish stained water and always have one tied on.  It has been a consistent big fish producer.

[cbfishalot]

Bassin_Fin@tic said it best from my experence it is either a hit or miss bait.  The bass seem to knock the crap out of it or swim away like there being chased.

[burleytog]

SK Pure Posion pwns them all.

[BassFishingMachine]

I will admit to say that the "chatterbait" is low quality, it is made with crappy parts, regardless it produces incredible vibration. However due to the low quality, I do a few different things to kind of "tweek" the lure. First off I personally think the hook gap is too wide on this bait between the hookpoint and the shank of the hook, so I bend the hook down just a bit, to ensure when a fish is hooked they will have a harder time throwing the hook. The hook on this bait is fairly long, so I don't think bending it down a hair causes any problems.

Another thing I do is feel the hook point itself, if it feels dull I use a hook hone and sharpen it. This will get the point of the hook extremely sharp, I mean I am not exaggerating when I say the hook on my chatterbait must be about as sharp as a gamakatsu after I used the hook hone on it.

The last thing I do is glue the skirt. I have noticed that the skirts on these baits will start to slide down (or atleast they have on mine), and you have to keep pushing the skirt back into place every 5 casts or so, or especially after a good hookset. Because of this I use a dab of super glue on the part of the jighead where I want the skirt to stay.

As for fishing the bait I typically fish it as you would a spinnerbait. Just a steady retreive, I'll slow it down or speed it up every other cast, and once I find the retreive speed they want I'll stick with it. Sometimes I'll yo-yo it, but I haven't had any results so far this way, but I know it'll work when the time is right. I fish this bait primarily at night, and it has become one of my best producing night time baits. At night I find the best retreive is usually a slow one, fast enough to keep it swimming and vibrating, but slow none the less. I like using the color black/blue at night, and also like to use a double tail grub as a trailer on it. Particularly a black/blue fleck GYCB Hulagrub, but im sure a Yum Gonzo grub would work too. I've also caught fish using a cut ragetail craw with about 1/2 an inch cut off so it fits well on the bait. The chunks are too small imo, and just don't take up the space of the hook.

I do not use the chatterbait any other time, I strictly fish it at night or in a real bad overcast condition. I just don't do well with it in the day, I find I have better luck with spinnerbaits in the day, but at night its a whole other story. Though I do plan on buying a chatterbait in a firetiger pattern because from what I hear they work real well in real muddy water, so I'll be giving this a try sooner or later and see how it goes.

[Buzbait88]

Bassfishingmachine.  I've actually got a firetiger vibrashock from karulures.  I have way better luck in stained water on what they call blackcherry(black w/ red strands) then I do the firetiger.  Just thought I'd add that.

[Bankfisher]

I have had very good luck with chatterbaits. I usually just jig them on the bottom like i would a regular skirted jig. However i have not been using them very much anymore because they get snagged on EVERYTHING and it gets very expensive to lose 5 or 6 of those in a day. If your not fishing around brush, stumps, and rocks, then it should be fine, but those are the areas you usually want to fish.

[swilly78]

I love this style bait for early morning(pre sun-up) and evening/ night.  My preference is the booyah boogie bait, good quality, great action.  You do have to be careful, though, that the blade clip dosnt open during the coarse of fishing it.  

[Jimzee]

I'm not a huge fan of the Chatterbait style lures, I would much rather throw a spinnerbait. I have however witnessed a few times when fish preferred this style bait over all others.

I got my butt handed to me by a Strike King Pure Poison while visiting Burley last summer. They do work, conditions were apparently right that day for them.  He was catching 3 fish to my 1.  :-[

[basspimple]

i have actually had good luck with them in cold water, dragging up points. just BARELY reeling to get it wobblin and hovering just off the bottom. i guess it looks like a shad or some other fish dying. as for brand, i used the cb pro in some silver and blue skirt, with either a live shiner nose hooked or burkley gulp shad.

[J. M. Richardson]

I've Fished some variety of chatterbaits and have the most luck in Wisconsin with the black/blue skirted one. However, I mostly catch small northerns on these baits and only a bass every now then. i like to tie one on when fishing for pike around rock piles and docks

[CWB]

I like to fish them anywhere you can't throw a rattlebait like over and thru heavy weeds. pads etc. Pure Poison my choice. When a fish hits, you definitely know it.

[TheBeast]

I'm not a huge fan of the Chatterbait style lures, I would much rather throw a spinnerbait. I have however witnessed a few times when fish preferred this style bait over all others.

I got my butt handed to me by a Strike King Pure Poison while visiting Burley last summer. They do work, conditions were apparently right that day for them. He was catching 3 fish to my 1. :-[

Now make sure you tell'em that he only caught 3 fish, and you were busy watching me get hung on stums.

[DADto4]

For my sake I hope the pure poison works b/c I just got 10 from TW last week that had been on backorder since December!

I must have picked out a good color

[ejtaylor822]

They have worked pretty well for me.  Like others have said, I throw them where a spinner would be a good choice.  Have also used them as a search bait.  I have found that a stop and go retrieve seems to work best.  I pull them back, reeling, and will raise the rod tip.  Then stop reeling and let them fall.  That's seems to be where I get hit.