I admit it... ChatterBait Struggles

[sTony]

Okay, I'm finally admitting it, I absolutely suck at being able to figure out how to best fish these baits and how to catch more when trying. I put a modest box of them together when they first came out and really haven't any confidence built up with them yet.

How do you go about fishing your chatterbaits? Now and in other seasons or does it matter?

sTony

[mark poulson]

For me they are best in warmer, off color water.
I fish them the same way, times, and places I fish a spinnerbait.
In clear water, I fish them deeper, and on the bottom, like a jig. I get stuck more, but I get bit.
Trailers are important to give the body some bulk and move water.
And they shine at night, too.

[Gator]

Okay, I'm finally admitting it, I absolutely suck at being able to figure out how to best fish these baits and how to catch more when trying. I put a modest box of them together when they first came out and really haven't any confidence built up with them yet.

How do you go about fishing your chatterbaits? Now and in other seasons or does it matter?

sTony

What Mark said...........

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

Beats me sTony, I too have a few, but rarely use them..The first one I bought and used immediately managed a 17" striper..Threw it off and on for the rest of the day and never had another hit..Eventually bought a red one that attracted my eye and used it during a Federation event, I was tossing it in and around sparse tulies and managed to land a 3 1/2 pounder..Turned out to be my only fish for the day..Since then I have tried them every now and then with absolutely zero results..Whatever the secret is for when and how to use them, I wasn't present when the information was given out..

mac

[Burke]

You are not alone in your struggles with a chatterbait. I use a chatterbait alot while my regular fishing buddy, Gerald, hates to use one. He would see me catch fish after fish on a chatterbait and then he would tie the same color that I was using and crank with it for about 5 minutes before he quits. In all the years that I've fished with him, I can only remember ONE fish that he's ever caught on a chatterbait while I've caught 100's.

I use a trailer, most of the time it is a 4 inch Yamamoto Kut Tail worm. I love to swim them over the top of weedbeds especially those weedbed where the blades of a spinnerbait would get caught in the weeds. I use a "stop n go" retrieve. Most of the time, I use a 1/2 oz chatterbait (chartruese/white or white). When I hit a "open" spot in the weedbed, I let the chatterbait drop into the hole and "jig" it to see if there's anything there. Using a chatterbait, my PB black bass is 7+ lbs and my PB striper is 15 lbs.

I use it year around and tend to jig it more during the colder months. During the winter months, I use a custom made 3/4 oz chatterbait mainly for stripers.

[Takedown]

Okay, I'm finally admitting it, I absolutely suck at being able to figure out how to best fish these baits and how to catch more when trying. I put a modest box of them together when they first came out and really haven't any confidence built up with them yet.

How do you go about fishing your chatterbaits? Now and in other seasons or does it matter?

sTony

Tony;
Just my advice.
Let me give you and a few other fishing folks that are struggling with the Swim Jigs or Chatterbaits.

If you are not getting bit, you have to change up your presentation, change trailers and or change techniques.

Let`s talk about getting bit.

#1, ask yourself, What are the fish doing? What are they wanting? What size jig head and trailer will best fit the water color, conditions.
Use trailers with floating plastics over shallow waters.
If you are using a jigging technique, these will rise up off the bottom, using the lift and drop method.
Swimming your jig, Use a minnow type, either paddle tail, fluke, brush hog or swimbait.

If you are getting bit, but just not getting them to the boat, this is what you should be changing.
Let`s talk about getting bit.

# 1, Don`t be afraid to use trailer hooks, unless you are using one of the bigger hook models on the market, 8/0 Gamy, no trailer hook needed.

# 2, I only use a crankbait rod for chatterbait use. So many fish are lost because you can not keep hook pressure on them.

# 3, I know everyone likes to feel the hookset and the thrill of getting the rod bowed over.
But if you are using a heavy flippin stick or jig rod, most likely you are only tearing a big hole the fishes mouth. You will lose most of these fish, unless you just power stroke them to net or boat.

# 4, This is what i do when a strike comes. I just do a fast "Crankset" this will pin the fish, rod will load up and keep him pinned for the net.
If you really rare back with your hookset, what happens is no matter what chatterbait you use, the blade will flip forward, thereby opening up the fishes mouth. Given the worst two things that can happen. Poor hookset or complete loss of fish.

Forget about line size or braid, just make sue you have the right weight to get your fish out of the heavy cover. Because that is where most of them will positioned to feed for the day.

Good Luck, Tight Lines
Dale
D&M Custom Baits

[ash]

Good post, I dont throw the chitter chatter bait much meself, It seems like my go to any more is a swimbait or swimjig, then a spinnerbait, then a chatter bait in that order. I know I must be doing something wrong here, but I just dont have the confidence in this bait as I do in the Swimbait and Spinnerbait.

Thanks for bringing this up Stony

[Cooch]

I'm with ya brotha! I tossed them things off and on ever since they came out. I couldn't git bit on em and would always put it down and start boppin em on a paddle tail instead. It wasn't until I sat down with Troyce @ TNT and a number of the staff guys, when we sat on a round table, discussed and began tinkering with developing a swimmin, vibrating jig of our own. Back in March, while fishing with Hollywood, I stuck my very first fish, a toad at that, on what we had deemed the "Claymore". We basically just took a regular Wadda jig, attached two split rings( we had ta do this so as to attach the blade to our inline hook eye) and affixed it to one of the new style blades with 5 holes in it.

I have had that lil blue gill looking thing tied on and on the deck ever since. Like any bait, ya just gotta commit to it and throw it. Some days it works really well, other days they just won't touch it. Most of the time, it is just a chuck and wind thing like a blade or paddle tail. But other times I git bit yo-yo'n it. Other times, I'll git bit while rippen it off the grass just like a lipless crank. Ya just gotta keep tossin it till one day it clicks for ya!

[Hollywood]

I'm with ya brotha! I tossed them things off and on ever since they came out. I couldn't git bit on em and would always put it down and start boppin em on a paddle tail instead. It wasn't until I sat down with Troyce @ TNT and a number of the staff guys, when we sat on a round table, discussed and began tinkering with developing a swimmin, vibrating jig of our own. Back in March, while fishing with Hollywood, I stuck my very first fish, a toad at that, on what we had deemed the "Claymore". We basically just took a regular Wadda jig, attached two split rings( we had ta do this so as to attach the blade to our inline hook eye) and affixed it to one of the new style blades with 5 holes in it.

I have had that lil blue gill looking thing tied on and on the deck ever since. Like any bait, ya just gotta commit to it and throw it. Some days it works really well, other days they just won't touch it. Most of the time, it is just a chuck and wind thing like a blade or paddle tail. But other times I git bit yo-yo'n it. Other times, I'll git bit while rippen it off the grass just like a lipless crank. Ya just gotta keep tossin it till one day it clicks for ya!

[Brian Linehan]

Off color water is key!

[Ceaser]

Dont be afraid to throw those things in clear water.. I caught a ton this year in franks on that thing.. gin clear water. in clear water you just have to thin out the skirt. I hadnt done a thing on chatters till last spring.. then i learned my lesson. The bites i usually get are better size fish... kinda like a jig. keep chuckin that thing... once you get the confidence its hard to put it down.

[barse41]

I wont pick one up unless theres wind.

[mmalinao]

I started using them this summer and have been hooked on em! My go to bait has been the spinnerbait so I guess the transition to the chatterbait was easy for me. I think it's one of the most versatile lures out there, you can work it like jig, a swimbait (depending on trailer), a spinnerbait, and even a ripbait!

I love these baits! Granted you have to committ to using it and learn it, but once you do it's a great way to get fish in the boat!

-Mike

[toddmc]

If you throw reaction baits regularly, it won't take long to gain confidence in the chatterbait. Obviously, low light conditions and off-colored water are the best times to throw any reaction bait. But, don't discount clear water when in the post spawn period because the fry guarding fish will usually hold tight to cover in shallow water and by deflecting the bait off of the cover you will get you a lot of wicked bites.
Don't be afraid to throw green pumkin with a black blade. It is a sleeper color in all water conditions. Just ask Bret Hite! I caught a 10.21 with black on black to win a night tournament this last summer. Probably two thirds of the over 500 fish I logged last year on the chatterbait were caught on the black on black at night. I have recently been throwing a silver on silver combination at fish boiling on shad in crystal clear open water and I am catching lots of fives and sixes. A lift and drop retrieve can be effective in this situation. My best trailers are ringworms and small swimbaits, but throw whatever you have confidence in. Good luck!

[Oldschool]

Consider bass as being inactive feeders the majority of the time and active for short time periods. If you choose to use a reaction strike lure when bass are inactive your chances being successful are very low.
You need to use a chatter type lure when bass are active. The problem for most of us is we have confidence with other lures that work as well when bass are active. The key is; use a lure the bass react to and a chatter bait covers a lot of the water colunm effectively.
If a crank bait or spinnebait isn't working and bass are active; try something like a chatterbait that cover the water column where the bass are feeding.
I prefer a Scrounger over a chatter bait, just have more success using it.
Tom

[davetNitro]

This is a chatterbait fish... it is my go to bait on CERTAIN lakes



And so is this !

[DeltaDan]

If you throw reaction baits regularly, it won't take long to gain confidence in the chatterbait.

What Todd said.

[Steve Reed]

I think there are two things I learned that really helped me.

Throw the Phenix chatterbait and don't set the hook just reel hard.

[calfisher71]

http://www.rbbassfishing.net/2010/04/02 ... duct-news/

The main thing is to throw them at the right time!

I find the delta it is a pre spawn and mid spawn bite, when only some fish move up to spawn others will feed heavy on bluegill. Top of the outside edge of weeds on high tide,tule islands. GREEN PUMPKIN!
Slow rollin!

http://www.rbbassfishing.net/2010/02/04/chatter-baits/

The next time is Post spawn draw down on lakes. When the lakes begin to lower and weeds that were underwater get exposed. Bass congregate in these areas looking for bluegill and areas shad will spawn. When this happens more of a snapping action will trigger huge bites! Look for areas where red clay or mud banks are sparse in rocky lakes!

I had 4 30lb plus sacks in a months time at lake Amador with this pattern a few years back!
I have caught several fish up to 9lbs on these baits!

These baits will work year round and can be used in many ways.

In have done well in early fall on orange and red combos in the delta long before these colors were offerd from Tackle companies.
You just need to learn when to throw it. And what type of retrieve to use.

They will eat it!

[Larry Hemphill]

I had a tough evening last night at Clear Lake (see report) but did get my 5 bites all on the D-M Pirahna swim jig (a better Chatterbait). I have most of my good catches during the cold water periods (Nov thru April). This past post-spawn period at Clear Lake, I hooked several large bass at 40 feet and deeper - during the middle of the day. All of Dale's wisdom is excellent! I like the fact that larger than average bass are attracted to the special action of the bait combined with a good trailer. I use only Yamamoto single tail trailers - up to 8 inches at night. My daytime bass at Amador this year have averaged about 5 lbs. I use black/blue and black/red at night and usually white/chartreuse during the day. They work well during the post-spawn - ticking the tops of weeds and also during the fall as the weeds are dying. Two falls ago, when the fishing was still pretty good for quality bass at Clear Lake, the D&M Piranha swim jig produced several bass over 9 lbs. Have yet to catch a 10 on one, but hope to soon!