Chatter bait help

[rb]

What are your setups for these baits. Need to get better at this. Need rods, lines, and baits. Thanks

[fishin45]

RB,

This is going to have a flood of answers as everyone has a different preference depending on the fisherman. I Personally use either the powell 7ft med hvy or the mag hvy in the same length with 15 to 17lb line. i like the 7ft rod because you will be needing to make accurate casts at times with this thing as you fish.

just my 2 cents hope it helps

[bmshepherd]

The best chatterbait rod ever made is the Dobyns champion 734. The hook up ratio is amazing. Ask anyone who owns one and I am sure they will say the same. the 734 is also great for blades, small swimbaits, jerk baits, and many other techniques. I generally use 12 Lb. seaguar invizX fluorocarbon. If there is stained water and/or heavy grass I will use 50 Lb. braid. As for brands of baits, there has been a bunch of issues over the patent on chatterbaits. I like the revenge or the phenix but you cant get these anymore. I think you can buy phenix ones in separate pieces now and put them together. The strike King pure poison is another good one that is still available. I always use some sort of trailer one the back like a 3" big hammer swimbait or a craw of some sort. good luck and have fun

[Austen]

Bait : TNT Baits Claymore in Dragonfly , Cicada and Chartreuse Shad

Rod : Dobyns Champion 764

Line : 50lb brown Spiderwire stealth with or without 12# Seaguar AbrazX leader

At first i used the dobyns 734 but now i like the 764 . The longer rod allows the fish to eat the bait better and i like using braid to really get a solid hook in the fish . I have also found that when using the darker color baits , bouncing it off the bottom rather than steadily cranking gets more bites . Ripping it through the grass is always another great bet as well as slow rolling it . The TNT Claymore is one of the only chatterbaits that i have found that i can crank slower than a turtle and still get an awesome amount of vibration . As far as trailers go let your imagination do the work ! 10" single tail worms , swimbaits , craws , the list is endless !!!

Austen Schmalz

[Jonnysig]

I personally compare a chatter bait to a spinner bait. Swimming jig with a skirt and a blade. Chatter bait has more vibration obviously. Having said that you should be able to use the same set up you would use for spinnerbaits. This is at least how I see it.

[VangBass1]

Nice post Austen!!

Using a Dobyns Champion 764 along with a Blade Runner Tackle 1/2oz Wobble Head is a great way to catch some nice bass. I use 12lb Seaguar and a Berkeley Havoc as a trailer but you can use any plastic you have confidence in.

Hope this helps and good luck!!!

[Burke]

I use a Powell 735MH with 50 lb or 65 lb Power Pro. I tie directly to the chatter bait. My favorite trailer is a Yamamoto 4 inch Kut Tail worm.

I found a guy on eBay several years ago that custom made "chatter jigs" and had him make me about 100 of them in a variety of colors and sizes. They were probably the best ones that I ever used. Unfortunately, he doesn't make them anymore.

I also like to use a "stop and go" retrieve. I find that I get a lot of strikes just after I "stop" and "go" again.

Using a chatterbait requires patience and confidence. I have a fishing buddy that hates the chatterbait. He doesn't have confidence in using a chatterbait and will only throw a chatterbait less than 5 casts before he switches to Senkos (which is his confidence lure). In the 10 years that I've fished with him, I think he's only caught ONE fish with it while I've caught a lot on this lure.

[Hawg44Hustler]

I own a small custom bait and rod business and I went nuts for vibrating jigs when B. Hite went on a rampage with the Phenix bait and that camo handled, downwraped, glass rod. Since then I have made and sold thousands of different vibrating jigs and played with tons of blanks to get the perfect rod for me. When Zman got the patent for the "Chatterbait" it shook things up a little as to who and how vibrating jigs could be made and sold. I'm not here to pump my business and I won't talk about other guys baits cause I don't know anything about em but I will say look around and find baits with good hooks, great skirt patterns and a few different color blade options.
As for the setup. The vibrating jig is a very unique lure in that when the fish takes the bait it is compresing the blade, as the angler comes tight on the fish and sets the hook they are pulling the blade into the roof of the fishes mouth in essence prying the mouth open slightly. I personally fish a custom cut 7'4" new age fiberglass blank with acid wrapped micro guides. The down wrap combined with the small guides allows the line to follow the path of the glass rods slow action and parabolic bend ensuring that fish get the bait as deep as possible and stay hooked during battle. Now, although the rods is parabolic it is extremely powerful in order to get that big hook into the fishs mouth before pulling the blade forward. As for Line-nothing under 15lb and braid in grass and dirty water, vibrating jigs catch tons of 4-10lb bass. The bait excels in and around cover and heavy line will pull big fish out and does not effect the action of the bait as long as you match head size to the depth of water you are trying to fish. Trailers-shad/baitfish, Larger Profile bait ie: bluegill, babybass, tilapia, gizzard shad, etc, and crawdads. When picking trailers you are trying to imitate one of those 3 categories. Some of my favorites include the Live Magic Shad, Yamamoto swim senko and cut tail worm, fluke type baits, Paca Craws, Beavers, swimbaits, and a secret the Delta guys are gonna kill me for but a 10" Power Worm is a killer on that river.
When not making baits or building rods I make an attempt at professional angling. I have made tons of money on my Blade Grenade (my companies version of the vibrating jig) from Table Rock to the west coast and San Diego where I live. Including a 13th last year in a Bass Central Open where I caught all my fish on it and might of made the final day cut if it wasn't for boat trouble. I don't normally talk so much about the bait because its still very under used by the masses but I am very passionate about it and sometimes I get on a roll, and trust me the guys at the top of this sport catch a lot of their "kickers" with it and try to keep it off camera . I fish a ton of swimbaits and for me vibrating jigs fall into that same mentality of full commitment to giving up quantity for quality. Anyway, a little more than my 2cents, but put in some time with the bait and you might just fall in love too.

[yjjustforme]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr8v1k1z ... ata_player

[calfisher71]

A 7ft to 7-3" rod with medium heavy to heavy action will work the best.
There are many great brands to choose from.

For my rod I use the ABU Garcia Vendettas retail is $79.95 each.

I use 15lb fluorocarbon line

2 things in my humble opinion, you have swim jig action and chatter bait action.

Dm custom baits swim jig "gamakatsu hook" tipped with a Havoc grass pig trailer in matching colors works well with a simple cast and slow roll.Hang on!

Any chatter bait with a arke style head with a direct connect blade will have more erratic action without the bait rolling over, meaning you can rip it pause it, slow roll it,burn it ect.

I use both styles in certain situations and they are very effective.

If you use trailers with swim bait type tails you will be better off slow rolling the bait.

If you use trailers like a spinner bait tails type trailer you can get more erratic actions with less roll.

good luck
Ron Howe
www.rbbassfishing.net

[dockboy]

Finding a good chatterbait is getting harder. I build my own now, because the Revenge stopped making them just about the time I really started fishing their version. D&M makes a good bait, but I have a hard time biting a $7 bullet when I can make 6 baits for that price. Z-Man essentially has the design right, but not having a bait keeper sucks, and the skirt & hook quality is poor right out of the package.

All the gear mentioned is good stuff. I love Dobyns rods, but reality is this is a pretty simple bait. You probably won't miss a bite on a chatterbait, they usually rip into it hard. Its like a blade you need a little tip to make sure that fish can suck it in a little, but you still need backbone to set on a single hook.

For me, burning a chatterbait hasn't done much. My friend turned me on to using beavers as trailers. I use the 4.2 for most fishing, and the 5.2 if I want a big profile. Plus, your torn up beavers from flipping and punching can still be used as trailers which is cool. Swim senkos work pretty well too. It seems I get bit the most slow rolling the bait right on the bottom, or stop n go. In deeper water I've taken to let the bait sit for about 5 seconds, after having a couple fish on the Delta eat the bait right after it fell. Because of this I tend to use a beaver most, because its bulk helps keep the bait upright in a real slow retrieve.

[Larry Hemphill]

Some people think swimming pools are for swimming. Well, sometimes! I use ours mostly to test baits!!! I have tested about 7 different brands of swim jigs. A few are lousy. Some are quite good - but the best vibration and SLOW speed wobble comes with the D&M Piranha swim jig. I can use it in deep water during the winter at night - barely moving it - and still feel the vibration. The strikes are awesome!! I use a big trailer, usually a 6 or 8 inch Yamamoto grub. However, my clients and I are looking for the biggest bass in the lake. One can downsize for tournaments or daytime fishing. I like the Piranha with the 8/0 hook. Dale Meddock will do anything to please his buyers (530 669-3618).

[rb]

Thanks guys. I used one this weekend and got 3 bites on it. All 3 were over 4lbs. I was throwing it on a Dobyns 735 with braid. I think I'll change to fluro. I live in NC and all you can find around here is the Zman, which I will not use. I'll order some from the west

[bmshepherd]

call Tackle Warehouse, you can get the Phenix chatterbait in pieces and put them together, or the Strike King pure poison is good too

[Hawg44Hustler]

PM me. I'll show you an epic version

[Austen]

I'll order some from the west

http://tntbaits.com/ tell em Austen sent ya !

[aNNieNsaLTIE]

What are your setups for these baits. Need to get better at this. Need rods, lines, and baits. Thanks

Rb,

Chatterbaits are my #1 bait I live by and die by ESPECIALLY on the Delta. I have tried a handfull of brands. Out of the many I have tried, I am pretty Loyal to Bobby D's Grinder. I typically throw 1/2oz size, 15lb FC 80% of the time but do up it to 20lb if needed.

http://www.bobbydbaits.com/grinders.html

My rod of choice is Dobyns Extreme DX745c. I LOVE THIS ROD!! I had 1 in the beginning of this year to try out. After a clear lake trip and a delta trip in march, I had to buy 2 more. The choices of rods given above, some mention Graphite and some mention glass. The DX745c is the ABSOLUTE BEST of worlds!! It does have a softer/ slower tip than other 5 power rods, especially being under 7'6" in length. This is not your typical 5 power frog rod. BUT with your sweeping and/or lifting hook set you'll pin those fish down..

My best fish this year was 9lb 1 ounce. It was on the set up mentioned above fishing my Bobby D grinder..



I mainly do a simple chuck and wind. Keep it swimming slow enough so you feel what your swimming around but fast enough to not get snagged.

The only time I do not have one on the deck is when I am spooning bridge pilings!!

Have Fun Fishing those Chatter Bugs!!

Steven

[rb]

Thanks guys. Caught some good fish last week on the bait. Keep the info coming. What colors do you use?

[Burke]

My main colors are white or white and chartruese. I have them in probably 6 or 7 different color combos.