Excellent reply, Donald.

Thanks for all that Don!

"Note: The problem is; with as few of bites that we get in our lakes each day, it is just hard to tell what works and what doesn't. Question is did we just find the fish or was it the bait that did the trick??"

This is so true. Especially this time of year. When you're getting 10 bites a day, and you have 10 rods on your deck....it's hard to know what conclusions to draw.

I hear this phrase kicked around all the time, but I have never heard how one can find out what "the hatch" is.

When I build a new bait; I take it to Mexico. There is a captive audience down there. It is very easy to boat 100 Bass per day every day. Half of those can be over 5 lbs.. It only takes a couple of hours each day distributing the different baits to all the fisherman to throw and keeping records on what they produced.

Take the spinnerbait for instance:
- 10 fisherman each throws a different bait; but all with the same skirt color.
- Each bait has different eyes or no eyes.
- Each bait has different bladed combinations and colors.
- Each bait has different trailers.

We do this every morning for the first 3 hours of fishing. Each day we exchange baits so you are fishing a different one each morning. Records are kept on which bait and its combination of blades, colors, wire size and etc.. There is no doubt in my mind that I have the best spinner baits that can be built.

I have done the same thing with the Chatter bait and it will produce.

This is one of the greatest learning curve reducers you can have when fishing our slow waters. There is no need to be changing baits. It is all about being in the right spot.

Edit:
These are the baits tested: Top waters - Spinner baits - Jigs - Rattle Traps - Soft Plastics - Scents

Evidence-based fishing, I like it. Website for your products?

I'm convinced that water and bass are the only ingredients you have to have for chatterbaits to be effective.

Chatterbaits are something I have had a ton of success with, but probably because I tend to favor other baits around grass. With all the rain we got I will probably have one tied on this weekend and see what I can do with it.

LOL! Chatterbait, what's that? Seriously, it is the most effective bass lure I've used when the water is muddy or very murky. I work it parallel to the shoreline and I've had mud cats in ponds hit it harder than the bass. I spray some garlic on the skirt when conditions are like this. The black and blue 1/4th oz is my favorite color/size.

Do yall find that the brand/model makes much of a difference? I fish various Z-mans and the SK Rage Blade, but haven't tried any others.

There are some differences between brands. I really only ever use 2 brands, Phenix and Revenge. I like the Phenix late Spring though Fall, but I use the Revenge during the Winter and early Spring because it has a more subtle vibration. I find that the more subtle vibration is best for pressured fish or colder water.