They work better for me in the pre spawn when water is warming up to mid 50s

Spinner bait is better bladed bait in the fall than a chatter bait for me usually. Chatter bait really shines in the pre-spawn when water is colder. But there is really no bad time to toss a Finch Nasty thumper.

Says the guy that almost weighed 20 lbs on a Thumper during a Fall tourney.

They work great all year. People just put them down for some reason when its warmer.

This is just my thinking on chatter baits. They do a really great job mimicking all species of fish that are after the Shad migration which is moving toward the back of the coves and creeks. I like to mimic the Shad during the Spring Spawn when they are right up on the bank. It seems to me that the Bass in the Fall are more interested in all the other species that are feeding on the small Shad. I have had much better success with a Blue Gill Chatter and Sand Bass Chatter. Bass just do not like these other species acting out of the ordinary when they are feeding on the Shad and will swoop in and take a few of them out. Black/Blue even works really well in the fall.

One of my best patterns has been the Crayfish with a weed guard. This allows me to mimic the Crayfish Hop which involves some down time on the bottom; as the Cray will scoot along until it backs against a rock or stick and goes to the defensive mode. This is usually when the strike occurs. A Crayfish has just enough energy to do two fleeing up and down motions and then falls to the bottom.