Chatterbaits?

I have never really used them I want to know the ins and outs school me on them? All advice is welcomed an greatly thanked!

Throw 'em!

Z-Man Chatterbait

I love to throw the original chatterbaits. Why? Because they're proven winners, they hold up, they have he best blade action and I've had a tremendous amount of success on them. People don't realize that chatterbaits are "big fish baits". I've caught the majority of my biggest fish on a chatterbait. You won't get as many bites as you will with a spinnerbait, but the quality will be better. If you can learn how to slim down the profile of a chatterbait, you'll get more bites, especially in clear water. That's another myth, that chatterbaits don't work in clear water. Don't believe that, they work in gin clear water just as well as muddy water. They work best around grass and they do not come through timber very well. I use chatterbaits year around, but they really shine during the Fall and Spring. It's a great tool if you need 5 biggun's.

I like Picasso chatterbaits but I also like to go to Barlows tackle and build my own with Boss skirts. Cheaper to build them but the Picasso jigs look amazing.

I use Keitech swimbaits, craws and grubs. Colors are pretty simple like your standard jigs. I use white, purple/orange/brown, green pumpkin and black. I'm sure you could have success with many others colors but that is what I stick with. You can get chatterbaits with swingheads/weedless hook or a standard jig hook, I haven't had many problems with the jig hook but I have both on board.

As for retrieval, I've had success stroking it off the bottom, burning it over grass lines, slow rolling the bottom, really get creative and see what the fish bite. Chatterbaits are especially fun around grass, ripping them out of grass has caught a lot of fish for me.

I find myself throwing a chatterbait more often in windy conditions, murky/stained water and in situations when I know for a fact that fish are willing to chase down my lure. Then again, I know people that always have a chatter on their deck. If you have confidence in it, throw it.

play with different trailers, swimbaits, brush hugs, creatures etc.

I love throwing them. As others have said, they are BIG FISH baits. The one downside, and I wonder if others have the same experience, they are fish losing baits as well. For whatever reason, I have lost a lot of fish on them as well. Anyone else have this experience?

J

Don't know if you're going to the Fun-n-Sun open house this weekend, but Alex Finch with Finch Nasty baits makes a really nice chatterbait. He calls it a "Thumper". www.finchnastybaitco.com.


FYI.........

Vary your retrieve until the fish tell you how they want it. Also trailer wise there are several in my arsenal.. Zoom Speed Craw, Swimmin Senko, Talon Goby, and the regular old 2 legged spinnerbait trailer. Some days they'll eat em all and some days they only want one specific trailer. I would also suggest looking around at the different brands of vibrating jigs out there, so many reputable companies are making them now that you dont have to settle for inferior components and skirts.

I have had issues with loosing fish as well with most brands of bladed baits. I started throwing the Strike King Tour Grade Rage Blade and have not lost one yet on it (knock on wood). It has a Gamakatsu hook and the way the blade was designed it comes thru cover (not just grass) very well. I am always throwing this bait thru timber and I can honestly not recall any snags. Californiabass22 is right, play with several styles of trailers. I use a swim-bait style most of the time but in spring time the craw-fish type can be deadly. Just pick your colors based on water clarity and type of bait you are mimicking and you should be good. Just my 2 cents.

its my favorite bed fishing bait

All chatterbaits dont retrieve the same. Just like a crankbait you need to fit your situation. But I mainly throw mine in the spring and fall with a swimbait. Those fish swallow them. Usually good size fish too

I like to use them in dirty water and where ever you have grass! I fish a pretty clear lake and when we have a big rain that pushes in muddy water or sometimes even during the rain. I will fish all the flooded secondary growth! And they slam it!!! In the cold water I tend to use a slower stop and go retrieve.

One of my confidence baits, use it like crank bait and like jig into brush piles w/craw attached.

Great Baits, my favorite trailers are Lake Fork Tackle magic shads.

Thank you! I'm going to offer several new colors for the Thumper this year, and I'll have all of them at the show. I'll also have The Lunker Thumper in every color for the guys that like to chase trophies!

Fun N' Sun will be the place to be this weekend! It's also a great opportunity to meet us guys who build lures locally and to check out products first hand. To the OP, I'll be happy to talk to you about them at the show this weekend. My booth is a can't-miss; it's literally straight in front of the double doors at the entrance.

Dont take the skirt off and run a money minnow behind them, wouldnt want you to get your arm broke

I too throw mine in the spring mainly because I am terrible at slow rolling anything. I used the strike king coffee shad and did pretty well. I also throw the z man. I did buy a strike king one but haven't had much luck on that one mainly because I don't fish it long enough I am sure. I also threw it in cloudy water and mainly when it was windy which is practically every day in the spring.

Are you throwing them as search baits or right on the bed?

Big trailer. They will eat it.

I like to throw them with a Lake Fork Tackle Magic Shad and no skirt. throw them any place you would a spinner bait or rattle trap.

I love throwing Chatter Baits. Most of the biggest fish I caught last year was on a chatterbait. My 3 favorite things, chatterbaits, flipping jigs, throwing frogs.

so for those throwing chatter baits a lot ........
have you pretty much replaced your spinner baits with them ?

I think there are times and places for both Nutman

Here is a 10.0 on the original Z Man Chatter Bait. If you are looking for fish like this you need to throw it. www.Zmanfishing.com

That picture is worth a 1000 words if you take note of the conditions... overcast, cold, shallow and with no foliage on the trees.

Duplicate that and I'd say you have a great starting point!

when the bite is slower you can the the skirt off and fish a white rage craw on the back

I learned how to fish a Chatterbait from Marc. He's one hell of a teacher.

I fished Lewisville this morning. I've been putting up zeros for my last 3 trips out there. I decided before I went to bed last night I was going to throw a Chatterbait based on a day I spend fishing with Marc with similar conditions as this morning. I fished it by shallow rock in no more than 5FOW, and caught 7 fish in 2.5 hours. Nothing over 3lbs but it was damn nice to catch some fish again.

I'm totally sold on it being an incredible cold water bait in the right conditions. It was the right card to play today for me.

I used to lose a LOT of fish on them, so many that it discouraged me from fishing them. Then I went to using co-polymer line for less stretch and a stiffer, longer rod. I've been using 15lb P line CXX spooled on Lews Speed Spool w/ an Omen Black 7'3 MH (heavier than your average MH). That setup with a hard hookset and I rarely have a fish come unbuttoned anymore.

Low stretch line a big plus and a stiffer rod is best as timwins31 mentioned. The Chatter bait is like a swimming jig not a spinner bait. So that being said I throw it on a heavy action rod and hardly ever have one throw the bait.

There are some different hooks on the Zman version and I do not like the Gama hooks they use to use, cause the barb is just to small to catch any meat. The Mustad hook is way better and some of the wide gap hooks they use are like aluminum light wire and they give a bit.

I like the heavy wire 3/0 Mustad on them. That wide gap hook they use also allows the fish swinging room when the fish shakes there head left to right, The small hook in my opinion hooks up's little better cause it wedges or locks up. IMO

Next time you buy one really take a look at the hook and check out the barb size cause that is what really catches your fish not the point.

Do you like a trailer or stinger hook on chatterbaits? I've found them to be very snaggy with just one hook, so I've stayed away from extra hooks on them.

I use it just like it is. It will hang up for sure so I try and be real careful where I throw it.

I've really only thrown one once and I caught my first DD (October). I threw it for a day and a half and caught about 17 pounds on three fish. I only lost one fish which would have been another 4+ pounder