Chatterbaits for Largemouths

[Turtle135]

After 11 hours on the Mattawoman on Saturday I decided to take it easy on Sunday and hit a local lake.

One of the things I wanted to check out was the chatterbait that Sempr had provided for the raid. I had thrown it a few times on Mattawoman creek and was intrigued. It was a lure I had never used before. Had seen them before but never thought they would produce on the clear water lakes I usually fish. I wanted to check the action out in the clear water where I could get a good look at it.

the bait:


I pulled up on the first laydown near where I launched. First cast of the day I'm feeling the thump of the Chatterbait then bam, fish on!:


I let that one go and fire a cast on the other side of the laydown and boom! Two casts and two fish!


I'm thinking "what the F" ??

I spent the rest of the day pulling bass off laydowns fairly consistantly with the Chatterbait.

Right lure, right time? Probably
Do these bass in this lake see a lot of Chatterbaits? Probably not (when IS that 1st regional challenge? )

But they will work in clear water. Will have to experiment with this lure more. They sure do push a lot of water.

[Xsquid]

Good job. I share your enthuiasm for the chatterbait as it has been my "hero" bait so far this season. There is nothing quite like a good reaction bite, usually there is no doubt if you got hit or not.

I have heard that this bait is best during the prespawn, which may explain all the recent success and attention the bait is getting. For me the prespawn window is quite long this year as temps have just recently pushed a wave of fish up to spawn. (been throwing the chatterbait this year for about three months off and on now) Even if primetime for this bait is passing, I plan on keeping a rod rigged with one until it starts to fail producing...

Some things that worked for me;

- add a craw trailer with flappy claws (killer action)
- add a swim senko trailer (nice swimbait-like action)
- fish it like a jig (pop it off the bottom and stall it every so often)

One of the best strikes (and biggest heartbreaks) I've had this year came while throwing a chatterbait with craw trailer. I brought the bait parallel to a tule patch with a current break. It got slammed hard and I set on it. Chaos ensued as the huge fish drove back toward the tules and ripped about five feet of line off. I tried to turn it and saw the flank of what looked like a very nice fattie through the stained water. It surged again and my line went slack. My thoughts of a broken knot or parted line were proved wrong as I pulled in my line that was still tied to the swivel and blade of the chatterbait. Yep, the whole jig broke off! I know the big girls are liking this bait, just hope to get a shot at redemption...

[DanMarino]

Great report Turtle! I've got a chatterbait tied onto one of my rods and ready to go. I've never fished one before, so we'll see what happens.

[flyfisher]

I have a friend who fishes in an area with alot of grass and he swears by the chatterbait. I personally have had limited success but i also haven't thrown it all that much. It does have some crazy action that is a little different from what normal chuck and wind baits give.

I guess i might as well try one out next trip and see if i can emulate your success

[Turtle135]

Some things that worked for me;

- add a craw trailer with flappy claws (killer action)
- add a swim senko trailer (nice swimbait-like action)
- fish it like a jig (pop it off the bottom and stall it every so often)

Thanks for the tips. Jocko in the Mattawoman thread was recommending getting one with a painted blade (no flash). I have another local lake where the water is so clear that I have considered fishing with 4 pound test. I think I will search around, see if I can find a Chatterbait with a smaller non flash blade and fish it like a jig on the bottom with a craw trailer. Just enough thump to call the bass over, then they see a nice fat helpless craw on the bottom.

[Jocko]

It's a very versitile bait that can be fished in many different ways.

When they first hit the tourney scene about 7 years ago, I got mine at Bassarama in Richmond. I bought all I could get because they were selling for $ 35 + per bait on ebay and I paid $ 7. I sold a bunch of them - but kept one for myself. It was a chartruese one with a silver blade. I put the split tail eel on it and fished it like a spinnerbait. It worked because it was something new that the fish hadn't seen. I suspect the vibration of the blade gives the fish a different movement to key on. I was not overly convinced it was any better than a spinnerbait.

About a year or so later - I heard about guys fishing the black or watermelon ones like jigs. I fished Lake Champlain in a tourney and tied on a black one with a paca craw...... it was a revaltion. You could fish the paca craw T-Rigged, but paired with the chatterbait - it was killer! Bass were smashing it. It was not a spinnerbait or swim jig retrieve. It was more of a fishing a jig or tube retrieve. I tried it on the Potomac and the bass love it there too! I have fished this same set up in NJ for 4 years and the bass up here love it too.

You can put a swimbait, swim fluke, or skinny dipper on one for yet another look

So much you can do with a chatterbait. I was thinking of putting a sweet beaver on mine to try that. Combinations are endless. If you are just fishing them in white or chartruese and like a spinnerbait, you've only scratched the surface.

I also am not a fan of the mass produced z-man versions. I got some from one maker that were perfect - then they got shut down. Still fishing them!

[DanMarino]

Rats, I've got a couple z-man baits.

[oubassman]

Nice. Going to pick up a few myself & even give them a shot on the smallies!

[flyfisher]

Nice. Going to pick up a few myself & even give them a shot on the smallies!

The only fish i have caught on a chatterbait are smallmouth Of course it is a sample size of 3 but hey, it's still fish

[Too Busy]

FYI
They catch big honking red drum too.