# Chatterbaits. Help/make me use this bait.



## twistedcatfish1971 (Jul 21, 2013)

Caught alot of bass over my years. Most have been caught with standard white spinner baits and old school K-mart football head jigs. Alot of my BIG bass were from old Geauga lake 25 to 30 years ago when I lived across the street from place. Dam it! I miss those times in summer after closing time and hearing the seals from sea world barking and the after 2 o'clock in morning fireworks from Geauga lake going off here and there.

...that stuff was easy and the <norm> back in days.

...I used alot spinnerbaits to catch bass then...dont get me wrong as I know what I'm doing with catching bass. CHATTER BAIT I never got into though...just bought some and ready to start with.

...pike like these as well right?

Feed me ur information with Chattetbaits please!

Thanks,
Don.


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## djl (Sep 20, 2014)

Pike
Bass
Lilly Pads
White
Power Pro


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## twistedcatfish1971 (Jul 21, 2013)

...agree with all...except power pro. Cannot bring myself to it. 

Twisted sone say ...


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## djl (Sep 20, 2014)

twistedcatfish1971 said:


> ...agree with all...except power pro. Cannot bring myself to it.
> 
> Twisted sone say ...


Power Pro 20 # test is 6# equivalent. Super thin super strong. If you get bit in the lilly pads the fish is coming out.


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## djl (Sep 20, 2014)

djl said:


> Power Pro 20 # test is 6# equivalent. Super thin super strong. If you get bit in the lilly pads the fish is coming out.


3/8 ounce does the trick


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## winguy7 (Mar 12, 2014)

Funny enough my buddy kills smallmouth with em, I smash them on spinner baits. So best I can say is try them...see how you like them. Then make up your mind as to which one you like better. Side note, he loses alot of them to snags and I'll still be pitching the same spinner. He uses the zman jackhammers and I think it does make a difference over the cheaper ones. But I don't like losing baits, and I think the ratio of catch to spend isn't worth it.


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## winguy7 (Mar 12, 2014)

That's all from a kayak on the river though, which is different than bank or boat/lake. I only throw stuff I won't miss or ruin a trip from the bank. And yes pike like chatterbaits but are much more likely to bite them off.


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## REEL GRIP (Jan 11, 2013)

They will catch'em....I prefer to build my own....Z-Man?....CHEAP....Skirts are a joke.
Here is a bait I use for about 4 bucks. Picaso swimbait jig head, and a "Switch-Blade"
Chatter Bait blade.


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## REEL GRIP (Jan 11, 2013)

Here ya go


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## djl (Sep 20, 2014)

Reel Grip

Very nice. I like it....
What skirts do you use ?


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## BuffedOutBass (10 mo ago)

Just try various retrieves to find what they like. You can swim it close the bottom or close to the top. Twitch it while you swim it or jig it. You have alot of options. I recommend some sort of paddle tail if you're swimming it. If you're jigging it or fishing it slow on the bottom use a craw. If the water is muddy try using a beaver tail. Just don't use it in wood like you would a jig. I hope this helps!


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## Jesco (Feb 13, 2008)

REEL GRIP said:


> Here ya go
> View attachment 485931


I like those also,where do you get them? Iget my stuff at LPO, I normally go with weedless, throw right up in stuff. I have done very well on spinner baits also.


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## REEL GRIP (Jan 11, 2013)

Thats a Dirty Jig skirt....All came from Tackle Warehouse.


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## threeten (Feb 5, 2014)

On a trip in the UP…… my wife was just killing everything on one. She could throw it on the bank and they would still hit it. Lol
I grabbed it after she switched up and the biggest pike I ever saw grabbed it from under the canoe and broke me off. It was the only one we had, but that’ll never happen again because she put ten of them in her tackle box now.


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## MechMark (Nov 3, 2021)

I started bassin with spinners, now its mostly chatters. They simply catch fish. I use 3"-5" inch paddle tails on to give it a bigger profile, extra action, and color variations. Caught my biggest pike and largemouth on a chatter. Definitely need to use at least 20lb braid, I use 25lb powerpro moss green.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Chatterbait is one bait I just can't really stand to use. The more guys switch to them the better it makes the spinnerbait bite for me. I do catch fish on them it's just not something I use much at all. There are days where one will outproduce the other. One thing I did learn a while back when I used a chatterbait fairly regularly is that a slightly more moderate action rod will give you a better hookup ratio than a rod with a faster action. I do not fish a chatterbait on the same rod I fish a spinnerbait on. 

Now saying that I did catch my pb largie on one. 8.4# but I sight fished it and just fished it like a jig so I don't even really count it.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

One thing I forgot to add is pike LOVE them. Maybe more than a spinnerbait which is hard to believe


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

Caught my first chatterbait fish for this year sunday, we caught most of our fish on jerkbait but when we was fishing too shallow for a jerk I was throwing a chatterbait. I was prety much slow rolling it like a spinnerbait just fast enough to make it vibrate and occasionally stopping to let it hit bottom again. They will work all year long but they do have their times where they out perform everything but now is not that time. I would really start throwing them once water temps get into the high 50s.


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## Pike (Apr 7, 2004)

I started using chatterbaits a couple years ago in the U.P. of Michigan. I caught several really nice walleyes in very shallow water after the spawn. I was targeting smallmouth, kind of a nice surprise. I was using a pretty fast reel, so had to consciously slow down the retrieve. 

I was using a Strike King Thunder Cricket. The skirt is a bit more streamlined that other chatterbaits. It seemed to make a difference for what it is worth. 

Good luck!


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## dconant (Jul 19, 2021)

twistedcatfish1971 said:


> Caught alot of bass over my years. Most have been caught with standard white spinner baits and old school K-mart football head jigs. Alot of my BIG bass were from old Geauga lake 25 to 30 years ago when I lived across the street from place. Dam it! I miss those times in summer after closing time and hearing the seals from sea world barking and the after 2 o'clock in morning fireworks from Geauga lake going off here and there.
> 
> ...that stuff was easy and the <norm> back in days.
> 
> ...


It's mostly about the trailer I try to match the color to the chatter bait and if you put a Keitech on it turn it upside down so the tail is up . Also Z Man makes a trailer for chatterbaits called a Zanko they work good. But in my opinion a spinner bait works just as well if not better. It's good to experiment but trust me you'll catch just as many fish if not more on that spinner bait.


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## twistedcatfish1971 (Jul 21, 2013)

...thanks for replies/advice/stories with chatter baits/spinnerbaits...

Last few days I have acquired 7 chatters and have some on order. I have taken notes and watched some you tube videos.

If I get anything off the CHATTER...I'll post up for sure!

Don.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

On little tip for using the z man chatterbaits is DO NOT leave a plastic that is salt impregnated on it for more than one day. After about 2 days your hook will be rusted and shot. I've lost more chatterbaits to this than I would like to admit. That's one of the reasons I've strayed away from the z man chatterbait and mostly just use a thunder cricket. Thundercrickets have a much better hook in my opinion that do not rust as easy. I will still try to remember to take my plastic off after I'm done fishing but if I forget for a few days my hook is still rust free.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

I make this modification with some of mine. I take the old skirt off and it kills them. 

Chatterbait Modification to Catch More Bass


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## REEL GRIP (Jan 11, 2013)

They wouldn't eat my white one. Tied on black...Botta-Bing!!!
7 in the next hour.


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## cast-off (Apr 14, 2005)

Nice fish man. I got to try those chatter baits. Never have.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

Amazing how a simple switch will make your day. Nice bass


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## dkunes (Sep 25, 2014)

If you use braid, just know you will feel a lot of vibration from the blade. I switched to 17lb fluorocarbon and that works just fine for me.


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

one of my favorite lures to throw. I've caught bass, pike, walleye and big crappie on it in mosquito all in the same day. This was my first bass of the soft water season caught on a chatter bait. Unfortunately I broke that color off on a tree and didn't have anymore. Which resulted in no more bites lol.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

I was on Lake Erie yesterday and landed a nice walleye on a chatterbait modified with a hand poured fluke I make. Both walleye I caught were spawned out.


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

I tip my chatter bait with flukes too. Yeah, walleye definitely bite the chatter bait.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

I used a swimbait head and put blade on it with a homemade fluke. No skirt. It looks a little more streamline if you try to resemble the smaller baitfish. Flukes do work good on the skirted chatterbaits also.


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## dconant (Jul 19, 2021)

winguy7 said:


> Funny enough my buddy kills smallmouth with em, I smash them on spinner baits. So best I can say is try them...see how you like them. Then make up your mind as to which one you like better. Side note, he loses alot of them to snags and I'll still be pitching the same spinner. He uses the zman jackhammers and I think it does make a difference over the cheaper ones. But I don't like losing baits, and I think the ratio of catch to spend isn't worth it.


Spinner bait when it's windy and chatterbait when it's calm.I use a Spunk Shad for a trailer on them


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

winguy7 said:


> Funny enough my buddy kills smallmouth with em, I smash them on spinner baits. So best I can say is try them...see how you like them. Then make up your mind as to which one you like better. Side note, he loses alot of them to snags and I'll still be pitching the same spinner. He uses the zman jackhammers and I think it does make a difference over the cheaper ones. But I don't like losing baits, and I think the ratio of catch to spend isn't worth it.


I watched a guy on Beaver Creek just get smacked by smallies over and over using a chatterbait. Of course he had scoped out the best spot in that stretch of the creek, but still. Made a believer out of me. Just cast it out and retrieved it against the current.


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