I know many people swear by chatter baits, but I can't figure them out. I have two styles/sizes/colors. I have tried straight retrieves, slow crawl across the bottom, burning it back to shore, and pendulum retrieves. Never even a bite. For trailers, I have a twin-tail grub and a craw style bait.
Posted by bruaben
10 Comments
Gary yammamotto zako trailer
You’re doing it right. Just need patience. From my understanding the main draw of the chatterbait is that its causing vibrations to attract the fish so it works fantastic in very murky water. I’ve caught a ton of bass and a few pike on a straight retrieve – low enough in the water to not be causing a wake but high enough to be just above weed cover. They do alright in sparse weeds as they bump off of things and there are fishing hiding in there.
My advice is to just keep at it.
For the second one I’d either trim the skirt down or use a bigger trailer, the skirt covering the claws like that will hinder their ability to flap in the water.
I have way more luck using minnow or fluke style trailers over craws. I recommend going out and literally only throwing a chatterbait, just make sure to play around with different retrieves. My go to is to reel it in really jerky like-ill do a quick half crank, then a couple quick quarter cranks, another half crank, etc making sure to pause briefly in between. This makes it kind of dart forward and then pause and sink a tiny bit
They aren’t magic bullets. You still have to get them in front of a hungry fish.
Trim the skirt or use a bit bigger trailer. Good looking Bladed Jig..
You’re most likely fishing them where the fish aren’t.
Also, people swear by every type of lure/bait. One isn’t inherently better than the other and nor does it mean it’ll magically help you catch fish.
I first need to ask where you fish? I have had my best success with Chatterbaits fishing them over grass flats. I’ve since moved to Missouri and I’m having less success in the water around me.
I still fish with a zako style trailer on my bladed jigs, and I do catch fish with the lure, but not as frequent and not the size I am used to in Ohio and the Potomac.
It may not be you. I know they’re popular here, but honestly they’ve never worked for me either. 3-4 colors of blades, lots of combinations of skirts skirts and trailers. Despite giving them a real chance I’ve only ever caught one fish on any of them, and it was right off the splash so I think it was more of a reaction strike.
I was in the same boat as a bank fisherman in NJ. I strted fishing team tournaments this year from a boat. I’ve been smacking them with the chatterbait. All different colors, different trailers. To me it’s more about where you throw it. In a boat you can set up your cast perfectly
I love CHATTER. If you’re trying them out in these late hot summer months. Nothing is working on any given day, it’s tough out there. Don’t lose interest and try again in fall. But you’ll crush them in spring.
My new go to trailer is crush city…. but white rage craws are my og favorite.