For bass anglers, chatterbaits are highly popular fishing lures. They’re extremely versatile. You can use them in almost any situation. Learning how to fish chatterbait highly important. You also need to know the ideal situations for fishing with chatterbaits. Finally, yet important, you should learn how to maximize catches using this lure.
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What is a Chatterbait?
Chatterbait simply refers to a jig that comes with a single blade linked/attached to it. You must be thinking, how is it possible for a jig with an attached blade catch more fish? Of great importance to note is the fact that it’s the blade that makes it highly effective. The blade great vibration as well as a clicking sound. These two stand out as the most important ingredients whenever you fishing in dirty muddy water.
Why Utilize a Chatterbait?
Often, chatterbaits are handy in freshwater sports fishing. This is because of their incredible action that enables them to be retrieved in an array of different ways. In fishing, versatility is the name that characterizes the game of fishing. No angler ought to go out fishing without an open mind. Is the fish slow and you want to retrieve real time? If yes, then you need to completely change your lure or you’ll not catch anything. In such a case, chatterbaits are exactly what you might be needing.
Simply put, a chatter’s versatility is what makes them so great.
Which Is the Best Chatterbait Color?
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Choosing the right lure color is highly crucial. The same is true to how you use it. That being said, before talking about how to fish a chatterbait, it is important we first look at how you can choose the best color.
Here are the four main chatterbait colors:
- Bluegill
- Black and blue
- Chartreuse
- Shad
Chartreuse and Shad are ideal for the fishing lakes with plenty of white based looking fish or whiter fish. Things such as crappie and shad within a lake are an excellent sign that you need to utilize a shad or chartreuse colored chatterbait.
Around late winter, blue gill is the best to use. It is also handy when the bass begin to go down to the beds. The color is especially interesting because it plays off to not just their hunger but also their distaste. Whenever bluegill head down to the beds within the lakes, they normally stir things up. Bass decent this big time. Once more, you aren’t catching fish because they’re hungry but since they want to get bluegill away.
Lastly, the blue and black chatterbaits are ideal for use in the dirtiest of waters. Black color surely plays well against dark water. The darker the lure, the higher the chances of the lure standing out in a time when visibility is at low. The darker the lure also means the better the silhouette.
How to Fish a Chatterbait
When utilizing chatterbaits, you can do the following things to guarantee your chances of success:
Step 1: Know where to cast
You can begin casting parallel to the shore. This can be about 1 foot out. Next, fan out across till you begin to see some action. Try your best to keep fishing when you discover a sweet spot. Bass prefer sitting approximately 10-15 fee from the shore. After finding a strike zone, ensure you try to retrieve the lure as parallel as possible. This way, you’ll be able to maximize your time within the target zone and thus increase your opportunity of getting a strike.
Step 2: Conduct a steady and slow retrieve
Chatterbaits boast plenty of action themselves. From experience, a steady and slow retrieve often does noticeably better compared to jigging the bait up right from the bottom and then allowing it to float back down. Having said that, if you happen to be hitting some bits of grass, ensure you pop your chatterbait out the top. Bass tend to swarm to the movements that emanate from the weeds. Much of the time, you should get a bite off this.
Step 3: Try and Read the Weather
Reading the weather is highly important. For colder weather, fish tends to be less active. Therefore, you’ll need to be slower with the retrieves. Nonetheless, if there is plenty of action inside the water and fish are active, you can surely enjoy some success cranking it across water.
Step 4: Change things up
Finally, never be afraid to change or spice things up. This is essential to both your retrieval and also your lure’s look. For instance, a great way to change up the feel and look of a chatterbait is to remove the skirt. Doing so makes the profile much smaller. Additionally, it allows you to retrieve the lure at higher speeds without having to break the surface. Furthermore, it gives bass a much better presentation which might be something that’s never seen. In the end, it increases your probability of getting a bite.
Try not to forget about the trailer …
The trailers that you add to your chatterbait is also another thing that makes them versatile. Therefore, use a swim bait trailer with chatterbaits. Based on the one you opt to use, it can bring with it an array of effects to your performance.
Adding a trailer can surely beef up your chatterbait’s trailer. What is more is the fact that it can have a huge effect on the action you enjoy. Utilizing larger trailers adds to the profile. Additionally, it enables to utilize slower retrieve without having to bring a jig to the surface. Similarly, smaller trailers have the opposite effect.
With trailers, you can also be able to add a ton of vibration in to the mix. Doing so is really integral for fishing in murky waters. Whenever fish are not fishing with sight, they rely entirely on feeling vibrations inside the water to hunt. You can exploit this by making the largest vibrations possible. A great trailer with a big trail padding action gives off plenty more sound and vibration in water.
When selecting a trailer for a chatterbait, always remember to fish accordingly. What this means simply is that if you are utilizing a cray trailer, you do not have to cast way to the deep sandy areas. Try your best to run it via the shallows or rocks so that it is able to mimic as precisely as possible, wherever the fish will find cray.
Additionally, trailers can also add some weight to a rig if you are finding it hard to cast out a lure.
Winter chatterbait tactics
With water temperatures hitting 50 degrees and lower, fishing in the cold season can be tricky. Fish are no longer in the shallow water haunts. However, by braving the cold weather, you can surely land some fish. The golden rule is to search for schools of baitfish. Finding baitfish is a recipe for finding fish.
Spring chatterbait tactics
As water warms up, fish begin to thaw out from their long winter nap. As spring sets in, fish tend to gravitate towards some parts. Look for sections with wood and rocks as they hold warmth from the rays of the sun thus attracting fish. The chatterbait frenzy reaches monumental proportions as fish moves shallow in order to get to the spawning cycle.
Summer chatterbait tactics
During summer, it’s important to implement the power fishing technique using your chatterbait. You ought to cover water quickly as well as fish plenty of the location as possible. With a chatterbait, you have everything needed to coax the summer bite. Fishing at night is perfect because it gives off an intense and high vibration. The bait tends to scream to fish, ‘I am here, come eat me …’ Shorten your trailer if you notice that you are getting strikes but fish aren’t getting hooked. If you’re still unsuccessful, fish your chatterbait without a trailer till you start to hook up the fish.
Fall chatterbait tactics
During fall, summer patterns tend to fade out. In fact, the location where you caught fish might change drastically. The changes that fall brings with it affect the fish big time. Furthermore, the thermocline plays such a huge role in the activities of the fish. Fall changeover effects can last for several weeks hence making fishing during fall tough. Whenever fish are suspended, jigging your chatterbait seems to work pretty well.
Conclusion
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In the recent past, chatterbaits have gained immense popularity especially with weekend warriors and tournament professionals. This bait has assisted get numerous anglers in the money. Furthermore, it is a stable bait for throwing in the tournament trail. You can fish it in an array of different seasons and ways due to its versatility.
Have you ever tried fishing with a chatterbait? What was your experience like? Did you love or detest it? We would love to hear your experience and/or comments about how to fish a chatterbait in the comments section below …
And you can read more Top 5 Best Trout Lures here.
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