Northwest Fishing Reports

I recently bought a few chatter bait jigs. Fished them a little bit this weekend. Didnt catch anything but had a couple bites/chased in. I had more action when reeling fast. What is the recommended retrieve? I know it gives a great flash when jerked(saw a 5lb+ LM attacking 3'' perch, flash of perch's side while chased looked similar), will still put off vibrations at slow speed. I was told to only buy ones with split ring between jighead and chatter blade, is this so that it won't lock up? Or just better action?

this is a good question. I have been looking at them but have not yet made that purchase. I am interested in hearing others ideas and experiences using them.

I used one this past weekend and had the same results. I tried fishing it like a jig and then a spinnerbait and had no bites I'm wondering if anyone has caught anything.

i fish them all the time



LINK:
- http://www.danieltbaits.com
- http://www.danieltbaits.com/danieltbaits/Chatter.html

Get with danielt, he makes them and are great. I have had success with a few of his around sumberged wood in American Lake as well as St Clair.

When using them try adding a Trailer Worm or Creature,..I throw them as a follow up 2 my Swimbaits,..if I miss a strike or the Bass misses,.. and I toss again with no results after a few casts,..the Chatter with a Trailer is next 2 get wet! Also Bastradamus has nailed a few Bigguns with Chatters,..check with him!

BB

T Dot wrote:i fish them all the time



LINK:
- http://www.danieltbaits.com
- http://www.danieltbaits.com/danieltbaits/Chatter.html

Great links...

Where is Daniel? I havn't seen him for awhile

kevinb wrote:Great links...

Where is Daniel? I havn't seen him for awhile

he is fishing of course



he is not online as much, but is always available via email

I'll check danielt's site out.

Glad to see replies so quick, wasnt sure. Got some from Zmanfishing.com they have tons there. Saw show last week, they were using chatter stick. It looks awesome too. Rapala hard body with chatter blade.

Danielt site has some nice ones. I like the holographic blades. Crappie, perch and bluegill look like they would work great!

You got that right T-dot,hes trying to catch all the fish in american before i get them all its a race:cheers: I'm mot sure if hes making many right know i think he told me thats more of a winter building project when hes not fishing as much,but it wont hurt to try him

does anyone know the ideal place to fish them?

bassfanatic wrote:does anyone know the ideal place to fish them?

the water would help

LOL

they can be worked pretty much anywhere, as they act like a jig / spinner. depending on the size you get, and how well you can control them, you can virtually fish the entire water column. some people even flip them. if you are crazy good, you can even skip them.

I've done great with them, caught a 4lb lm on the drop, another picking it up off the bottom to fish like a spinner and the rest have been smallies just retrieving. Not much luck fishing like a jig. I believe the booyah ones come with trailers.

that was a good one T DOT.......................I'm going to have to give the water a try..........LOL anyway thanks for some good info on how to fish them still new to chatters.

bassfanatic wrote:that was a good one T DOT.......................I'm going to have to give the water a try.

you would be surprised, as thats the first thing most ppl forget

ive seen alot of ppl buying new lures, and never throw them.

Yeah I think I'm going to start throwing my chatter bait a little more and see what happens

I did try one out in Lake in the woods and got hits but no takers.

Been rigging a chatterbait with 3" or 4" bassmagic swimbaits, has worked well on the largemouths

I used the "chatterbait" style a lot this year, and I did very very well with them. Just remember that they are a tool, not a cure all.

I find that they work best in stained water where the vibration is tops. I find that they work in clear water as well, but no better or no worse than a spinner bait in those conditions.

They work extremely well near and around rock rubble; areas where cray fish would be found. They work well around fallen wood, and at the edges of weed lines, and on occasion, even open water. Still, in general, work near cover.

The reason you were told to only get the type with a split ring is because some commercially available versions don't clamp down the ring on the jig eye enough and the blades and baits fly apart. Still, clamp it down yourself when you get it and they are fine.

I find that of the commercially available versions I have tried, the one made by Road Runner is best. It has a small willow leaf blade coming off from the bottom of the horse head jig and it just adds another trigger. Yes, trailers help, but not always. I have made some up from the Stamina Tackle company mixing and matching and I have to say that I think you can make pretty good ones yourself for less money.

Color is up to you, but like any other lure, it matters.

Last, remember that they can be fished like a jig, a spinner bait, and a crank bait. The cast and retrieve nature works well in the spring in place of lipless cranks, and it works a lot like a count down crank or swim bait. The jig nature works best if you use an aggressive lift/fall method. I'll get back to this in a minute. As a spinner bait, well again, just like a count down crank, it is best near cover.

A good method to use if you have the cover; FYI, it works. If you have a steep rock bluff, cast from a boat on a 45 degree angle to the shore. Allow the bait to fall to just touching the bottom, then jig it off aggressively and let it fall to stair step down. This worked for Walleye as well as Small Mouth this year for me, and the sizes of fish were on the larger size.