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Old 05-02-12, 10:46 PM   #1
bigjim
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Default chatterbait

i dont have one of these, is it just another type of top-water like a buzzbait?
any suggestions as to who makes a good one? def. like to get one
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Old 05-02-12, 11:13 PM   #2
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Think of it as a swimming jig. It can be used anywhere from the surface to the bottom depending on your retrieve. I use chatterbaits mainly in the early spring. Did very well with them again this year. Commercially, I like the original chatterbait the best. But the best chatterbait I've ever used is made by a fella here in the forums. Bassboogieman is the master of chatterbaits! Best I've ever used. Fished slow and crawled along the bottom right after ice out is a great use of the chatterbaits. As the water warms, I'll speed up my retrieve. In warmer water, a quicker retrieve with short jerks of the rod allows it to work at the surface.
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Old 05-02-12, 11:26 PM   #3
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oh ok, thanks Kdog.
i was completely off then what i was thinking, i just saw the skirt and figured that the plate was some kind of top water clacker or something like that
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Old 05-03-12, 07:21 PM   #4
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Two baits that I wanted to try this year were swimjigs and chatter-baits. From what I've read, you fish both lures very much like a spinnerbait (which isn't how I would have thought to fish either.)

Please correct me if I'm mis-informed, but I've read all three can be fished slow along the bottom with a lift-and-fall retrieve, or can be burned close to the surface. Perhaps the best way is a steady retrieve at a mid-depth.

One thing I read about a chatterbait that got my attention was about a guy fishing it like a spinnerbait. He was following a boat who were throwing spinnerbaits. With basically the same retrieve the spinnerbaits weren't catching fish, but the chatterbait was. The article surmised that fish have seen a lot of spinnerbaits. However chatter-baits aren't as common and are just enough different to catch fish who have been conditioned to not bite a spinnerbait.

I also read a similar article concerning swimbaits. I haven't been on the water much this spring, so didn't get a chance to fish either yet.
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Old 05-04-12, 06:49 PM   #5
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If you don't have any chatterbaits you are missing out on fish. You do fish them very much like a spinnerbait with a steady retrieve. They have a very strong vibration that calls fish in but it's a different vibration from a spinnerbait that seems to catch fish that have already seen thousands of spinnerbaits. Some of my best success with chatterbaits have been on lakes that I can't buy a spinnerbait fish on. White with a chartruese trailer is great in clear water and black and blue is good in muddy water.
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Old 05-05-12, 08:03 PM   #6
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Quote:
Please correct me if I'm mis-informed, but I've read all three can be fished slow along the bottom with a lift-and-fall retrieve, or can be burned close to the surface. Perhaps the best way is a steady retrieve at a mid-depth.
They can be fished any way you like, limited only by your imagination.
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Old 05-05-12, 11:53 PM   #7
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I've fished a couple different brands including the original and I've caught fish on all of them. I currently sell Kaotik brand and have a couple custom combo's and looking to add some more too.
A majority of the fish I've caight have been on a steady retrieve with the bait just out of view. I add in a stop and go retrieve to change things up. The third way is that I bring it across a grass line and kill it and let it drop for a second or so and then start it again.
I'll fish them through milfoil, over hydrilla, through pads of all types, and through laydowns. For the most part they don't hang up if you point your rod tip straight at the lure and keep the line coming straight into the rod tip.
Fish typically suck the bait in and swim away. The lack of vibration is a good clue because you may not feel the fish. You need a high speed reel 7:1 to catch up to them sometimes. I've also learned to set the hook the opposite direction that the fish heads.
I think you will do better with a soft tip that are typically found on older spinnerbaits rods when using one. I've got an older All-Star that's ideal.

Let me know if you want any more info on the Potomac Punisher or the Shaker Pro.
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Old 05-08-12, 12:59 PM   #8
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Default To make the point....

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Originally Posted by Marty View Post
They can be fished any way you like, limited only by your imagination.
I alternate between steady and erratic retrieves until I get bit, then focus on the retrieve that got it. I would say I end up 50/50, by the end of the season, but on any given day it seems the fish prefer one over the other.
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Old 05-10-12, 03:36 PM   #9
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.Thanks for the compliment Keith. Miss you here at Dale Hollow. Fishing has been hit and miss but the morning bite has been good for 3 - 4 lb smallies on top water poppers.
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Old 05-10-12, 06:12 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bassboogieman View Post
.Thanks for the compliment Keith. Miss you here at Dale Hollow. Fishing has been hit and miss but the morning bite has been good for 3 - 4 lb smallies on top water poppers.
Ohhh boy. I love a topwater bite, especially poppers! Wish I were there! I wonder how a small spook would work. Also, if two guys were fishing together, one with a popper, the other working nearby the popper with a suspending jerkbait? Have a great time Bruce! Tell the guys I said hay!
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Old 05-10-12, 10:24 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keithdog View Post
Ohhh boy. I love a topwater bite, especially poppers! Wish I were there! I wonder how a small spook would work. Also, if two guys were fishing together, one with a popper, the other working nearby the popper with a suspending jerkbait? Have a great time Bruce! Tell the guys I said hay!
Keith that's a killer combo. I like fishing by myself sometimes but two people cooperating can really knock um out. Used to night fish a lot down south with a good fishing buddy, one of us throwing a buzzbait and the other following dead in its tracks 5+ feet behind with either a shallow crank or big spinnerbait. Good memories.
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Old 05-29-12, 06:21 PM   #12
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Default Booyah Boogiebait mini review

The monkey bloodied me pretty good this spring. I got a new soft-sided tackle bag with TONS of room... then spent another $250+ on lures and plastics. No, I didn't fill it with luckycraft. I think my most expensive lure was a $7 spinnerbait.

This past weekend (Memorial Day) I committed to fishing lures I've either never fished, or didn't have much confidence in: One was a chatterbait. To be specific it was a 3/8 oz. Booyah Boogiebait, blue-and-black with a few red metalic stands. The Boogiebait comes with 2 soft trailers and has an unusual feature... the hook is connected to the jig head with a short stiff piece of cable. I was a bit concerend about the cable - wondering how it would affect hook-ups. It seemed to work OK. My bass were mostly hooked in the top of the mouth with not as many being hooked in the lip. 1 or 2 were hooked in the back of the mouth, but not swallowed. I only missed a couple fish which could have been bluegill tugging at the split-tail trailer.

I caught close to a dozen bass in less than 2 hours on the Boogiebait. (The Bass were hitting almost anything) Most of the bass were 14-17 inches; a typical size for the lake I was fishing. The bait rode higher in the water column than I expected; it was easy to reel too fast and have the lure break the surface losing all its action. I caught a few bass reeling it just under the surface.

Then I tried a fall-and-rip method... letting the bait fall until I could feel the tops of grass and then rip it free. I caught a few more this way.

My most successful method was reeling as absolutely slow as possible while still feeling the blade chatter. The vibration is similar to the way a spinnerbait feels. I'm guessing the bait ran maybe 4 feet deep, but not much deeper. If I wanted to fish it deeper, I would have to let it fall before starting my retrieve. I would feel for the tops of the grass and give a small jerk and continue my slow retireve.

I wore out one of the split-tail trailers that came with it, and then replaced it with a single-tail grub which worked equally well. I would give the Booyah Boogiebait a B+ ...It couldn't have performed much better, but the bass were hitting almost anything that was thrown at them.
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Old 05-29-12, 08:15 PM   #13
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great report ib. thanks man. i got some chatters and NEED to learn how to use em. you have given me a little more nudge now. thanks man.
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Old 05-29-12, 11:14 PM   #14
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havent gotten a hit yet on these baits
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Old 05-30-12, 12:01 PM   #15
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give it some time I learned the technique last year and I love it now. I'm trying to lean how to carolina rig right now and haven't caught a fish yet. Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting time on the water because I don't get to go that often, but learning a new technique makes us better fisherman and will give us more chances to catch fish in the future when the fish need to see something different.
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Old 05-30-12, 04:44 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigjim View Post
havent gotten a hit yet on these baits
I think of them as a niche lure, fitting between spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Slower, less flash than a spinnerbait and faster with more flash than a crankbait and more vibration than either. I will switch from a spinnerbait to a chatterbait if I get short strikes or follows on the spinnerbait. If I get zilch on a spinnerbait, I go to a crankbait first and then to a chatterbait.
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Old 05-31-12, 12:39 PM   #17
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Where and how are you fishing them???
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Old 05-31-12, 03:46 PM   #18
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Where and how are you fishing them???
Any setting where I would use a spinnerbait or a shallow to mid-depth crankbait. I don't like using them deeper than 12' and prefer less than 8'. They go through thin weeds better than cranks but not quite as good as spinnerbaits. Great for glancing off the top of timber, IF they are moving at a good clip when they strike the wood. Can be deadly, along channels between banks of lily pads. Also great in rivers.
Retrieves vary, as mentioned above. Let the fish decide.
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Old 06-02-12, 08:24 PM   #19
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I used a chatterbait for the first time today. I had no luck at all but the fish were deep. The only decent ones caught were on a jig in 20+ feet of water. I tried the chatter mostly to get a feel for it. Hope to learn more and get better with it soon!
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Old 06-06-12, 03:03 PM   #20
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I used a chatterbait for the first time today. I had no luck at all but the fish were deep. The only decent ones caught were on a jig in 20+ feet of water. I tried the chatter mostly to get a feel for it. Hope to learn more and get better with it soon!
Sounds like a great practice session. Being able to feel how fast the bait is working is one of the keys to making it effective. Another key is fishing in shallower water
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