Chatterbaits, anybody using them??

[TUMBLEWEED]

A big fan of jigs, I opted to give these things a try

this coming weekend. The action looks to be superior to a

regular lead-headed jig. Last year,I had a color pattern

of red and black in one of the flying jig styles, to

which I added a leech and did fairly well on the eyes.

I found a similar color pattern on these Chatterbaits,

and can't wait to see if it will outfish a regular

jig and leech. Has anyone else used these things and

had some success?? Thanks for any input...

[Legit84]

The Chatterbait has overtaken the Terminator as my go to bait. I usually add a 4 inch sluggo to the end of my chatterbait when I'm fishing it.

[Houseboat]

I've had good success using the Boogee Bait. It's a bit larger and more stout than other similar baits I've used. Also, I've had good luck with these baits for LMB & SMB.

[Central Bassman]

I’ll be 100% honest with you guys… When the Chatterbaits first came out I thought it was nothing but a fad and I wasn’t going to waste my money on them. Well after a while I was sick of throwing the same odd spinner baits and crank baits so I gave them a try and man do they catch fish. I really like throwing them in deep water and over weedlines. They have good action and really good vibration. I have used grubs, senkos and trailers just like you would use on spinner bait for trailers. I have caught a lot of good size large mouth and small mouths.

[TUMBLEWEED]

This will be the first time I've used them. I wanted a

bait that I could use for some mid-day weedline action

for Walleyes. We all hear of the bass guys picking

up some walleyes mixed in with the bass they catch.

These chatterbaits seem to fit the bill for that kind

of fishing, and the ones I picked up, are the same

color pattern that was catching fish using a regular

jig. I went with 1/4 oz sizes and plan to add

a leech to the presentation for added effectivness.

HouseBoat mentions the boogee bait by BOOYAH Baits.

They had a 1/4 oz unit that was very close to my

selected color pattern, so I am going to try one

of those too. Their model is a close knock-off

of the original Chatterbait. The boogee bait

does have a special,flexible hook system, that

boasts to fewer lost fish from throwing the hook.

For those of you already using these baits, how

do they handle in the weeds compared to standard

jigs with brush guards or spinner baits??

I would think they are better than a crankbait

or even spinner baits. Also, do you hold short of the

weeds and toss inward, or do you fish paralell

to the weeds. I would think midday, you would want to be

keeping the bait down in the thick stuff.. Any tips

anyone??

[picksbigwagon]

I was at GM last night and looked at these, My buddy happened to call and we were debating what colors to use. I would rather not spend 7 bucks on a lure that will only work the first week of june only. I will keep watching, keep the talk flowing on this one

[TUMBLEWEED]

The Dicks store had a sale on the Chatterbaits. Two for ten

bucks I believe. As for them being only good for the first

week of June, I think they would be good as long as the fish are relating to the weedlines, Plus, if you get the heavier models like 1/2 or 5/8 ounce, you can shoot the deeper water too during the later months when the temps are up,and the fish go deep. As for colors, I am really sold

on the black,red,and blue combination.

[Andrew Erickson]

all of my biggest bass have come on chatterbaits.

[Central Bassman]

Tumbleweed, I agree with you on fishing them in deep water. I have done it before later in the year with the bigger weights and still caught fish!!

[terryt]

They work great on overcast,cloudy or rainy days. I used them last year on a rainy day in August and they out preformed anything else I used.

[basssmasher*]

now Im mad I lost mine to a pike before I caught a bass with it!!

[squeedunk]

I got hooked on these last year. I was really excited this year when they came out with the panfish sized baits as well. I did great all the way from June through October on largemouth last year with the "Original Chatterbait". We also did well on smallies up on Lake of the Woods last August. I now have a good supply of all different sizes and colors. They are a great alternative to spinnerbaits and I find them more versitile than spinnerbaits as well. As for the new panfish sized chatters, I have done very well on walleyes, bass, and of course notherns with them so far this season. I am anxious to get up north to some decent crappie waters to use them there as well. The muskie sized chatterbaits are also great lures. It is a great confidence bait for me and always have one rigged up on one of my rods. With the 3/8 ounce chatterbaits you can cast them a mile too, perfect for picking off jetskiers that get a little too close!

[TUMBLEWEED]

Hey Squeedunk, what size are the panfish models?? I am

using 1/4oz units this weekend (for walleye), do they make

them smaller than that? Where did you find the smaller ones

at??

[Houseboat]

I also just picked up a 1/4 oz version. I was thinking of more towards shallower water and shoreline structure than panfish though. I use this type of bait over the tops of mid-lake weed flats and points. Not quite as weedless as swimming a jig because of the large lip, but very effective. Another area I've had success all summer has been river fishing for smallies. And I am partial to the Boogee Bait because of the flexible hook and they are a bit longer in length which seems to help with the pike bite offs. As we all know, those pike really like shiny things.

[squeedunk]

The panfish sizes are 1/8, 3/16 and 1/16 I believe. They do not have a skirt on them though, rather they have a plastic minnow trailer that is pretty durable. I have switched the trailers out on occasion with other small plastics I have. I know the Gander Mountain in Blaine carries them but I haven't really looked any other places. I'm not sure where you are at, but I would assume most Gander stores would carry the little buggers.

Good luck.

[picksbigwagon]

I picked up three of them tonight at FF, a white, a black and blue and a chartruse (who really knows how to spell that anyway) Now how do I fish it, straight retrieve like a spinner bait, jig it, both ways?????

[jwhjr]

I picked up the Booyah one last fall, but I lost it to a big pike the first time I used it . Over the winter I picked up another Booyah one to replace the one I lost, plus I picked up the Chatterbait "kit" that has a bunch of different types/skirts etc. in it. I had luck with the original Chatterbait along with the Chatter Frog over the bass opener weekend. I'm sold so far, but we'll see if the luck continues...

[Houseboat]

To fish these baits, I use a straight retrieve that keeps the bait just above the weed tops or with enough speed to work around other cover objects next to shore. I also let these baits flutter into pockets or down weed edges. I basically use it like a spinnerbait, but it has more action.