I fish a river most of the time and I've never even got a bite on chatterbaits.  Has anyone had success with chatterbaits and small mouth?  And if so do you have any tips?  I did catch some large mouth in a pond the other day though.

I have had much better success with largemouth because this is typically a grass/weeds oriented bait. The chatterbait is at its best ripping through grass. I catch very few fish in open water with it.

Ticking the tops of grass is where I get my best bites.  When I have caught smallies on a chatterbait it was slow rolling it over rocky flats.  The new Strike King Rage Blade is awesome for this.

I fish river smallmouth a lot and I have much more success with a spinnerbait and a swim jig in clear water but once the water gets stained the chatterbait then comes into play more. The times in which a chatterbait has been better in the river has been when the water had less than 2' of visibility, 1/4oz models with a fluke Jr. trailer.

i catch tons in river with no grass.  i love it anywhere I throw a spinnerbait.  

I can't buy a bite with them on Douglas lake. Some fish just don't like them I guess.

I've had great success with smallmouth in open, clear water. My best bait has been a bright white bait with a bright chartreuse trailer. I also just started making one similar to the coleslaw color that War Eagle makes, down to the painted white blade, smallies love that color around here