Which do you prefer and how do you decide which to toss? What conditions do you prefer one over the other in?

 

I prefer a bladed jig in murky water,

but prefer a safety-pin spinner in weedy situations.

 

Roger

If I want to fish fast, I go spinnerbait, slow gers the bladed jig. If it's a toss up, I go bladed jig.

Both seem to get a fair amount of use when I am looking to cover water. Like Blue mentioned I think I can get the spinnerbait to track faster while the chatterbait it seems like I have to slow it down some ensure the blades are thumping. I don't feel like one is better than the other rather both are solid fish producers year round.

 

I've been catching them on a chatterbait as you can see in clear water on a sunny day. never hurts to throw one anytime

I have zero confidence in spinner bait.  Last yr I caught 1 fish on them.  That said most were complaining with the lack of action on them.  Chatter bait is my spinner bait substitute until I get some confidence.

 

that said, it is the only setup I am taking on the water, forcing me to use one

Spinner bait is more versitile because of the nearly unlimited combination of blades used.

Chatter bait is a crank bait that you cast and retrieve around cover.

Tom

 

I think they both have practical applications.

 

I tend to use chatterbaits in sparse weed growth and in water that I find myself fishing a square bill in, including bouncing off of rocks and other debris.

 

Spinnerbaits are used as more of a reaction strike as I fish them a lot like KVD does, namely burning them just under the surface to look for really active smallies.

 

Attila

Chatterbait shallow, spinnerbait deep (and shallow to).

i use either one all the time.

lately the spinner has been tied on more than the chatterbait.

but thats because i find it more fun to fish a spinner bait. 

You Chatterbait aficionados, this is just me, please do not take offense,

 

The Chatterbait is a novelty presentation and my interest in it has passed. I have been throwing a spinnerbait all my fishing days and likely will till the end of my days. As WRB pointed out, the spinnerbait is one of the most versatile presentations ever created.

I like a chatterbaits because if you get a version with a weed guard you can pitch it into cover like a jig then retrieve it like a spinner bait

7 hours ago, NHBull said:

I have zero confidence in spinner bait.  Last yr I caught 1 fish on them.  That said most were complaining with the lack of action on them.  Chatter bait is my spinner bait substitute until I get some confidence.

 

that said, it is the only setup I am taking on the water, forcing me to use one

 

I am the exact opposite,  spinnerbaits work  in many different situations but I cannot buy a bite on the chatterbait. 

5 minutes ago, Munkin said:

 

I am the exact opposite,  spinnerbaits work  in many different situations but I cannot buy a bite on the chatterbait. 

Me too. I have no confidence in a chatterbait, and rarely even take any with me.

 

I've had good luck on both but the spinnerbait is my go to. 

26 minutes ago, Munkin said:

 

I am the exact opposite,  spinnerbaits work  in many different situations but I cannot buy a bite on the chatterbait. 

 

 

My strongest confidence also lies with spinnerbaits, but in my case, the shootout is anything but fair.

I've been throwing safety-pin spinners for around 50 yrs, but have been throwing bladed-jigs only about 10 yrs  

 

Roger

I must be missing out when it comes to fishing a bladed jig as I only use them as a vertical presentation. The majority of the time I have used them with either a lift-drop presentation, or stroking one down a drop-off. 

Fifty years of fishing for bass and I'm still learning stuff on this site.

Turtle135, I take no offense. I agree the chatterbait is a novelty bait and its time has past...just like the internet and polymer handguns!

 

The chatterbait is a big fish bait for me. Just ticking the top of submerged grass, ripping it through clumps of grass, or around wood where others are throwing spinnerbaits has produced both numbers and size for me. Y'all keep throwing spinnerbaits, I'll take a chatterbait most of the time.

10 hours ago, Munkin said:

 

I am the exact opposite,  spinnerbaits work  in many different situations but I cannot buy a bite on the chatterbait. 

That's where I'm at, it's a bait I know is effective but I just can't get a hit using one. Maybe it's my presentation, I can put that down and get a hit on other baits. I really want to learn to fish a chatterbait I'm just getting frustrated with the lack of success on it.

I've  had a little more success with chatterbaits using beaver style trailers. Swimming it over submerged weed beds and killing it at weed edges and holes then twitching and hopping, and then slow roll it just enough to get the blade working again.

In the spring it's hard to beat a slow rolled spinnerbait,Deadly for Large,and smallmouth,here in Maryland , But I fish highland resivor type lake, But once summer arrives a chatterbait shines ,The guys who fish the rivers,upper bay,Potomac do very well with a chatterbait . So I agree with and earlyer post, Spinnerbait deep, Chatterbait shallow

I tend to hook more fish with a spinnerbait, but both are good and the chatterbait is really effective in grass that is often a bit much for a spinnerbait.

 

I think fishing a bladed jig is more complicated than a spinnerbait, I am still learning how to fish the chatterbait efficiently, a Spinnerbait is a lure that I have confidence in so I will give it more time. Kind of 2 different lures, but I think both are important to have.

 

Chatterbaits certainly seem to be much more popular these days. A spinnerbait is one of the easiest lures to catch fish on regardless of skill.

I use and have way more confidence in a spinnerbait, but am trying to give chatterbaits a go.  I bought maybe a half dozen each in 1/4oz and 3/8oz and have been trying to fish them as much as I can, but almost every time I tie one on, I wish I had either a swimjig or spinnerbait on instead.  

 

I have caught fish on them, but not as many as others seem to report.  

I prefer chatter bait, but I've only used a spinner bait on a couple of trips. I'll throw it anywhere besides thick weeds and it always produces for me. 

i have much more confidence in a bladed jig than a spinnerbait but i fish it more like a crankbait than a jig that is what i find most peoples issue is the rod they are using is too stiff listen to brett hite