1/4 vs 3/8 oz chatterbaits. If you were gonna fish water depth 1’-5’ what size would be best. With a trailer added of course...thanks guys

Out of those two I would use the 3/8 oz.  I only use the 1/2 oz. regardless of how deep the water is though.

3/8oz. 11 times out of 10.

Yea, nobody seems to favor the 1/4 chatterbaits 

I prefer the 3/8.

So 3/8 even for 1 foot - 5 foot of water?

2 hours ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Out of those two I would use the 3/8 oz.  I only use the 1/2 oz. regardless of how deep the water is though.

I agree with Hawkeye21, the 1/2 oz works for me.

2 hours ago, Michael Green said:

So 3/8 even for 1 foot - 5 foot of water?

Yup, key is to stop the spool a split second Before the lure hits the water, then start reeling. Doing this will keep the bait/lure just sub surface..

3 hours ago, Michael Green said:

So 3/8 even for 1 foot - 5 foot of water?

Yes, and I use 1/2 oz more than 1/4 oz. The blade makes the bait lift on the retrieve, so more weight is often needed to keep it down at the desired retrieve speed.

I use 3/8 oz pretty much exclusively and use them mostly in that depth range and a little deeper. 

I use both 1/4 and 3/8, 1/4 for when I'm using lighter spinning. In reality I can't tell much difference.

I use.an equal amount of 3/8 and 1/2 oz chatterbaits.  I don't think I have any 1/4 oz.  

I use a 3/8oz 95% of the time, regardless of water depth.

3/8 and 1/2 are all I use but...I did buy a new Mega Blade this year that is a full 1oz. with a HUGE blade. The creator says he fishes it in the entire water column from shallow to deep so I'm anxious to try if I ever get the time!

Chatterbaits tend to “float up” upon retrieve to keep the ideal level of vibration.  I use 1/2 oz but more and more often 3/4 oz and they work perfect for LMB and SMB in shallow and mid-depths.  

19 hours ago, Michael Green said:

1/4 vs 3/8 oz chatterbaits. If you were gonna fish water depth 1’-5’ what size would be best. With a trailer added of course...thanks guys

3/8 between those two choices, but I prefer 1/2oz for most situations so I can keep it down in water column when needed  

I agree.  I use 1/2 most of the time.  I can cast is farther/easier, use a larger variety of trailers (as some make it rise more than others), and keep it down in the water column with everything.  

Lately, I have made the switch from 3/8th to 1/2oz. 

 

Not only that, I have swapped to Zillion 100pa (4.9.1) speed to keep it down. I just have a habit of fast reel up. 

3/8th oz. size ; tips from G-Man : Use a paddle tail trailer (rigged upside down) to keep the chatter bait down and prevent it from rising too much in the water - etrieve it just like a spinner bait until it barely goes out of sight in the top of the water column .

I fish from the bank and made the switch from 3/8 to 1/2 and like it much more.

I love a larger chatter bait with a live magic shad on the end but their harder to find around here in local tackle store... 

 

on small body ponds I might toss out a smaller one cause you never know what might hit it lol. 

 

I caught 1.5 crappie on a small chatterbait. Years ago when I use to fish this very small pond. 

 

 

Man man it’s been years since I fished that pond... 

 

it had had some decent bass in there too... just an old neighborhood pond in back of the woods.. 

I am in 6' on the Potomac off the main channel so it is 3/8 with a Zako (sp?) trailer.

I've always fished with the 1/2 size. 

What trailers do y’all prefer for chatterbaits and for swim jigs? 

I used the zako for the chatterbaits and it proved effective. Just wanted to get an opinion on others for either chatters or swim jigs. 

Zako & Rage Bug on Vibrating jigs 

 

 

And this is a fair example of my swim jig trailer preferences ~ 

 

A-Jay