As long as it's not sunny, clear water, no wind, I'll start with a spinnerbait. Depending on conditions I may switch it up.

The other day I was on a lake, decent chop, cloudy, water was very low vis due to flooding,  probably about 6 inches.  Started with a spinner figuring the conditions were perfect for it, not even a tap.  Switched to a chatterbait, had a few light hits, probably to the tail of my trailer, no hookups, switched to an unerspin with the same trailer as a chatter, started catching bass non stop.  It wall depends on the conditions and the mood of the fish. 

1 hour ago, Dens228 said:

Started with a spinner figuring the conditions were perfect for it, not even a tap.  Switched to a chatterbait, had a few light hits, probably to the tail of my trailer, no hookups, switched to an unerspin with the same trailer as a chatter, started catching bass non stop. 

...and that is how its done .

I fish chatterbaits around grass as they tend to pick up less of it, but in choppy water I'm reaching for my spinnerbait first every time.

I catch a lot more fish with spinnerbaits than chatterbaits.

On 5/30/2020 at 2:19 PM, J Francho said:

I have a few chatterbaits, and over 100 spinnerbaits in inventory. 

I carry 8 chatterbaits and a plano spinnerbait box full of spinnerbaits, I think that holds 45.

 

Granted, my chatterbait approach is pretty simple where I keep them 3/8oz and 1/2oz in black, brown, some form of chartreuse and some silver or white colors, where I do the same with spinnerbaits but then you add in different blades.

On 5/30/2020 at 2:59 PM, Eddie101 said:

When I was fishing with a local guide named Ken Penrod awhile back, he told me - hope I'm quoting him correctly  - he'd typically throw a spinnerbait to an area that has some structure to make it more effective. Where do you throw your spinnerbaits?

Wherever water is wet.

I'm falling on the opposite side of most above.  I always have a chatterbait tied on.  I throw them in all conditions and all over the water column.  I often have a spinnerbait tied on -- but more often than not, it doesn't get thrown until the chatterbait tells me 'not today'.  

 

I have the opposite experience of some above, in that I very rarely snag a chatterbait, and I put them in places that a spinnerbait doesn't go as well for me.  Especially in pad fields.  I cannot work a spinnerbait through pads.  But a chatterbait can be tossed in fairly deep and worked through, as long is they aren't really thick.   I work a chatterbait over, around, and through laydowns that I get in trouble with a spinnerbait.   And, I face a lot of water where I get 12-18" between the top of the grass and the surface -- a chatterbait comes across the top clean and even when it dips in, I can almost always rip it clean.  I don't have nearly the luck (skill) of pulling a spinnerbait across the top of grass like that.

On 5/30/2020 at 2:00 PM, scaleface said:

Not me . I have yet to catch a bass on a chatterbait .

Same here and at this point I swear I am just carrying them to say I use them.

 

Allen