I hear more and more  from serious bass fishermen who essentially put their chatter baits / vibrating jigs away during the warm water months of late spring through summer ... Why is that exactly ? Does it have to do with the blade vibration being too tight, the water column which chatter baits / vibrating jigs are best worked at - or some other reason ?

It's one of my most productive baits all summer long.  One of the best baits for fishing through grass and that's what we do all summer in the tidal water around here.  I have three bladed jigs tied on in the boat right now . 

 

Probably a regional thing...We don't do much deep cranking around here in the summer and guys in other places would probably think that's crazy (just one example).  

I base using a chatter vs swim jig more on water clarity, cloud cover, and wind more than temp. 

Its been my go to for night time fishing this summer. my buzzbait has been seriously neglected lately. 

We fish them all summer long around here as long as there's grass. Killer night fishing baits as well as has been stated!

It gets better for me during the summer months when the weeds get well established ?‍♂️

I haven’t yet gotten fish with them in spring (yet) but they catch the heck out of them in the fall 

Lots of fish this summer on chatterbaits in Texas. But you often need to run it very near the slop, deeper in the weeds. Enough so that I'm hunting for a heavy rod to make shedding grass easier. They are living up in it, and if they are in the mood it seems to make a great weed line bait. That and a keitech fished the same way; just more gentle.

Put the commits in perspective. 90% of the bass anglers work the shoreline. Early in the season the aquatic growrth weeds/grass hasn't grown to the surface. Casting Chatter is productive. Ounce the aquatic plant growth is on the surface Chatter baits only work along the wheedline breaks for the shore pounders. 

Use what works where and how you fish.

Tom

 

I don't really fish anywhere that is super weedy. For me a bladed jig is about two things 1) water temp 2) water color. I have far better success slow rolling one like I would a spinner bait so that leans me more towards colder water. Also I prefer color to the water so that also means cooler spring water which usually has stain to it from flooding, snow melt and springs rains. When the water gets hot here it usually clears up some unless we have an abnormal amount of rain..cleaner water in throwing a swim jig.

My preconceived thoughts on "chatterbait conditions" were thrown out the window this week.

 

Water temp near 90, calm slick water, 8-12 FOW off a boulder point, no weeds. 

 

Weren't tuned in on swimbaits on underspins.  Both the bass and catfish were reacting to the chatter.  Looking back on it should have tried a spinnerbait and scrounger but time was limited. 

 

This lake has had a shad eruption and the fish have changed their summer patterns vs the last few years.

*Thanks for the replies ... Water clarity , aquatic vegetation growth and other factors perhaps more of a reason why than just a warm / cold water seasonal thing .