P.S.: i am glad that i like them 'cause i bought 100 of them divided into 6 diff. colors.

I've seen ideal, perfect and best, in all the silly "what is the [ ] threads, but absolute best takes it to the next level. Impressive,...and sad...

On 5/14/2021 at 8:56 PM, MN Fisher said:

I like paddletails on my chatters - RI Skinny Dipper or Eco Pro Swing Shad.

 

Tail down if I want them to run deeper, tail up if I want them running shallower.

 

On 5/15/2021 at 5:51 PM, ike8120 said:

Switched to the GYM Zako

 

23 hours ago, gimruis said:

Rage tail menace rigged vertically

all of those are great

adding 2 more

rage swimmer

kalin's grub

Havoc Pitboss or Rage Menace rigged vertically are my favorites. The Zman Goat is a new player that is similar to the Menace and has been working well also and more durable. 

I have no idea how the Z-Man Razor Shadz and Goatz haven't been mentioned more.  They have excellent action and even after quite a few good fish on the Project Z this year, I haven't needed to grab a new one unless I lost the entire chatterbait.  Besides those, my paddletail of choice has strongly switched to the Lake Champlain Lures 3.8.  It's a Keitech clone, but it's a good one and it's considerably cheaper.

Razor shadz if you have toothy critters in your waters.  otherwise zako or fluke

I like the Zako but if I have to pick one I'm going with the rage menace.  I'm not falling for the vertical rigging mumbo jumbo either... rig it like you would a normal double tail. 

another vote for the razor shad.  still using the same one i put on at the start of my year. caught a decent amount of bass and its still holding on strong.

Zoom z craw jr rigged vertical 

I use a Rage Craw almost exclusively on my chatterbaits.

Hog Farmer Spunk Shad

Personally for me I mostly use a form of green pumpkin for the chatterbait and almost always go with a rage menace in KVD magic 

Zako, Zoom Super Fluke, GY Cowboy

On 5/17/2021 at 6:04 AM, Hook2Jaw said:

I have no idea how the Z-Man Razor Shadz and Goatz haven't been mentioned more.  They have excellent action and even after quite a few good fish on the Project Z this year, I haven't needed to grab a new one unless I lost the entire chatterbait.  Besides those, my paddletail of choice has strongly switched to the Lake Champlain Lures 3.8.  It's a Keitech clone, but it's a good one and it's considerably cheaper.

I’ve been eyeing those Champlain swimbaits, good action as a stand alone bait?

i almost exclusively use zman razor shads on all my chatterbaits. i'll occasionally downsize to a creature bait or craw style trailer but very seldom

2 hours ago, BlakeMolone said:

I’ve been eyeing those Champlain swimbaits, good action as a stand alone bait?

They have great action.  I'm enjoying them.

Check out the Eeliminator:

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/GameChanger_Lures_Eeliminator_/descpage-GCLEL.html

 

I like these because you can shorten the front of the grub style to make a shorter presentation if need be. The action is great in the tail, but I also like it because it adds enough extra weight to help the chatterbait get a bit lower. I like to skip docks etc, so it really allows me to get down a bit for those bass that are enjoying the deep shade under the docks. 

 

I also find that this tail does not tend to get hung up in the hook as much as a paddle tail did for me sometimes. Additionally I have caught many LMB on one. I have never had to use more than 1 of these in a single day so they are pretty durable as well.

It depends on what I am trying to imitate.  If I am imitating a baitfish I'll use a paddle tail like a kietech or a rage swimmer.  If I am imitating a crawdad I'll use a rage craw or rage bug or even a rage menace.  There's just so many different trailers and almost any of them with action will work.

Fluke 

10000 fish Saw Craw or Creme Speed Screamer. I don't use a trailer on spinnerbaits too often, but when I do I use a Salty Tube Bait.

Rage menace