I do OK throwing chatter baits. Sometimes quite well, but I focus on throwing different baits more often. One of my main fishing buds kills throwing them. Not all the time, but quite often, and he's put together a very nice string of 6+ pounders throwing them over the past few seasons, along with plenty of 4s and 5s. Up here in the Northeast we have bigger fish, but a 6+ pounder doesn't come easy. It's a very good day when you bag one.

 

Initially I accepted the idea of a do-nothing trailer like a Zako or Razor shad. Sometimes a Rage Menace or a fluke, but I rarely had much luck, just occasionally. Fishing math isn't quite linear though. There could've been several factors at play that lead to my poor results. However, once I switched trailers types and tried the Culprit Incredi-Slim and the Missile baits Baby D-stroyer my fortunes changed significantly. The subtle appendages working behind the CB "seemed" to be a difference maker. Both trailers became mainstays for me.

 

Back to my buddy. He uses absurdly large swim bait trailers on bladed jigs. Like 5.8 and 6.8 Keitech fats rigged normally. Not flipped upside down. Sometimes it's a big salt water boot or paddle tail swimmer he's found. He mixes it up. A 4 3/4" Beast Coast Miyagi is a beefy bait for its length, and fished on a swimbait hook it's not overwhelming looking at all, but it looks kooky rigged onto a bladed jig, especially if you're accustomed to typical diminutive trailers. In this case the Miyagi is one of the smaller trailers he uses.

 

A few weeks ago I showed up to the lake with a 5" Zman Diesel Minnow rigged on a chatter bait, which if I'm being honest looked kind of goofy to me. I showed it to my bud affirming that I was finally on-board with the idea. He dug into his bag and pulled out one of his CBs with a 7" Diesel Minnow, which I was unaware of him using previously. Like I said, he believes in them, and for good reason. I got plenty of bites that day and bagged a 2 1/2 and a 4-13.

 

I'm not claiming oversized trailers are the way to go, but what I can say is that they shouldn't be excluded as an option because they do get bit. Or, if you prefer, they are definitely not rejected. In fact, a week later I caught the largest fish I've ever pulled out of this particular lake at 7-6 using one rigged with the 5" Diesel Minnow. For what it's worth it wasn't flipped upside down either.

 

I know somewhere on these pages I've read that @Bluebasser86 likes an upsized trailer sometimes, so I'm not alone on an island with this one. I think it's worth a shot if you've had sketchy results throwing bladed jigs, or have been striking out completely with them.

 

5" trailer shown on top. 7" below.

 

 

 

Why stop at the trailer? Make the bait huge too! Shown next to a standard 3/8oz bait for scale.

There is a time for large trailers, and there is a time for small trailers. I throw salt water plastics on chatters and swim jigs that make the overall length 7"-9", sometimes more at times, specially during the pre spawn.

I'll sometimes run a 5.5 Spunk Shad for a trailer.

 

I've been running the 6.5" spunk shad and a nipped 7" jerky J, with decent success, especially at night.  Definitely seems like a dink rejector, lots of 3-5lbers.  Hope there's a 7 swimming around my waters.

 

scott

29 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

I've been running the 6.5" spunk shad

My buddy picked up a few Big Blade Chatter Baits. He said he rigged a Magdraft Freestyle on one of them. Interesting.

I personally use zakos and get this... Yum swim'in dingers rigged upside down. I've had plenty of luck of them, maybe more than the zako. Pretty weird but they work. 

7 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

I'll sometimes run a 5.5 Spunk Shad for a trailer.

 

"Welcome back"...

Try a chatterbait with a 5.8” Geecrack Bellows Gill. Now that’s a profile.

19 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Why stop at the trailer? Make the bait huge too! Shown next to a standard 3/8oz bait for scale.

How heavy is the chatterbait with large boot tail on it?

19 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Why stop at the trailer? Make the bait huge too! Shown next to a standard 3/8oz bait for scale.

 

that must weigh 4 oz all in?  That's a big profile, but considering I was just looking at the 7" keitechs last night and I love chatterbaits....  You have me thinking.

11 hours ago, Deleted account said:

"Welcome back"...

Que?

10 hours ago, Deebo said:

How heavy is the chatterbait with large boot tail on it?

In the 2oz range, it's a 1oz head with a 6oz fat impact body

10 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

that must weigh 4 oz all in?  That's a big profile, but considering I was just looking at the 7" keitechs last night and I love chatterbaits....  You have me thinking.

 

I'd probably switch over to the large blade chatterbait to rig with large trailers ...

[img]https://i.ibb.co/g4nQqwR/Screenshot-20220522-062054-Gallery.jpg[/img]

This is as wild and wooly as I get.

 

Nevermind.  Can't attach it or use a 3rd party link to embed.  It shall remain a mystery.  Yum houdini on a break blade 

1 hour ago, Tatulatard said:

It shall remain a mystery.

I got you, mang.