So while I am not the chatterbait expert I am not a fan of the available trailers for a on the market. Therefore for the same reason I got into baitmaking I am going to make my own.  Looking to turn the bait in the picture below into a chatterbait trailer. What does everyone think of my proposal? Bait will be 4" and will meet my requirements on what I think is best.

 

Allen 

If you can get it to shimmy/swim in cadence with the blade vibrations, I think you'd have a winner. It's got the right profile and length, but it's gotta be supple enough to get that perfect swim and not be too stiff or fighting against the action of the blade.

What do you find lacking with the current available options?

 

All that realism, and fins would be wasted on a chatterbait in my view.   Split cavity designs like a fluke or an Armor Shad is what I'm quickly preferring.   Less plastic to drive the hook through, and I find it lends to overall better action.   

 

Chatterbait encompasses so many different profiles.    What I want on a Jackhammer or Project Z weedless is totally different than what I want on a MiniMax.   

 

Now you could put that on a Naked Chatterbait, or the Willow Vibe Chatterbait with more tangible improvements verses a non realistic swimbody to me.  

 

I really like the design of the Razor Shad and Live Magic Shad's tail.   Spots tear the Live Magic Shads off, but the action is dynamite.   

 

I'm not a huge fan of paddle tails on them, as they require more fine tuning.....they are much more finnicky than a swim tail like yours.....but you have to have enough freedom of movement as noted above.  

So the fins would be removed from this bait and cutouts would be made like the SK blade minnow or Zako. What I want is a trailer that follows the blade. Paddle tails have their own action and swim at a frequency much slower than the blade. This bait I want to follow behind the blade and swim in a natural following motion. I think it will make more sense once I get the prototype made and everyone can see it. 

 

Allen 

It sounds like a cross between the Zako and SK Blade Minnow.  Sounds good.

5 minutes ago, Columbia Craw said:

It sounds like a cross between the Zako and SK Blade Minnow.  Sounds good.

 

Going to incorporate the features I like from other baits. The Zako is too fat and Yamamoto plastics are too soft for this application. Blade minnow is too long and skinny IMO so I am coming up with something I feel will work better. I will send you some of the prototypes to try out once I get the initial bait done.

 

 

Allen

The basic shape looks promising, like any other bait it will likely take some fine tuning.

The most obvious thing to me is you want the head to be flat.  That way it will be more durable on a keeper and fit flush against the jighead.

I would think that removing some of the material on the tail so that its a deeper V would give it a more erratic action.

I could be completley wrong, but thats just my 2 cents.  Good luck.  

4 hours ago, Munkin said:

 

Going to incorporate the features I like from other baits. The Zako is too fat and Yamamoto plastics are too soft for this application. Blade minnow is too long and skinny IMO so I am coming up with something I feel will work better. I will send you some of the prototypes to try out once I get the initial bait done.

 

 

Allen

If a Zako is too fat (I disagree) but a blade minnow is too thin then the razor shad is right between them. I fished then a good bit last year and the light grey with dark grey back was my go to on a green shad chatterbait. The action is great and they are durable. My issue with them is that I leave trailers on my lures and I don’t just use elaztec so they melt into each other. I’ve stopped using elaztec for trailers for that reason. 

I commend you for taking the time and effort to come up with something unique. 
 

Good Luck

I hope you find what you’re looking for 

 

 

 

 

Mike

Always worth experimenting with trailers.  There are a lot of options out there that might work and you don't know until you try.

 

Not a fan of the zako either, the durability being a yamamoto plastic is awful.  They get shredded by teeth way too quick.  I prefer the razor shad for zman's durability.  I also like the strike king rage tail menace.

Yamamoto now has a 3 inch Zako.  I’ve not experienced it being too fragile.  The Zako doesn’t have as much salt in the formula.  I’ve had the same Zako trailer on for the last 3 trips.  Proper rigging, as with all Yamamoto baits is paramount.  Good luck on your pour! 

3 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Yamamoto now has a 3 inch Zako.  I’ve not experienced it being too fragile.  The Zako doesn’t have as much salt in the formula.  I’ve had the same Zako trailer on for the last 3 trips.  Proper rigging, as with all Yamamoto baits is paramount.  Good luck on your pour! 

is the 3” a scaled down version in all dimensions and keeps the same overall ‘look’?

 

i definitely need to try them. I used a rage menace for a shorter and tall profile and a big zako for a full sized. A smaller zako would be pretty sweet if it keeps most of the height but looses some weight. 

5 hours ago, gimruis said:

Always worth experimenting with trailers.  There are a lot of options out there that might work and you don't know until you try.

 

Not a fan of the zako either, the durability being a yamamoto plastic is awful.  They get shredded by teeth way too quick.  I prefer the razor shad for zman's durability.  I also like the strike king rage tail menace.

The Zako is actually considerably more durable then other similar trailers.  Ive had a couple that lasted over a dozen good fish.  Usually the inside of the bait wears out first and starts to slide down the shanks before its destroyed from the outside.  

15 minutes ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

The Zako is actually considerably more durable then other similar trailers.  Ive had a couple that lasted over a dozen good fish. 

Ya but do you have snot rockets assault it over and over again?  That's the problem I have.  They are actually good trailers for a chatterbait but they get shredded by teeth much more easily than zman elaztech.

I use a fluke, a paddle tail fluke if I want to fish a little slower, or a Zoom Fat Albert grub. I keep it fairly simple but I think your bait fish looking swimbait would work fine as long as it's soft enough work with chatterbait and not against it.

IMO, the Havoc Devil's Spear was the best bladed jig trailer ever made. Really a shame they discontinued it. 

I find realism generally not that important in bass lures, and actually a negative for a chatterbait trailer. I find salt water rat tail 5-6" trailers as close to perfect as you can get. I see some bass guys touting some bass specific similar ones lately.

13 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

I find realism generally not that important in bass lures, and actually a negative for a chatterbait trailer. I find salt water rat tail 5-6" trailers as close to perfect as you can get. I see some bass guys touting some bass specific similar ones lately.

is that similar to a zoom split tail in form and size?  

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

is that similar to a zoom split tail in form and size?  

No, like a Bass Assassin single tail. But a regular fluke or fluke jr work really well, but the cutout pocket thing in the body makes them less durable.

2 hours ago, Deleted account said:

I find realism generally not that important in bass lures, and actually a negative for a chatterbait trailer. I find salt water rat tail 5-6" trailers as close to perfect as you can get. I see some bass guys touting some bass specific similar ones lately.

 

Functionality is definitely more important than appearance. That said the design work for the gills,scales,etc is already done so I am going to use it. 

 

As for other trailers mentioned I design things based on my experience. So a 5" trailer on a chatterbait is a little big for most of my fishing conditions.  Now the Lower Potomac has hugh shad but closer to home there are no 6" Gizzard shad for bass to feed on. 

 

Allen 

9 hours ago, gimruis said:

Always worth experimenting with trailers.  There are a lot of options out there that might work and you don't know until you try.

 

Not a fan of the zako either, the durability being a yamamoto plastic is awful.  They get shredded by teeth way too quick.  I prefer the razor shad for zman's durability.  I also like the strike king rage tail menace.

The Razor Shad is outstanding as far as this style trailer goes. It's what I've been throwing lately, and I've quickly become a fan. Great action and darn near indestructable.

I've tried a bunch of chatterbaits, and trailers with on luck so far.   I've used many of the trailers I've seen mentioned on here.   The only bait/trailer I've had a bass follow is a 1/4 ounce Z-man mini max in gizzard shad with a white Manns classic spinner bait trailer.   I'll try some more tomorrow.    Any magic combos for a lake that's down 4 or 5 feet with semi stained water?   

4 hours ago, gimruis said:

Ya but do you have snot rockets assault it over and over again?  That's the problem I have.  They are actually good trailers for a chatterbait but they get shredded by teeth much more easily than zman elaztech.

Yup, lots of shallow cedar water millponds in this area that are overpopulated with chains.  

 

24 minutes ago, Woody B said:

I've tried a bunch of chatterbaits, and trailers with on luck so far.   I've used many of the trailers I've seen mentioned on here.   The only bait/trailer I've had a bass follow is a 1/4 ounce Z-man mini max in gizzard shad with a white Manns classic spinner bait trailer.   I'll try some more tomorrow.    Any magic combos for a lake that's down 4 or 5 feet with semi stained water?   

Our local reservoirs were built for flood control, and are drawn down 5-8 feet each fall. I do well pitching jigs and trigs to any wood I can find still in the water on the main lake basins. If there's some wind, rolling a chatterbait or spinnerbait along laydowns can be good.

Hog Farmer Spunk Tail Shad for me. They also work great on a Scrounger.