Best Seasons for Bass on a Chatterbait / Bladed Jig ?

[gim]

14 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

The only problem I’ve encountered is their popularity, you will never be the only guy throwing it 

That's exactly why I think a spinnerbait has made a comeback here.  A fair amount of anglers have completely replaced them with chatterbait usage instead.

 

You should try a spinnerbait lol

[TnRiver46]

5 minutes ago, gimruis said:

That's exactly why I think a spinnerbait has made a comeback here.  A fair amount of anglers have completely replaced them with chatterbait usage instead.

 

You should try a spinnerbait lol

Never heard of them, do they spin in circles? 

[Koz]

All year round. But the difference is that in winter months I stick to black/blue and use a lift and drop technique instead of just swimming them.

[ChrisD46]

*What is your opinion on water color as it relates to chatterbait usage ? A lot of Pros say it's not a good lure for clear or slightly stained water (that might not include fishing a chatterbait on an overcast day or fishing a chatterbait early or late in low light conditions) ?

[Zcoker]

All year long down here in south Florida, they work and keep working, working best on the windy days (or nights) when the water is fired up. They are deadly at night, creeping along....the hits are bone jarring! 

[Zcoker]

On 4/2/2023 at 8:19 AM, ChrisD46 said:

*What is your opinion on water color as it relates to chatterbait usage ? A lot of Pros say it's not a good lure for clear or slightly stained water (that might not include fishing a chatterbait on an overcast day or fishing a chatterbait early or late in low light conditions) ?

 

In my experience with chatterbaits, I'm surprised the pros have so much to say about them not being so good in "slightly stained water" The water down here in south Florida is stained all over, Coca Cola water, about as stained as it can get. Yet the hits on chatterbaits are insane. Day or night, cloudy or overcast, clear or stained, they nail them!

 

Here's just one example of a chatterbait fish caught in near black slightly stained water lol. 

 

 

 

[skywalkerV]

Question on these and when to set the hook.

I've been feeling tons of bites on these, really good strikes.

 

My question is, when do you set the hook? On the initial strike? 

I've been swinging for the fences on trying to set the hook, but I always come up empty, then I read I should just slightly turn and reel.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

2 hours ago, skywalkerV said:

Question on these and when to set the hook.

I've been feeling tons of bites on these, really good strikes.

 

My question is, when do you set the hook? On the initial strike? 

I've been swinging for the fences on trying to set the hook, but I always come up empty, then I read I should just slightly turn and reel.

On a straight retrieve, it's very easy to rip the bait away from them......so much so that it took me months, and ultimately, I just hit the easy button and bought a Chatterbait rod.    Chatterbaits are my favorite big fish bait, but they were the toughest baits to figure out how to hook fish with.     

 

On a Yo Yo retrieve, it's much more easy, you just hammer them when you feel the bite.   

 

All I know is when I got the right rod, 95% of the problem went away.   I was throwing them on MH Fast Loomis GLX rods.     Switched the Alpha Angler Chatterbound.  You need a forgiving rod imho in order to allow the fish time to fully get the bait in it's mouth before the rod fully loads up on a hookset.  

[txchaser]

10 hours ago, skywalkerV said:

Question on these and when to set the hook.

I've been feeling tons of bites on these, really good strikes.

 

My question is, when do you set the hook? On the initial strike? 

I've been swinging for the fences on trying to set the hook, but I always come up empty, then I read I should just slightly turn and reel.

I had a buddy with a tough time setting the hook and I got him to switch to a heavier rod and it immediately changed the result. I think it's a really personal thing and a combo of line/rod/which way the fish is moving/how much slack/etc. 

As an example, I fish chatterbaits mostly on braid/leader, but I like a bit of a floppy tip. My hookset is pretty light, more like a wrist snap than a big hookset. The hooks on jackhammers are medium wire, shouldn't need to crack the hookset hard ... unless the fish is coming right at you and/or you have lighter/stretchier line. 

Try not really setting it and see what happens - just reel and wrist flick at the same time. If that doesn't work try a wide sweep set like a carolina rig... as I was typing this out I remembered that most of my hooksets are more like side sweeps than like cracking it straight up, unless I'm pitching closer to the boat. 

 

[gim]

22 hours ago, skywalkerV said:

My question is, when do you set the hook? On the initial strike? 

I've been swinging for the fences on trying to set the hook, but I always come up empty, then I read I should just slightly turn and reel.

Probably has something to do with the line you're using too.  Braided line has no stretch, so if you're using that, then a more simple sideways or upward "snap" should do.  If you're using fluoro or mono, there is going to be some stretch so a more robust hookset would likely be needed.  Chatterbaits generally have fairly stout hooks too, so you will need at least some pull back to get a decent hook set.

 

I use braided line with a section of fluoro leader on mine (for pike) so I don't need to yank on it like I'm shark fishing, but a quick snap of the rod when there's an interruption in vibration usually works pretty well.

[ChrisD46]

I like a co-poly type line such as Yozuri Hybrid or P-line C-XX in #12 lb. to #15 lb. (both are very strong for their line weight and have some give to them) .