I just tried these for the first time the other day and when I used the trailer that came with it, I tried a few different presentations with no success. Hopping,.... no reactions. Steady retrieve, no success.

I put on a craw trailer and gave it a varied retrieve with hard jerking motions and got some action.

What are some methods that are producing for you guys?

Thanks

I only got to try it once, and got some action on a stop and go action.  I was just wondering what was working for other people too.  Can't wait to see what everyone else is doing!!   ;D

I have been retrieving it like a spinnerbait, constantly speeding up/slowing down the reel handle.  It has really started producing for me now that the grass is starting to get up around here.

Although I haven't been able to get mine yet.   I'd add "stitching" it or a zig zag pattern.

i have had good luck slow rolling it like a spinnerbait and also stop and go action from time to time. i love the lure

To me a chatterbait fish's alot like a spinner.I have used a slow retrieve with pauses.I usually kill it right on top of the cover or speed it up after bumping the structure,I have still not caught a quality fish on one.I feel like it puts out more vibration than a colorado blade.With that said I will be fishing it near major cover or in stained or muddy water.I think I may get better results with it if I match to the scenerio.

I fish it in two different ways.  So far all my CB Bass(up to a 6.5 lber) have come using a yo-yo retrieve where I throw it out, count down 4-6 seconds, raise the rod up, pause, let it fall again reeling down on a semi-slack line.  The bites have come on the fall when it's fluttering like a dieing baitfish.  

I've also tried burning it just under the surface.  It will 'leap' out of the water at times as it dart's to-and-fro.  Very realistic looking to me but no topwater bites for me yet.  I do 'kill' it half way back, trying to entice any followers.

Dan

I'm starting to think that my water here may be way too clear for these.  We take the rattles of everything!  These baits throw out a TON  of vibe! Surprised me.

LBH, I have been using mine mostly around any laydowns I run across and some grass.I just keep it up on top of the brush and just glide it thru the best I can.When you give it the quick jerk,it darts side to side as you probably know.I give it the quick jerks over laydowns that are a little deeper and kill it on the ends and just let it fall out of sight.As someone mentioned above,I havent caught anything BIG with mine either.Maybe one or two 3#ers at the most.I did catch a really fast limit with it in my last tournament by reeling it steady over grass but threw it almost all day and never caught anything over 15".

I really believe that will change once I start throwing that thing at night.There is no way a fish can ignore that much thump and vibration in the dark.

Good thinkin' there fivebasslimit.  I never even thought about the CB at night.  That ought to call 'em in from everywhere.  I've had pretty good luck with mine so far just swimming it like a spinnerbait.  I tried the yo-yoing action and have caught a few, but most of the time I set the hook and there's nothing there.  The thing has so much action that if I let it flutter down, and it tugs the line instead of hitting bottom, then it feels like a strike.  Gonna take some getting used to, and I guess I haven't caught any hogs on mine yet either.  But then again, the places that I've thrown it so far are notorious for large numbers of 12-16" LM Bass.  

I fished two of them today off & on mostly catching small LMBs, one 3.4#er. I got a LOT more bites than with spinnerbaits, but few quality takers. The best response came from a very slow retrieve at feeding depths. Letting it swim straight worked best, that being the most natural way a baitfish swims unless pursued. Swimming it in pursuit mode got the least bites. Speeding it up gets a sloppy roll on them, not very natural acting. They are not nearly as weedless as a regular spinnerbait. I suspected short strikes so put a trailer hook on, and got many hang-ups on wood, lost one. Bream attack it with a vengeance, so do chain pickerel, and two stripers took it, both around 10#. The stripers bent the blade. I think I'll hold off buying more until I can find 3/4 oz models, not impressed with the 1/4 & 1/2 oz models.

Jim

Reading this thread you see just how versatile this lure is.

I have been catching fish steadily with it, but never had it "explode" and be the killer bait untill two evenings ago. The conditions were very windy, mostly sunny skies.

I had a couple of presentations that worked best that day. first, was pitching it just like a jig. They would hit it on the drop. A second (the real killer) was a modified yo-yo retrieve. Something like what LR was doing except I never stopped cranking and let the lure flutter down. I would raise my rod tip a foot or so, then lower it a again but I was cranking the handle the whole time. this caught some quality fish around wind blown points.

On other days I have caught them using a steady retreive.

I prefer the 1/2 oz model, I have not caught a dink on it yet.

LBH, don't feel bad you will catch a fish real soon. Maybe you shouldn't use the sponge bob square pants combo mommy got you for Christmas. 8-)

The colors match my hat.  Don't be a hater,lol.

i finally got some and threw it yesterday for about an hour and didnt catch one.  i tried hopping it on the bottom, swimming it,  pumping it all the way back to the boat, killing it, reeling it in just like a spinnerbiat.  maybe it just wasnt a chatterbait day

I am catching them on the 3/8 reeling with steady retrieve..It seems I am getting my hits within the first 15 reels and yo yoing getting hit on the fall..I have caugth several in the 3lb range..Having more success with the blue and purple skirt..red blade..

I don't know about you guys, but I'm happy as can be catching 3lb fish.  Its not a world record but heck thats still no small fish!

I just picked up myself a big bag of Chatterbaits from dicks last night and am itching to try them, so I don't know what works best for me, yet.  Have you tried putting a fluke on the hook like they did in the video?  Maybe that would work well for you in clear water?  

I decided to make a few of these when all the "buzz" started a couple of months ago. Both baits are 3/8 oz., one white and one black. I cut a 4.5 willow blade to resemble the shape of the "lip" and curled in a piece of spinnerbait wire across a small gap at the bottom like the original. After theading a duolock snap into the two drilled holes, it looked pretty close to the original. I threw it on and off for two or three weeks with no luck. I decided to try it again during a tournament about three weeks ago on Lake Egypt here in Illinois. I threw the white one with a full trick worm (white) as a trailer. I ran it with jerks and pauses around edges of weedbeds in water with five feet of visibility. Two keepers over three pounds fell victim to enticing dance. That made me a believer! Yesterday, I threw it on a small local lake around riprap with no grass and three to four feet of visibility and caught two over four! Although, yesterday I replaced the trick worm with a natural colored reaper (4") rigged with the tail vertical instead of flat. I have not used rattles in it yet but I probably will try that for some night fishing to come. I now have four baits that include a watermelon and a chatreuse/white. This is one cool bait!

I have been playing around with them every time out.  I did real well with them again yesterday evening.  I took white skirted 3/8th gambler model and trimmed down the skirt like you would a jig.  Then I put a the bottom of a gycb spider grub on it.  Just the body and tails.  The tails kept getting "Hooked" so I trimmed them skinnier.  Wow, caught 4 on that bait.  Only one dink, the others nice 2 lbers.  The other big chatterbait bite came on a standard 1/2 oz radlure model, completely stock.  Only caught two but one was just under 4 lbs. using the Lightning rod lift and drop retrieve.  I took the skirt and trailer off of another 1/2 oz radlure and put on a white paddle tail minnow, but didn't get action on that.

Fishing was good yesterday untill I broke off my buzzbait just before dark.  But I switched to zara spook in the white glo color and hooked into a holacious bass. the initial strike was the bait was hit by a gator.  Huge splash.  It pulled the drag out twice before wrapping me up and shaking off.  Man, my hands are still trembling