Got a tournament coming up on Pickwick and was thinking about trying the chatterbait bite at deep levels. What should I do though? What color would work, what size, what type of trailer, and what type of presentation? I was thinking 1/2 ounce white chartruese with a zoom double tail trailer in chartruese and some what fish it like a swim jig but I'm not sure what would work.

Any ideas will be help.

Thanks,

Austin

A hard question to give an informed and intelligant answer to . Too many variables but I'm sure someone will give it a shot.

A hard question to give an informed and intelligant answer to . Too many variables but I'm sure someone will give it a shot.

Yea I know I'm just confused on it. The water is dropping, current is moving, and the calarity is probably good. I guess my question really is what color should I be throwing? Seems like I was just making it to complicated.

I would throw a bluegill pattern starting out because I seem to catch bigger fish on that color. I guess that is because it takes a bigger bass to eat a big bluegill. If that doesn't work I would then swith to a white. As for trailers, Zoom Swimming Fluke or RI Skinny Dipper.

You don't sound very confident using this lure, but I maybe reading your OP wrong?

For me and deep fishing without knowing the depth you're fishing? You can't go wrong on a black and some type of green watermelon color.

White loses it's color very fast in deep water.

JMHO

Chatterbaits were phased out of my lure arsenal years ago, so I need to defer judgment on them.

As to lure colors, White & Chartreuse, just like Pink & Yellow are light hues regarded as

poor choices for deep water. Based on light deprivation, "BLUE" is the last hue in the color spectrum

to lose its identity, This helps to shed some light on the inane popularity of "purple" throughout the 1970s,

when the proverb of the decade was "Any color will work, as long as it's 'Purple'.

This might also explain the inordinate preference for "Black-&-Blue" jigs.

As I'm sure you know, Pickwick Lake is a top-rung Bronzeback fishery. If it were me

I'd try to satisfy all lighting conditions with Pumpkin, Black, Smoke & Chartruese.

Roger

I always throw black/blue. Thanks to Rolo I now know WHY it works so well.

I always throw black/blue. Thanks to Rolo I now know WHY it works so well.

Going further Lee, based on the sunlight prism, "red" is first hue to lose its identity.

Red doesn't disappear as some line company's would have you believe,

but turns an inky black in as little as a 3-ft depth in murky water. Based on light deprivation,

"Orange" is the next color to lose its identity (goodbye orange craw-claws) followed by "Yellow".

Smack dab in the center of the light specturm is "Green". To my mind at least,

this might be why "Watermelon" is such as great compromise color. Long story short,

if we anglers were confined to only three colors, we could cut a decent living

using just "White", "Watermelon" & "Black" (light - medium - dark).

Roger

"White", "Watermelon" & "Black"

Ha, just said this to someone on Wednesday, except I used the word Green instead of Watermelon.

So, I too subscribe to your ROYGBIV theory of bait colors. I wonder why we see so many Black and Blue baits but not Black and Violet baits.

Ha, just said this to someone on Wednesday, except I used the word Green instead of Watermelon.

So, I too subscribe to your ROYGBIV theory of bait colors. I wonder why we see so many Black and Blue baits but not Black and Violet baits.

Bait colors are designed to attract fishermen.

Unless you use a weight I don't think you can fish a Chatterbait efficiently in deep water.

It is designed to be fished like a spinnerbait/jig on 12 pound or higher test fluorocarbon.

We throw it to or parallel with the bank and reel it back to the boat at a depth of two feet or less.

If you do fish the Chatterbait deep please continue this post and let us know how you did it and your results.

As for a trailer, we use baby flukes to bulk it up or a swiming Senko or the trailer that comes with the bait.

DO NOT STORE THE CHATTERBAIT TRAILERS WITH OTHER PLASTICS. THEY WILL MELT AND DESTROY ANY OTHER PLASTICS YOU PUT WITH THEM.

Good luck.

Bait colors are designed to attract fishermen.

I think sometimes it does matter and sometimes it doesn't.

It could be a topic for another thread

Bait colors are designed to attract fishermen.

No truer words have ever been spoken!

As far as Chatterbaits go, I keep them in the upper six lure selection wherever I go. They are great swimjigs (basically that's what they are) and I always use a 5" Fluke for a trailer. Don't ever discount a Chatterbait.

Chatterbaits were phased out of my lure arsenal years ago, so I need to defer judgment on them.

As to lure colors, White & Chartreuse, just like Pink & Yellow are light hues regarded as

poor choices for deep water. Based on light deprivation, "BLUE" is the last hue in the color spectrum

to lose its identity, This helps to shed some light on the inane popularity of "purple" throughout the 1970s,

when the proverb of the decade was "Any color will work, as long as it's 'Purple'.

This might also explain the inordinate preference for "Black-&-Blue" jigs.

As I'm sure you know, Pickwick Lake is a top-rung Bronzeback fishery. If it were me

I'd try to satisfy all lighting conditions with Pumpkin, Black, Smoke & Chartruese.

Roger

RoLo, I know you said you defer judgement on chatterbaits, but I'm just curious about why you phased them out?

white mini chatterbait or go with a big white one as long as its white. slap a swimbait on as a trailer and go to town. live magic shad is good for this.

A hard question to give an informed and intelligant answer to . Too many variables but I'm sure someone will give it a shot.

Not a shot at you, but it's ironic that you spelled "intelligent" wrong, LOL.

Not a shot at you, but it's ironic that you spelled "intelligent" wrong, LOL.

The irony of life just goes on and on.

Chatter <> deep water fishing, but that's just me. I use them as a change up to a spinnerbait for shallow prespawn, and late fall fishing.

I always thought chatterbaits were maybe a little bit of a gimmick, but this past saturday my dad hammered them on one. Opened my eyes for sure! As far as color, I usually say deeper = darker.

Jim