How to Fish ChatterBaits

If you chase bass, golden perch, redfin, saratoga, sooty grunter, Murray cod and other freshwater fish and you haven’t fished a ChatterBait before, now is the time! In this article I want to break down the ChatterBait design, what makes it such an effective fish catcher, how and where to fish it, and take a closer look at a couple of ZMan ChatterBait additions that are perfect for our local species, right down to the Aussie Custom Colour range.

The Design

The first ChatterBait went on sale in 2004, after years of tinkering and refining by the Davis family father and son duo, slowly gaining popularity until it blew up on the American bass tournament scene in 2006. At this point assistance was needed in terms of materials, production and distribution of this game changing lure and an agreement was reached with ZMan Fishing Products to become the home of the Original ChatterBait. Ron Davis said it took a huge burden off their back, and it took them six months to catch up on orders.

Over time the ChatterBait has been refined, leading to two models that are perfect for Australian anglers, the ChatterBait Mini Max and ChatterBait Big Blade. More on those later though, let’s take a closer look at the design of the ChatterBait.

In its early days the ChatterBait was described as a hybrid that featured the lead head and skirt of a jig, blade element of a spinnerbait, and the vibrating action of a hardbody. Over time though anglers have realised that this is not just a piece of three different lures, it is in fact a completely different presentation that you need to understand and learn to fish based on its own design elements.

The key to the ChatterBait is the hexagonal blade design and its fixing direct to the jig, creating a rapid oscillating action and loads of vibration. In fact, the name came from Ron Davis’s father who joked that the vibration was enough to make your teeth chatter. It’s not just about the vibration though, the ChatterBait creates sound and much tinkering in the early years saw the hexagonal blade bounce off the head of the jig, reverse, then bounce off the other side and repeat. So, this presentation was in fact creating intense vibration, all sorts of noise, and the flash of the blade.

Anglers soon found that they could fish the ChatterBait in pressured waters and behind anglers throwing other presentations, and still pull fish, thanks to the unique profile, action and noise it created. Ronny’s work in R&D with other products saw him focus on units of pull on the lure versus units of movement in the blade, maximising the amount of vibration in the lure, with minimal movement by the angler, creating maximum fish attracting power. Ronny said, “We will be forever grateful to ZMan”, in terms of allowing the ChatterBait to become what it has today, while protecting design elements of this original creation, and “I will always be proud of the ChatterBait”. Time to tie one on and get a few fish!

Fishing the ChatterBait

The development and release of two new models has Aussie anglers excited, with the ZMan ChatterBait Mini Max a winner for bass, golden perch, redfin, saratoga and other small to medium predatory species, while the ZMan ChatterBait Big Blade is already making its mark with some monster Murray cod. The Mini Max is built on a premium heavy duty 2/0 black nickel hook, making it perfect for its target species, while the Big Blade is built on a 6/0 Mustad heavy duty UltraPoint black nickel hook that is perfect for Murray cod, with an XL ChatterBlade for maximum thump, vibration, and noise. Both feature quality hand-tied, silicone skirts, dual moulded conical keepers for securing soft plastic trailers, and a range of Aussie Custom Colours.

The ChatterBait will catch most predatory freshwater species, in varied scenarios, however, like other lure types it will excel in some situations. Features that you can utilise when fishing the ChatterBait include the more obvious noise, vibration and flash, but don’t forget the subtle movement of the skirt, the ability to rig a soft plastic trailer, and the weight that allows for long accurate casts, along with the versatility of being able to fish throughout the water column. ChatterBait Mini Max is available in 1/4oz and 1/2oz weights, perfect for fishing over weed, down to deep edges and deep schooled fish, while the Big Blade is in 1/2oz and 3/4oz weights.

Let’s look at a few scenarios where the ChatterBait excels and then break down some retrieve techniques.

Dirty Water – Flash, vibration and noise can all assist in terms of attracting fish and better enabling them to zone in on a lure when visibility is reduced due to stained or dirty water. The warmer months in Australia are prime freshwater bite times and often coincide with rain, and in turn dirty water, making the ChatterBait an excellent lure option.

Vegetation / Structure – Weed, lilies, timber and flooded grass all hold fish, and this is where the blade design on the ChatterBait aids with effectively fishing structure. Not only does the flash, vibration and noise help to draw fish out of structure, the blade also assists with the deflection of vegetation and the protection of the hook point, creating a much higher resistance to snagging and fouling than many other lure options.

Pressured Systems – When fishing pressured systems, it’s a good idea to have a variety of lure presentations in your kit, allowing you to show the fish something completely different. Ron and his dad continued to catch fish when fishing behind other anglers throwing different presentations. The ChatterBait allowed them to cast long, slow the presentation down and make the most of the ChatterBait design features.

Deep Schooled Fish – We have had good success over the years on deep schooled bass and the 1/2oz ChatterBait Mini Max has the perfect weight and profile to get down there and create a racket without moving far, then pause and fall back through the school. A small profile, with plenty of presence, that can be fished slow and deep.

Shut Down Bites – When the bite is shut down, showing them something different can encourage a bite and the ChatterBait Big Blade has excelled when the Murray cod don’t want to eat. Maybe it’s the ability to fish it super slow, while maintaining plenty of vibration, or maybe it’s just that unique action and vibration, with the added bulk of a ZMan 5” DieZel MinnowZ trailer, without the flat out noise and aggression of a large spinnerbait.

Retrieves

It can pay to mix up your retrieves until you find what switches the fish on throughout the session. If there’s multiple anglers fishing you can try varying colours, weights and retrieves until you crack a pattern and work out what the fish are looking for.

When fishing ChatterBaits we will commonly switch between a slow roll (slow wind), and a slow roll and pause to allow the ChatterBait to sink back down to the desired depth. Other effective retrieves include a long lifting of the rod tip, then winding up the slack while lowering the rod tip, a wind with a couple of pulses followed by a pause, and finally a burn (fast wind) and pause which can be effective when fish are actively hunting the shallows or rising out of the weed to eat the presentation.

Slow Roll – The built-in action, noise, vibration and flash of the ChatterBait makes it extremely effective on a slow wind, whether fishing over weed and submerged timber, down or parallel to drop offs, or when targeting schooled fish that you have located on the sounder. You can vary the retrieve speed and rod angle to alter running depth and entice a bite.

Roll and Pause – The pause adds another element, that of wounded prey, with the skirt and trailer coming to life on the pause to add attraction. Pausing also allows you to drop the ChatterBait back into the strike zone, with strikes often following the pause, triggering a response from a following fish, or attracting the strike as it sinks back into the school or toward the structure.

Roll, Pulse and Pause – This adds another element, with the pause enticing a strike, or the pulse attracting a strike as the ChatterBait speeds up a little to represent fleeing prey.

Draw and Pause – I know of anglers that fish the ChatterBait successfully with a draw (lift) and pause, which can be effective when fishing slow, using the ChatterBait more like a flashy skirted jig, and driving it over and around structure for less aggressive fish.

The aim with any retrieve is to vary how far the ChatterBait moves, how aggressively it travels, how long it is paused to fall, and where in the water column it is performing these different actions. The retrieve can be dictated by the water depth and the structure being fished, such as deep structure, edges, flooded grass or pockets in the lilies, along with any visible bait or fish that you may be targeting. The key can come down to mixing up all of these retrieves until you find what the fish want, which can be impacted by variables such as weather, water quality, season, temperature, light, and target species, as examples.

Favourite areas to fish them in lakes and impoundments include key structure such as weed, lilies and timber, along with points, changes in depth, overhanging vegetation and shade lines. When it comes to fishing rivers all of these will be effective and you also have the advantage of flow, which can make fish holding areas more obvious through pressure points (where water pushes against structure) and eddies (where current breaks form behind structure).

Colour

Some anglers are more concerned with colour than others, however the colour range has you covered for varying species, conditions and prey species, with all the favourites covered.

In clear water and bright conditions, anglers often prefer lighter and more natural colours, such as Purple Glimmer or Gold Glimmer. These colours are also extremely popular when the fish are feeding on baitfish, such as bony bream and garfish.

When the conditions are darker or the water stained or dirty, darker silhouette colours become more popular, such as Red Nightmare (Bloody Nightmare) and Purple Black (Purple Nightmare). These darker colours are also often popular where the fish are feeding on freshwater crayfish.

Finally, there’s Fire Tiger, a chartreuse and orange, UV-reactive explosion that catches fish, is a favourite for many anglers and makes a great change-up colour if the other two options aren’t getting the bites.

Soft Plastic Trailers

The dual moulded conical keeper barbs on the ChatterBait make securing a soft plastic trailer simple, with this plastic tail adding bulk, action and added attraction. ZMan has a wide range of soft plastic colours, allowing you to match or contrast your trailer with your chosen ChatterBait colour.

Popular trailers for the ChatterBait Big Blade, with its 6/0 Mustad UltraPoint hook, include the ZMan 5” DieZel MinnowZ and 6” SwimmerZ, while the smaller 2/0 on the ChatterBait Mini Max is perfect for adding a ZMan 3” Slim SwimZ or 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ. There is a wider selection of ZMan plastics available, including jerk baits, craws and the GOAT family, however the models mentioned have proven both popular and effective as a starting point.

Fish on!

If you love your freshwater fishing, or are keen to give it a crack, make sure you check out this globally popular and proven presentation. It is a simple presentation to tie on and fish, and it has the profile, noise, action, vibration and flash to appeal to a wide range of species, from bass, redfin and golden perch, to saratoga, sooty grunter and the mighty Murray cod.

All the best with the fishing.
Cheers, Justin Willmer