Chatter-bait offers a fun and unique twist on fishing. Those who love to fish with chatter-bait use it most commonly as a ‘constant retrieve’ to be able to not only cast out but to reel in. The Chatter-bait was invented by Ron Davis Sr. He invited the jig that was bladed and originally made the baits within his garage in South Carolina. Chatter-baits are jigs that are quite attractive in nature. A fisherman can latch them onto to the fishing hook on the rod and the jibs come with various designs that make it look like either a worm or some kind of weed. The bait mimics the motion of the worm or weed as it would move in nature.
Choosing a great chatter-bait is essential for pursuing the capture of one of the ocean’s treasures. What needs to be considered is the size, blade, and color. The blade is the part of the jib that emits the vibrating motions and the click sounds as well as it moves around with the water. The color should resemble natural fauna or flora of the area. Using dark, black, dark blue or bluegill chatter-baits can resemble more of a weed, which may lure the fish. The most productive kind of chatter-bait are the ones that are white. If a fisherman sees many panfish within the shallows, it would be wise to use a green or pumpkin colored Chatter-bait to get some strong strikes. Having a variety of jigs, or picking out specific sizes, is based on the size of fish you plan on catching.
The chatter-bait can be bought ‘as-is’, or it can be customized to fit the specific need of the fisherman. Usually chatter-baits are composed of a pitching job, split rings, blade and duo lock. It’s important to know that this kind of jig, again, catches fish due to the motion of the blade. How does it work? Oceanic animals have the ability of ‘sonar’, so they can track water’s movements through the wave sounds in the water. Many people may confuse chatter-bait with spinnerbaits. Spinner baits are more about creating flash and water displacement and has a large profile. Chatterbaits make a different sound, have less of a flash appeal, and have a smaller profile and are designed to catch fish like bass. Chatterbaits have the advantage when you want to keep the bait shallow and slower.
The best times to use Chatterbaits is during spawning season when the water is between fifty five to seventy degrees, post spawning season between waters of seventy to seventy five degrees, summer season when waters are at seventy five to more than ninety degrees, and fall season when the temperature s between fifty five to seventy five degrees. In prespawning season, bass start to move to coves and feed to prepare for spawning. In spawning season, chatter-bait is not recommended since the bass will usually hide along the beds and in areas where water is dirty. In the summer, it is recommended to slowly draw in the chatter-bait much like a spinnerbait, and in the fall, the bass follow the shad into waters that are more shallow. With this kind of bait, you can use different techniques like slow rolling, burning, ripping, and shaking. If you are going to fish in waters that are between six to eight feet in depth, a half ounce chatter-bait is best. This is the best size to begin with if one is new to using this kind of bait. For those who like to fish in ten feet or deeper, using a ¾ ounce or one ounce jib is satisfactory.
Who doesn’t want to feel that adrenaline rush from the pull of a bass on the line? With a chatter-bait, one can experiment fishing with a new kind of lure after considering time of day, season, location and casting techniques.