Chatter Bait Trailers - Revisited 2024

ChrisD46 reply :

Yes , much has been written about : "What are the best chatter bait trailers" ? For me , what I am finding out are trailers which impart a great deal of action are best served as a trailer with a swim jig . I'm talking about Strike King Rage ___ trailers , aggressive boot tail swim baits , aggressive craws used as trailers , etc. simply compete with the inherent action of a chatter bait too much . I'm finding more subtle trailers such as : Bio Spawn 4.5 inch Plasma Tail worms , Yum 4.5" Sharpshooters , Yamamoto 4" Kut Tail worms , Zoom 4" Ringer , etc. 4.75" Zoom Finesse Worm are all more subtle and compete less , or worse yet cancel out the inherent action of the chatter bait . *I know many folks do well with the more aggressive action trailers on a chatter bait - I'm just suggesting more subtle action trailers will change the action of the chatter bait back to dare I say the original intended chatter bait action and give the bass something new they have not seen as much of before versus the more popular or well known aggressive chatter bait trailers .

Scarborough817 reply :

for a more subtle action i use a strike king blade minnow or a keitech with the flat part of the paddle tail cut off

Bluebasser86 reply :

My #1 trailer used to be 2/3 of a 5" stick worm or a whole 4" stick worm. Kind of the Ned rig of trailers, doesn't do much except look like something a fish would want to eat.

BassWhole! reply :

I'm all over the place on trailers. Sometimes it's little to no action, and sometimes it's as much as I can get. Size too, I'll go anywhere from barely clearing the skirt to 7".

Bluebasser86 reply :

My 2 main trailers now are a Havoc Pit Boss or Devil's Spear. The Pit Boss is pretty a pretty low action trailer, but has lots of bulk that allows me to fish my baits slowly like I like to. The Devil's Spear has a ton of action, has quite a bit of bulk, and as a bonus, they're discontinued a lot of places and easy to get for cheap.

Yeajray231 reply :

Hard to beat a kalins lunker grub

Choporoz reply :

My chatterbaits have Rage Tail bugs and Culprit Incredi-slim...if I get a wild hair, maybe Incredi-Claw. Can't say that I ever considered 'subtle' and 'chatterbait' in the same sentence.

JG233 reply :

I've been throwing them with a Fat Albert trailer, seems to work well, pretty low profile.

Mike L reply :

I used a shortened Sluggo once on a hunch and was shocked, it really worked great.

Just another option.

Mike

Scarborough817 reply :

it seems like im the minority by throwing mainly paddle tails as trailers

HeavyTwenty reply :

I usually put a paddletail, fluke, or grub on white/pumpkin colored chatterbaits. I like a craw with a ton of action on my black&blue chatterbaits.

d-camarena reply :

You guys should try the gary yamamoto zako swim trailer

snake95 reply :

On 6/19/2017 at 9:15 PM, Scarborough817 said:

for a more subtle action i use a strike king blade minnow or a keitech with the flat part of the paddle tail cut off

Thanks for the tip. I fished a blue chatterbait with the back 2/3 of a Keitech Fat Impact yesterday and it got bit. Figure that's what I'll do with them once they've past the point of no return even for Mend-it. I might try cutting off the paddle too.

GrumpyOlPhartte reply :

I've not fished chatterbaits to any great extent, but did have an interesting experience with a chigger craw trailer. I was having no luck with the chatterbait and craw rigged in the normal fashion so I cut off about 3/8" from the craw, rotated it 90 degrees so the claws were vertical, and remounted it. A half a dozen casts later I caught a small (1 1/2 pound) bass and shortly after had a second strike (I'm guessing pickerel) that "liberated" my chatterbait. I've acquired a couple more chatterbaits and intend to try this again. I wonder if the vertically-mounted craw claws more closely resemble the caudal fin of a baitfish or was this just a coincidence? Any of you experienced guys have any thoughts on this? It does have me wondering. Sorry to wander a little far afield, but this seemed to be a good place to ask.

ChrisD46 reply :

Thanks for the replies : There are no right or wrong options for chatter bait trailers - I'm just currently visiting lower action based trailers as a chatter bait has a great deal of action on it's own . The Havoc options are inexpensive to experiment with and the "2/3rds of a 5" stick bait" would probably work pretty darn well !! Based on the inherent action a chatter bait can bring on it's own - I suppose you just have to try and see what works . As for a black & blue chatter bait used at night - one could suggest that this is a time to bring out a rage craw or rage bug as a trailer for maximum thump ! *One thing for certain is the bait monkey's cousin: "the soft plastic trailer monkey" is equally as cunning as the bait monkey is with parting me from my $$ !

Bankbeater reply :

Last year I did very well with a Zoom Fat Albert as a trailer.

ChrisD46 reply :

With a 3.5" trailer (Zoom Fat Alberts , smaller size swim baits , etc.) I find you have to cut that skirt close to the hook . Great for a compact offering howver I tend to favor closer to 4 inches for chatter bait trailers .

corn-on-the-rob reply :

I appreciate the post; utilizing the not-as-popular approach can often be rewarding. I am the same way with jig trailers, I really really don't like using the high action trailers on those either unless I absolutely have to.

I agree with you about the paddle tails, the action of the tail and the blade start conflicting in my opinion, though I will use them when I fish them without a skirt, so as to provide extra lift since the skirt is gone.

Blade minnow is my absolute favorite, live magic shad is good too. If I must paddle tail, keitech.

1201vilbig reply :

Sometimes to mix it up, I'll put on a Creme Scoundrel or a Trick Worm.

RoLo reply :

Drumming in a rock band didn't hurt, it helped me understand that a 'single' Colorado blade

will usually project more signature than a 'double' Colorado blade.

The vibrations from competing blades can muddy the definition.

To prevent competing vibration, I also prefer a chatterbait trailer that doesn't steal the show

from the bladed jig. For this reason I avoid paddle-tail swimbaits and lean toward

ribbon-tail grubs like a Kalins 5.0" Lunker Grub.

Roger

tander reply :

Yamamoto Zako or Zoom Twin Tail,

A-Jay reply :

Swim Senko ~

A-Jay

Montanaro reply :

Soft jerkbait is all I use. That tail just wobbles side to side...no need for a boot. Plus the work double duty as standard jerkbaits...therefore less plastics to carry.

wnybassman reply :

Split the tail and the action is insane.

Dtrombly reply :

Flukes and paddle tail swimbaits is all I use.

CroakHunter reply :

On 6/20/2017 at 10:22 AM, wnybassman said:

Split the tail and the action is insane.

I need those. What are they?

dmainor reply :

My favorite is a culprit worm, cut in half and use the tail end. Other than that, Kalin's grubs for a little more action and Bass Pro Shops Drop Shot Worm for a subtler presentation are my other choices.

Dug

LxVE Bassin reply :

For the regular chatterbaits I have used the trailer that comes with it. I fell in love with the project Z breaking bream pattern and fish it with no trailer and have had great success with it. I will give some of the suggestions above a try to see if it helps me out any.

ChrisD46 reply :

On 6/20/2017 at 7:57 AM, RoLo said:

Drumming in a rock band didn't hurt, it helped me understand that a 'single' Colorado blade

will usually project a more distinguished signature than a 'double' Colorado blade.

Any two competing vibrations are subject to discord and overlap that can muddy overall definition.

According to the same mechanics, I prefer a chatterbait trailer that doesn't steal the show

from the bladed jig. To that end, I avoid paddle-tail swimbaits and lean instead toward

ribbon-tail grubs, my favorite being a Kalins 5.0" Lunker Grub.

Roger

Big Bite Baits makes a nice 5" ribbon tail grub - you can cut a little off the top to fit any length you want as a trailer - ditto for their twin tail grub as well .

uncustered reply :

On 6/20/2017 at 10:22 AM, wnybassman said:

Split the tail and the action is insane.

what are these?

craww reply :

Zoom chunks and fat alberts, the smaller ones. All time favorite is yamamoto hula grub. They make a twin tail also, but I just buy the hula grubs and pinch the front "skirt" off. That way I can use the hulas for other things as well. The weight added by the salt density dramatically helps it cast better, and more importantly, more accurately. Im a decent caster normally, not remarkably special- but not bad. My fishing buddy told me once he loves watching me throw that combo as I can be very surgical with it. The twin tails give a nice subtle action on the fall but put off a drag inducing resistance like a rage tail or paddle tail boot.

I like black/blue with the zoom chunks. Yet probably 75% of the time throw a 3/8 oz OG chatterbait w/a strike king bluegill skirt trimmed a bit, and a hulu grub touched up with a blue spike it to simulate bluegill.

Hot Rod Johnson reply :

I use a 4.5" Yum Pulse Swimbait in Pearl White, White or Summer Gill with the "Paddle" cut off and the "Tail Split" in half for a inch or a little more gives the bait a more neutral action when used as a trailer on a Z Man - Evergreen Jack Hammer, 3/8 Oz. /Chartreuse/White...

WVUBlake reply :

A friend told me to try a split tail fluke for a more subtle approach... Have not been able to try this yet.

Hot Rod Johnson reply :

On 6/22/2017 at 12:32 PM, WVUBlake said:

A friend told me to try a split tail fluke for a more subtle approach... Have not been able to try this yet.

Yes that will work also, it's the same concept that I am talking about... Just match the size of the Fluke to your lures ( i.e )Spinnerbaits, BuzzBaits, Chatterbaits, and Jigs... This will work on all of these baits...

ChrisD46 reply :

On 6/22/2017 at 11:01 AM, Hot Rod Johnson said:

I use a 4.5" Yum Pulse Swimbait in Pearl White, White or Summer Gill with the "Paddle" cut off and the "Tail Split" in half for a inch or a little more gives the bait a more neutral action when used as a trailer on a Z Man - Evergreen Jack Hammer, 3/8 Oz. /Chartreuse/White...

Maybe better to just use a Zoom Fluke or Super Fluke versus cutting off the paddles of swim baits ?

7646

Chatter Bait Trailers - Revisited 2024

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