Lee Bailey Jr / Baby Buzzbait

Lee is a retired Bassmaster Elite Series Pro.

How to Fish Chatterbaits for Bass

Chatterbaits The Ultimate Lure

Chatterbaits The Ultimate Lure are phenomenal lures for larger fish. If you like covering water and versatility, then pick up a few and play with different trailers and start slinging! Whether you’re cruising the banks on a steady troll or skipping under docks, you won’t be disappointed.

One of my favorite types of cover to fish is an isolated grass patch. These often serve as a great ambush points for bass to feed on baitfish. These are some of the most high percentage areas to get a bite on as opposed to fishing a large field of grass.

For me Chatterbaits The Ultimate Lure Choice is based on these factors. 

Chattebaits can be fished in the following ways;

  • Just Below The Surface: Fall is a perfect time to burn it back just below the surface because this time of year produces a lot of hungry fish looking to fatten up. Cast out and retrieve fast, activating the blade. Keep the chatterbait high enough in the water column where you can see V shapes or wake on the surface.
  • Around Grass: In summer, the mid-water column (3-6 ft)  is a perfect place to fish a chatterbait. Especially around weed lines and the outside of other bodies of submerged grass, as the sound emitted announces the lure’s presence where visibility isn’t available.
  • Up Shallow: Possibly the best place to throw a chatterbait is up shallow in 2-4 ft of water. Here, you can focus on making contact by deflecting off submerged structures like rocks and wood. Like a crankbait, that fast change in direction will activate a strike. Give your bait a twitch and let it fall as you would a crankbait, and switch up your retrieve each time.
Where to fish:

One of my favorite ways to get out of the crowd during the summer months is to target submerged grass with a big ChatterBait. This can be a great way to catch a ton of fish and get away from the crowds. Throwing a ChatterBait offshore can be a super effective way to catch a big limit of fish, but there are a few key aspects to keep in mind while implementing this strategy.

Chatterbaits The Ultimate Lure catches monster bass

Equipment:

The best fishing rod to use with a chatterbait would be a medium-heavy with a length of 7’ 0”, and a tip action of fast. For a reel only use a 6:1 gear ratio, or a 7:1 For line, either 14-17 lbs Fluorocarbon or 30 lbs braid.

Technique:

When bass get lockjaw and I know they are still in the area, Let the bladed jig bounce along the bottom. “I let the jig sink to the bottom then pull it sharply up to give it a quick, hard vibration before letting it sink again.” The bladed jig produces a reaction bite; the flash and noise anger aggressive bass into attack mode.

Tip:

You need to impart your own action on the bait, meaning rod pumps, twitches, using a Yo Yo retrieve, etc. The reason people think they work so well in grass is because many times they catch fish when they pop the bait free from grass. You can do the same thing in open water with rod twitches.


If you have fished a chatterbait before, you know that it is hands down one of the most fun techniques to catch fish on.

Fishing’s fun! * Fishing’s explosive! * Fishing’s Exciting!