This 'wrong' way to fish chatterbaits actually works

Hey, Keith here.

Do you ever feel like the bass have seen every lure in your tackle box? Like they've been educated by every angler who came before you?

During a recent camping trip to Land-O-Pines campground in Folsom, I discovered a hack that completely changed how I think about chatterbaits, and why they might be the most versatile lure in bass fishing.

Most anglers throw chatterbaits straight out of the package, not realizing that a few simple modifications can transform this already deadly lure into something bass have never encountered before.

Today, I'm showing you five proven ways to customize your chatterbaits for an unfair advantage over pressured bass.

BEST LINKS

What I looked at this week

• 3 overlooked chatterbaits you should try soon (Wired2Fish)

• Pros told me not to make this chatterbait video (so I did it ANYWAY!) (LowBrow Fishing)

• Chatterbait modifications (Bass Resource)

• How to rig a chatterbait: Beginner friendly guide (Anglers)

• How to make a homemade chatterbait (less than $5) (The Bait Making Channel)

Deals of the week

• Big Bite Baits has a 25-count bag of Craw Tubes regularly priced at $13.00 on sale for $7.79

• Sportsman’s Warehouse has Z-Man Eye Strike Chatterbait Bladed Jigs marked down 38% from $9.69 to $5.97.

• Tackle Warehouse has Strike King Rage Luau Craw for $5, reduced from $7.99

DEEP DIVE 

The campground pond that taught me about chatterbait customization

Land-O-Pines campground in Folsom, Louisiana, has a small pond at the entrance with a bait shop right next to it—a dead giveaway that water is heavily pressured.

I knew these bass had seen every standard lure, so I wasn't surprised when my standard chatterbait got zero bites.

Since every bait in my tackle box was pretty standard, I realized that what I needed to do was modify what I had instead of switching lures entirely.

I pulled off the skirt completely, leaving just the head and blade, then threaded on a green Strike King Rage Tail Craw. The action looked completely different from any chatterbait these bass had seen.

But even slow, steady retrieves with this modification produced nothing. Just as I was about to pack up, I had a breakthrough thought: What if I completely changed the retrieve speed?

Instead of the traditional slow roll, I cranked the reel handle as fast as I could, forcing the lure to dig deep and leave a trail of mud along the bottom.

Right before I reeled it to shore, I spotted a bass streaking after it like a missile.

On my next cast into deeper water, maintaining that aggressive retrieve, my line went tight. The first bass of the day came from a combination these pressured bass had never experienced.

Using that same aggressive retrieve with the modified chatterbait, I landed five bass, the largest pushing three pounds.

That camping trip taught me why professional anglers consider chatterbaits one of the most versatile baits ever created: You can fish them in virtually any situation, and they're easy to modify. 

But the real magic happens when you customize them to create presentations bass have never seen before.

5 game-changing chatterbait modifications

The beauty of these modifications is their simplicity. Most can be done streamside in under a minute, giving you the ability to adapt your approach as conditions change throughout the day.

1. Complete skirt removal: Removing the skirt entirely creates a more streamlined profile that sinks faster and can be fished more aggressively. This modification reduces drag, making the chatterbait more responsive to erratic retrieve techniques and presenting pressured bass with an unfamiliar lure profile.

Best trailers for skirtless chatterbaits: paddle tail swimbaits, flukes, or tubes. The best size to use without a skirt is 3/4 oz or 1 oz, which can be fished more actively and sink faster.

2. Blade tuning and painting: Painting the blade to match your chatterbait's body color creates a more natural appearance and eliminates the unnatural flash that no baitfish or crawfish actually has. Bending the blade up toward the hook increases vibration for muddy or warm water while bending it down creates less vibration for clear water scenarios.

By bending the tip of your vibrating jig blade, you change the amount of water displaced throughout the retrieve, making your bait thump more violently and allowing you to reel slower while keeping it in the strike zone.

3. Tube bait substitution: Swapping the skirt for a tube bait maintains the look of appendages but provides a different action, bigger profile, and more scent while offering something different that chatterbait-educated bass haven't seen.

To rig, tear off a small piece of plastic worm and push it into the tube's belly for the hook to grab, then thread the tube on like any other trailer.

4. Advanced trailer modifications: Cut trailer tails shorter to change the bait's descent rate, or trim strands of the skirt to different lengths to create more flare and bulk. Match your trailer to the forage and use shad profiles in heavy cover or when bass are feeding on baitfish.

In murky water, dip trailer ends in chartreuse or red fluorescent dye for added attraction and scent.

5. Weedless conversion: For the most aggressive modification, completely replace the chatterbait head with a swim jig using a split ring. The swim jig's thick weed guard allows you to fish anywhere, though you'll miss some strikes for the ability to get many more bites in previously unfishable cover.

This works exceptionally well during post-spawn when bass hold tight to vegetation and wood.

Advanced retrieve techniques for modified chatterbaits

The aggressive, high-speed retrieve that worked at Land-O-Pines is just one of several techniques that become more effective with customized chatterbaits:

• Burning: Burning a heavier, streamlined chatterbait-trailer combo over skinny water can produce electrifying big fish bites. Use low-action, low-drag trailers for minimum water resistance and maximum speed.

• Stop and go: Add occasional pauses during steady retrieves. Each time you stop reeling, the chatterbait drops slightly, similar to jerkbait fishing, where the pause often generates the bite.

• Grass ripping: When the lure gets hung in grass, give the rod a fast, forceful rip. This power play clears debris and the sudden speed burst often triggers nearby bass to strike.

• Bottom contact: Bang your chatterbait off wood or rock cover, which often triggers fish into striking by creating the illusion of vulnerable prey.