Choosing the right bait for anything bass fishing seems almost impossible. You walk through your local Bass Pro Shops and immediately get overwhelmed. You look at the variety of the soft plastics and their colors, and it almost feels like you are reading Joe Dirt subtitles when he is shopping for fireworks. Whisker Do’s, Whisker Don’ts, and only the Lord knows what else these fishing companies are naming their baits and colors.
Well, this blog post serves to make your life easier by providing a simple guide on what chatterbait trailers you should be using to land more fish and save some cheddar while doing it.
Why Picking the Right Chatterbait Trailer is Essential
Before diving into the wide variety of trailers and brands, let’s consider the significance of making the right choice. When it comes to using a chatterbait, the purpose is to mimic the movement, vibration, and appearance of a small fish or other prey that bass feed on. The choice of picking the right chatterbait trailer plays a significant role in catching a few fish or having your best day of fishing you have had yet.
The trailer adds additional action, which typically equals more fish in the boat. It can significantly affect the speed, vibration, and visual appeal of your bait, making it more enticing to those finicky largemouth. The right trailer can create a more realistic and enticing movement, enhancing the overall appeal of the chatterbait.
I like to think of matching the correct plastic trailer to your bait much like making a sandwich. While you can certainly eat a sandwich that is just ham and cheese, it is the mayo and mustard that makes it that much better and actually makes it appetizing. This is no different with chatterbait trailers. You can catch a couple of goofy bass with a plain chatterbait, but you pair it up with the right trailer and all of a sudden you have concocted a deadly bass sandwich.
Types of Chatterbait Trailers
As mentioned above, there are various types of chatterbait trailers and endless options when it comes to soft plastics to match. Let’s discuss the main types that you should know.
1. Swimbaits: These soft plastic lures are designed to resemble bait fish, making them an ideal trailer for your chatterbait. When used as a trailer, swimbaits add a lifelike swimming action that bass find irresistible. If I was a betting man, these are probably the most popular choice when it comes to chatterbait trailers. These thread on a chatterbait easily, have a great tail kicking action, and typically last quite a while in my experience. I keep the colors simple as I do my chatterbaits. Greens, whites/shad-like patterns, and a black/blue trailer of some sort all work and tend to do the trick. If I had to pick one swimbait trailer to use for the rest of my life, it would be the Storm Largo Shad seen below. It has quickly became my favorite bait for all swimbait applications, and I would recommend it to anyone. Buy yourself up some and thank me later.
2. Creature Baits & Tubes: Creature style baits are great choices for chatterbait trailers. Depending on the bait, they have a number of appendages in different shapes and sizes that help disturb the water in a way that swimbaits can’t replicate. Just like swimbaits, most creature lures will pair up nicely as a chatterbait trailer as they thread on the hook nicely, and come in a variety of sizes.
As a little secret that a lot of folks don’t do, is pairing a tube with a chatterbait. Think about it, tubes are as durable as they come, and will produce some awesome movement when used as a chatterbait trailer. There are a variety of ways to rig them to make sure they stay on the chatterbait, and this video gives several methods that will help get the most of your bait. Best part? I can virtually guarantee you most fish haven’t seen this on your smaller lakes. Try a tube as a chatterbait trailer next time you are out, and see the results.
3. Grubs: In general, I think curly tailed grubs are a severely underrated lure when it comes to bass fishing. Not only are they forgotten about as baits by themselves, but I have yet to meet an angler who pairs a grub as a chatterbait trailer. Nonsense, I say. They produce an action that is similar to a swimbait, but changes the presentation enough to where it elicits bites I think you would often miss. Just like the tube as a chatterbait trailer, the grub is similar to where pressured fish just haven’t seen it as much as a chatterbait paired with a swimbait. If you are looking for a sweet budget option, look no further than the Zoom Fat Albert as shown in the photo below. Cheap and durable, nothing better.
4. Flukes: If the swimbait isn’t the number one chatterbait trailer, my money is going to the Zoom Fluke as the next contender. For all the same reasons and more that apply to the swimbait, the same goes for the Fluke. It will perfectly imitate baitfish, provide a go-to alternative if you want to keep it simple, and you can always throw a fluke in a variety of methods that will always catch fish. Thread a fluke on any of your chatterbaits (color matching, mind you) and your chances are as good as any.
Picking the Right Chatterbait Trailer for Different Conditions
Water Clarity
Clear Water: In clear water, bass have a good line of sight and can closely inspect your bait. Opt for swimbait trailers that closely resemble actual fish in such conditions. Swimbaits like the Strike King Rage Swimmer or Keitech Swing Impact provide a lifelike swimming action that can fool even the smartest of bass.
Murky Water: In stained or muddy water, visual appeal becomes less important, and vibration and movement are key. In such scenarios, trailers that generate a lot of action like craws and creature baits come in handy. The more water the bait disturbs, the better. I prefer a bigger chatterbait with a bigger trailer with a lot of appendages to make the biggest ruckus possible.
Water Temperature
Water temperature impacts the activity levels of bass. Understanding how bass behave in different temperatures can help you select the ideal chatterbait trailer.
Warm Water: In warmer conditions, bass are usually more active and aggressive. They’ll chase down prey with vigor. Swimbaits and craws that provide a lot of movement and vibration are ideal in such scenarios.
Cold Water: In colder conditions, bass become lethargic and are less likely to chase down fast-moving prey. Slow-moving trailers like grubs and subtle action swimbaits are best for these conditions. The slow-moving curly tail of a grub or a subtle swimming action can entice a bite from these less active bass.
Matching the Hatch
If you needed any extra advice, throw chatterbaits and chatterbait trailers that most resemble your local baitfish. You can always switch it up later to try out new baits, but that is always a solid place to start and not spin your wheels. Start simple, and then work your way up is always a solid way in narrowing down what works.
Popular Budget Brands for Chatterbait Trailers
While there are numerous brands offering quality chatterbait trailers, here are a few that stand out for their durability and performance especially for those operating on a budget. For more ideas, check out Field & Stream’s article to give you some more ideas to try as this list could be a post long itself.
1. Strike King: Known for their high-quality yet affordable fishing equipment, Strike King offers a range of trailers perfect for chatterbait. Their Rage Tail series, such as the Rage Craw and Rage Swimmer (shown above), are particularly effective when used as chatterbait trailers.
2. Berkley: Berkley’s PowerBait series is quickly becoming one of my favorites, and in general is really picking up their game across the board for all of their baits. For chatterbait trailers, PowerBait Bearded Grass Pig swimbait and PowerBait Ripple Shad are excellent choices as chatterbait trailers.
3. Zoom: Zoom offers an excellent range of soft plastic baits at budget-friendly prices. Their Fluke series, such as the Super Fluke and Fluke Jr, have a lifelike action that works well as a chatterbait trailer. Also mentioned above, their Fat Albert grub is a perfect choice for a subtle presentation as a chatterbait trailer. Both of these options were linked above.
4. YUM: YUM’s soft plastics are always one of my top choices for super cheap plastics that still produce fish. The YUM Pulse swimbait and the YUM Swimmin Dinger are highly effective chatterbait trailers and are easy on the wallet. If you can’t tell, I am a sucker for all things cheap when it comes to fishing. I have hooked too many trees to not be stingy!
Remember, the key to successful bass fishing lies in experimentation. What works one day may not necessarily work the next. By experimenting with different types of chatterbait trailers, and even switching between brands, you can discover what works best for your specific conditions and local fishing spots. The other key to bass fishing is making sure you are doing it so it fits in your budget and makes the sport more enjoyable. For more ways to save money and get more bang for you buck, check out this article.
Key Takeaways
Getting your chatterbait trailers dialed in can turn an ordinary day of bass fishing into an awesome one. While there’s no definitive answer to which chatterbait trailer is the best, understanding their purpose, types, and some cost-effective brands can put you on the path to make an informed choice. I suppose that’s enough of me rambling today. In the near future do a deep dive on the different types of chatterbaits, so stay tuned.
Tight lines,
Dawson