How to Set the Hook with Chatterbaits

A bladed jig like the Z-Man ChatterBait functions like a crankbait, allowing you to fish fast and cover water but with some added benefits. Unlike a crankbait, they’re skippable under overhanging cover and fish clean through grass when properly retrieved.

Wired2Fish’s Walker Smith often makes the switch from crankbaits to bladed jigs when faced with clear water situations. He feels they outperform crankbaits where bass can see baits better. Like crankbait fishing, contact with cover causes fish-triggering deflections and speed changes on a straight retrieve. A common mistake is to jerk or pull the bait when you make contact with grass, but as Walker notes, this causes missed fish. He details a simple yet highly effective retrieve to maximize hooking percentages when fishing vibrating jigs through grass.