By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan
For pro bass angler Brett Hite, the ChatterBait is a money bait.
The revolutionary bladed jig has accounted for about $800,000 in winnings for the Arizona native, including FLW Tour wins at Lake Toho and the California Delta in 2008, Lake Okeechobee in 2014, and the 2014 Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Seminole.
Hite likens the bait to a 21st-century spinnerbait.
“A ChatterBait has the vibration of a Rat-L-Trap, the hunting and deflection of a square-bill crankbait, with the profile of a swimbait. Does it get any better than that?” he said. “You can fish it in the thick grass, it doesn’t get gummed up, and it makes a real erratic action that triggers fish. If there are bass, regardless of the time of year, living in 10 feet or less, I can catch them on that bait.”
Constant Feedback
Hite is well aware of what the bait is doing at all times.
“If I hit something, I definitely twitch and jerk it,” he said. “When I’m fishing grass, whether my retrieve is fast or slow. I want the bait to tick the top of the grass. When it hits the grass, I’ll rip it out of there, causing the bait to dart hard to the right or the left and then come back in the same path, similar to a square-bill hitting a log with the resulting big, wide erratic action.”
Slow-rolling the bait along the bottom, he recently placed 13th at the Lake Guntersville Elite Series.
Gear Factor
Hite is emphatic that anglers employ a heavy-action fiberglass rod with a parabolic action, like the 7’3” Evergreen Leopard rod that he attributes a near-flawless landing rate to.
“Glass is key,” he said. “Throw it on a beefed-up crankbait rod paired with 20-pound Sunline FC Sniper on a baitcasting reel with 6:4:1 gearing. The rod lets the bass eat the bait and I’ll reel until the rod loads up and I feel the fish, then I’ll set the hook to the side. The fish have a tendency to be aggressive when they bite, so without a moderate-action parabolic rod, you can rip the bait right out of its mouth.”
His color choices are simple. Green-pumpkin with a black blade is his first choice as it best represents bluegill across North America. On darker days, he’ll lean toward a black and blue/black blade. A shad pattern chatterbait/silver blade ranks highly also.
For trailers, the Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits Swimming Senko and new Heart Tail Swimbait get the nod. He’ll bite a half-inch off of the head, add a drop of crazy glue, and affix it to his bladed jig. Often, the trailer color matches the bait, but he’ll add a shad pattern trailer to a green-pumpkin jig or opt for olive shad or a watermelon/pearl trailer if he’s unsure if the fish are feeding on bluegill or shad.
He’ll swap out the stock clip for a No. 2 Decoy Egg Clip or double -ocking Jensen clip to prevent it from opening. If you can’t find those, adding a drop of superglue or JB Weld works just as well. Every once in a while, he’ll come across a bait that might run a little crooked. To fix that, he’ll bend the eye in the opposite direction to correct it.
When Hite downsizes his trailer to a 4-inch Swimming Senko, he’ll also add a fixed 1/0 Gamakatsu trailer hook that’s secured with a piece of neoprene or plastic. If fish continue to swipe and miss at the ChatterBait, he’ll follow up with a green-pumpkin Senko.
