Spring Chatterbait Fishing Breakdown

The spring season is probably the best time of year to go bass fishing. The water temperature is rising and bass are moving up shallow to prepare for the spawn.

These springtime bass are the biggest and shallowest that they will be all year long, which means you have a fantastic opportunity to catch some huge bass.

And when it comes to catching them, the chatterbait is one of the best tools you can use.

Quick Spring Fishing Characteristics

To fully understand how to properly fish the chatterbait during the spring, I feel like it is important to have at least a baseline understanding of spring fishing.

First, I am referring to the pre-spawn phase when bass are moving shallow, feeding up, and looking for good spawning grounds. Once the actual spawn begins, your fishing tactics will take a drastic shift. But for roughly 2 months in the spring season, bass fishing heats up like crazy.

Bass will be hanging out just behind there actual spawning spawning areas feeding up as much as they can to prepare for the exhausting spawn. During the spring, you need to cover lots of water and fish a bit more aggressively.

Why Fish a Chatterbait in the Spring?

Any time bass are shallow and aggressive, a chatterbait is a great choice. The chatterbait has puts off tons of vibration and has a very realistic baitfish profile which is primarily what bass are feeding on during the spring.

Next, the chatterbait shines when fishing shallower water because the thumping blade lifts the bait up in the water column, making it hard to use in deep water.

Additionally, because the water has only just started to warm up, there isn’t tons of grass and weeds that get caught up in the blade and ruin the action.

And finally, there is just something about skirted lures that get more bites. Whether it is the extra water displacement or the secondary action, skirted lures simply get bit. The spring season is kind of like the perfect storm for chatterbait fishing.

Where to Fish the Chatterbait

Like we discussed, the chatterbait will excel in shallower water depths. The 2-4 foot depth range is ideal, but you can fish this bait up to about 5 feet if necessary.

While bass are staging in the pre-spawn, they will tend to be in the 2-5 foot depth anyway, so it works out perfectly. What you want to do is look for the areas where the bass will end up spawning, and then fish the chatterbait just outside these areas.

Look for shallow flats with hard bottom up near the bank. Bass will stage just outside those areas while they feed up so that they can quickly claim a spawning bed as soon as the water temperature is high enough.

Additionally, shallow rocks and grass lines will always hold aggressive bass this time of year. Fish the chatterbait parallel to these types of cover and you will catch tons of bass.

How to Retrieve the Chatterbait

Another benefit of the chatterbait is that it is a super easy bait to fish. You want to cast out and let the chatterbait sink all the way to the bottom.

If you’re fishing in rocks, don’t quite let it reach the bottom so that you don’t wedge the bait in the rocks. Then just begin a slow and steady retrieve. Let the blade of the chatterbait do the work for you.

About 2-3 times per retrieve, give the chatterbait a quick pop with the rod tip to make any trailing or watching bass react and hit the bait immediately.

Best Chatterbait Colors for Spring

• Red: No matter what lure you are fishing, the color red just works in the spring. And chatterbaits are certainly no different. I probably use a red chatterbait about 75% of the time when fishing in the spring.
• Green Pumpkin: When trying to imitate bluegill, green pumpkin is the best color for the job. My favorite spring scenario for this colors is when I am fishing a lake or pond that doesn’t have shad. In these bodies of water, bluegill are the primary forage, and green pumpkin is always a great option.
• White: The color white is going to be your shad imitation. If your fishing clear water lakes with shad in them, white is a top tier color for spring chatterbait fishing.

Gear for Chatterbait Fishing

The gear is pretty simple. I like roughly a 7 foot moderate or moderate-fast action baitcasting rod. The moderate action helps to give a little bit of cushion and allow bass to fully eat the chatterbait before you set the hook.

When it comes to the line, anything from 12-20 lb line works great depending on water depth and clarity. Fluorocarbon line is really the way to go when chatterbait fishing.

Whether you are just using it as a leader or if it is your mainline, you want to be using fluoro because or its perfect balance or stretch and invisibility.

Reeling this In

Chatterbaits might just be the best overall lure for spring bass fishing. And during such a prosperous season, you can catch an unbelievable amount of very big bass using this technique.

But experience is the best teacher, so make sure to get out there and fish the chatterbait as much as you can this spring!