The Chatterbait: Fad or for real?

It's not that I am dead set against trying anything new................it's just that I allow the lure to get more credibility to its' name before I consider it a lure that will be around for more than 2-3 years. The Banjo Minnow caught fish........and I actually went and bought them, and caught fish with them. However, after a while, they disappeared. Not that I care to use them anymore, because the rigging you had to employ was more than enough to aggravate a rocket scientist.

All that I am saying is that some lures are passing fads, that anglers will forget about over a period of time. Sure enough, they may reside in a few thousand tackle boxes, but after that period of time, that's the only place that they will be, is in the tackle box.

I am a very skeptical angler. The only lure that I haven't been fully skeptical about was the Sweet Beaver, and that was because when I first saw it, which was a while before I used it, I saw a place for it. I just don't see a place where this lure will out perform any other lure out there.

After this lure gets a reputation of being a lure that sticks around for more than 2 years, and I will contemplate getting one.

The sweet beaver is nothing more than a oddly designed "creature" type bait. It's far from being anything revolutionary, regardless of how affective it's been. The same goes for the banjo lure. It too was nothing new and its action could be easily mimicced with lures and hooks already on the market. However, the Chatterbait... there is no bait or lure on the market that can mimic the Chatterbait. By not getting some of them in your box ASAP you are missing out on alot. To me it makes no sense to wait for more fish to see the bait and its action before finally giving in and buying some. I could hardly imagine what it would have been like had I not jumped on purchasing Slug-Gos when they were first on the shelves in local CT tackle shops.

I think you are hugely wrong about them being only in tackle boxes after a period of time. I dont see how you could even think of stating that without ever using the bait first hand. I promise you, this bait is going to be around for a long time and if people can get past patents you will see many BIG name manufacturers putting out their own versions of the Chatterbait, simply because it's a revolutionary bait.

If I don't use them, why would I care how to rig them properly, as it sits with you?  It doesn't make sense to talk about a lure that I have no desire to fish.  I feel good that the pros feel that they can use them to get them into the standings, but the truth of the matter is that you never hear about them anymore, unless it's Shaw Grigsby talking about them.  He's the only angler in the past 2 years, besides you Jared, that have actually brought anything up about the Slug-Go.

It's the same with the Chatterbait.  At this point in time, I have no desire to fish it.  In the future, it might change.  However, at this point, I see no reason to have it in my tackle bag, and I see no situation where it will outperform another lure.  That's just me though.  A lot of anglers may place their faith in this lure, and it may be very effective for them.

I don't mean to step on any toes, but I just do not see what makes this lure so special.  I understand that the action is different, and I understand that it's "revolutionary", which is a term that is thrown around way too much, but it still does not mean that it's going to end up in my tackle box.  

To you, it's a mistake for an angler not to have it in their tackle bag, while the same is true with the jig for me.  If you can't fish a jig effectively, in my opinion, then you are missing out on a lot of bass that you could be catching.  However, to an angler that has never used a jig before in their life, they don't know the difference between the % of fish that they catch with it and without it.  

Another reason that I do not feel that it's going to live up to the hype that it is getting is because I don't believe that it's a lure that you can fish EFFECTIVELY.  After all, no lure is 100% effective upon it's birth to the public.  You are right, there will be companies that try to mimick the lure, and it's due to the fact that it can be modified to be more productive and to be more efficient.  The only time that I have not seen this scenario to be true is with the Senko, and that's only because the lure was not made to the public until several years after it's inception.

Another company could analyze the lure, sit down and work on designing the same type bait, but make modifications to it so that it will be more effective when fished, more productive as it stands when to the % of fish caught on it when compared against the original, and to make it more "realistic".

All the anglers know that a lure is more effective and more marketable when their are lures of the same classification on the market.  You can look at the Senko................a lot of people use the Senko, but there are the same # of people that use another companies version.  It allows the room for comparison, which is NEEDED in fishing, so that the angler knows what he's getting.  Right now, the Chatterbait is a "one of a kind" lure.  Therefore, no room for comparison can be made.  Sure it's going to catch bass, but the true test of this lure will be when it's got competitors.  I guess that is what I am looking for...........something to compare this lure against.

When that happens, and the market is a little bigger for this lure, then I might add it to my tackle bag.  Until then, I will be more than happy with the things that I know for a fact work for me and I will be more than happy with the fish that I catch using those lures.

Actually Slug-gos are talked about A LOT more than you realize. I am assuming you do not recieve BASS Times. I have seen several articles in there over the last year that have been about the Slug-go. Also, if you watch the coverage on ESPN of The Santee Showdown and listen carefully, when they are following around one of the anglers, he explains what he has been nailing them on which of course is the slug-go.

You should really try not to be so naive as to think that simply because an angler or group of anglers do not mention or talk about certain baits means that they are not using them. I promise you that many pros lie about what was tied on the end of their rod when they were boating fish. This thread here is total proof of that http://thebassholes.com/bassin-forums/index.php?topic=237.0 Although the pros have been doing it long before this years Classic.
I know of a gentleman in the north east... I cant mention any names or what state he is in... but he regularly catches smallmouth in the 8 pound region. His secret bait? a slug-go.
Actually what am I doing?? lol Don't use the slug-go if you already decided against it. The less people that use it the happier I am. Down in my neck of the woods, the guys I fish with call it the "yankee bait" because I always fish it, (and my nickname is Yankee) and I will throw it regardless of the season or the temps and quite often whoop their tails with it lol

As far as companies copying baits... 99% of the time they dont do it to improve upon them.. they do it to capitalize and make some money on a hot bait by breeding their own version. That is why you see so many copies of Sweetbeavers and slug-gos. That is why there is already atleast one copy of the Chatterbait. That is also why you dont see a copy of the helicopter lure or the banjo lure... they were not hot enough for anyone to make any money off to make them worth copying.

Anyway, Im sorry to hear that you cant see what makes the chatterbait so different and makes it special. I've used it first hand and well I guess if a buddie's opinion isn't enough to make ya think that perhaps you cast your vote too early then, oh well, so be it.