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Chatterbaits are some of the best bass lures available. But you’ll want to add a trailer to the back of them to help the bait reach its full potential. Adding a soft plastic trailer to a vibrating jig can modify the profile of the bait and its action. With this in mind, there are several reasons to use a trailer with a vibrating jig. But not all trailers do the same thing. Some slow down the bait, some speed it up, some add more action, some change the profile, and so on. You have to tailor your trailer selection to a specific situation.
The trailer you choose depends on where you're fishing and how you're targeting bass. Below are five of the main trailer categories, with specific bait recommendations, that pair best with traditional chatterbaits. Plus, how and when to fish them. Add at least one bait from each category to your tackle box and you'll be prepared for any situation on the water.
Best Chatterbait Trailers
Best Craw: Strike King Rage Tail Menace Grub
Best Paddle-Tail: Z-Man MinnowZ Swimbait
Best Forked-Tail: Yamamoto Zako Swimbait
Best Pintail: Rapala Crush City Freeloader
Best Split-Tail: Z-Man Elaztech Split Tail Trailerz
Craws
If you want to fish your bait high in the water column or more slowly, then a craw is the ideal trailer. The widespread claws on a craw-style trailer act like wings in the water, lifting the bait. These claws also create a lot of resistance. The combined effect enables the bait to come through the water column slower and higher than the same Chatterbait would with, say, a pin-tail trailer.
This is particularly important when fishing over submerged vegetation. If there’s only a foot or two of water over hydrilla, milfoil, or coontai, and your bait is getting bogged down in the vegetation, adding a craw to the back will keep the bait up over the vegetation without having to burn the bait back. Here are some of the best craws to pair with chatterbaits.
Strike King Rage Twin Tail Menace Grub
Though the Menace is technically categorized as a grub, it’s still a craw in my book. The two flat claws sticking out of the end of the bait offer a little bit of lift and resistance, while the grub-shaped body masks the hook and bulks up the profile. This is a great trailer for skipping as well as for fishing around sparse vegetation, docks, and wood.
Yamamoto Yama Craw
The Yama Craw features two large claws that create resistance, making it an ideal trailer when you want your bait to rise high and/or move slowly through the water column. The wide-spread wings of this bait also stabilize the wobble of a vibrating jig, preventing the hook from rocking side to side and hanging up as easily.
Paddle-Tail Swimbaits
Paddle-tail swimbaits have a tail in the shape of a boot or paddle on the end that wags back and forth, allowing the lure to move a little slower and wider than the fork-tail and pin-tail trailers. This style of bait still allows the lure to get down deeper and move faster through the water column than a craw-style trailer would, but it’s more aggressive than the pin-tail and forked-tail baits.
These are great for getting the lure down into vegetation. Swimbaits don't hang up on vegetation as much as a craw would, plus they allow the bait to get deeper. The body of the swimbait also stabilizes the chatterbait so that it doesn’t roll as hard side to side, the way it would with a pin-tail, fork-tail, or split-tail trailer. Here are two great swimbait trailer options.
Z-Man Minnowz Swimbait
The Z-Man MinnowZ Swimbait is my favorite paddle-tail swimbait trailer because of the bait’s durability. These trailers are made with ElaZtech, a highly durable, super stretchy material. MinnowZ baits have a great action and profile, especially for mid-size to smaller chatterbaits (1/4 ounce to 3/8 ounce). However, it's the fact that one of these baits will last for several trips that really sets it apart.
Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper
The Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper is a great swimbait for mid-size and larger vibrating jigs, in the 3/8-ounce to 3/4-ounce range. These baits work particularly well when fishing in and through submerged vegetation, allowing the vibrating jig to snake through the cover fairly easily while also enhancing its profile.
Forked-Tail Swimbaits
These baits typically have a tall, narrow profile, somewhat like a swimbait. But, in place of the paddle tail at the back of a swimbait, these baits have forked tails. This design creates a tighter, quicker action as opposed to a slower, wider action. Many of these baits also have slits in the sides, a design intended to give the bait a little more of an S action as it’s reeled along.
Yamamoto Zako
Designed in conjunction with one of the greatest chatterbait fishermen of all-time—Brett Hite—the Zako has become a best seller in this realm of vibrating jig trailers. With split ribs, a forked tail, and a tall profile, this bait is the perfect example of what a forked-tail trailer should look and perform like.
Zoom Shimmer Shad
A slightly more finesse-style option, the Zoom Shimmer Shad has a shorter, narrower body while still possessing the rib slits and forked tail towards the back half of the bait. These trailers offer up a little less action and profile as compared to the Zako, making the Shimmer Shad a better fit for smaller chatterbaits and less aggressive fish.
Pintail Swimbaits
In recent years, swimbaits with sharp, pintails have become popular for trailing a vibrating jig. These soft plastics create very little resistance while adding an erratic action to the back of the bait. Due to the limited resistance, these baits allow chatterbaits to dive deeper and be fished faster.
Missile Baits Spunk Shad
The Missile Baits Spun Shad is another great trailer for fishing smaller vibrating jigs. This bait features a feisty action at the tip of the tail, while maintaining the rest of the bait's stability.
Rapala Crush City Freeloader
The Freeloader, on the other hand, is a beefier bait that bulks up the overall profile of a chatterbait, while still adding a little kick at the tail end of the bait. If you’re using a full-size chatterbait that weighs ½ ounce or more, opt for the Freeloader.
Split-Tails
Split-tail trailers are well-suited for a wide variety of situations. These lures add minimal bulk to the overall profile, with their narrow bodies simply masking the hook shaft. On the tail end, though, a split-tail trailer makes the bait come alive. These are great trailers for chatterbaits because the two tails are thin and create constant motion by the vibrating blade of the lure.
These trailers are ideal for fishing around wood, in open areas, around vegetation, and around docks. Basically anytime when there’s no added benefit to using a craw or swimbait trailer, the split tail is a good option. And this is the best trailer if you want to skip a chatterbait. The legs fold easily, creating minimal resistance as the bait skims across the surface.
Z-Man Elaztech Split Tail Trailerz
The Split Tail Trailerz are my favorite in this category because they are made with ElaZtech. And since I like to put a trailer hook on my chatterbait, the durability and stretch of this bait allow me to use the same trailer for days on end. With a standard trailer, I have to take the trailer hook and hook keeper off to replace the trailer. This is time-consuming and annoying. The durability of the Trailerz extends the time I can fish the trailer and makes my life easier.
Zoom Split Tail Trailer
Zoom cornered the market with their Split Tail Trailer for years, and with a 20-pack for only $4.99, they’re still hard to beat. These baits offer a little more action than pin-tail swimbaits, but less of the bulk to the body. It is a solid option if you’re looking for a split-tail trailer in traditional soft plastic.
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