Curious about bladed jigs? Looking for tips on how to fish them? Jeremy of @Fishing the LoneStar is here to help! He's talking types of bladed jigs / chatterbaits, trailers, rigging, rod and reel set up and how to fish them! Everything you need to know is right here in this video! Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Video transcript:

Jeremy Francis:
Welcome back to the Monsterbass channel. My name is Jeremy with Fishing the Lonestar. If you have not already gone and subscribed to my channel, there will be links below. Please do that, we're on our way to a million subscribers. We're almost there and your subscription would help.

Jeremy Francis:
But, welcome to the Monsterbass Channel. Today, we are talking about bladed jigs, vibrating jigs, also known as Chatterbaits or the chatter donk or whatever it is you like to call the bladed jig, your term of endearment. That's what we're talking about today. We're going to talk about some of the options you have when it comes to bladed jigs, the different types, styles, different trailers, and some other tips and techniques to help you have a better hook-up ratio, catch more fish and bigger fish with bladed jigs. Let's dive in.

Jeremy Francis:
All right. So first and foremost, I want to jump into some different types of bladed jigs, because there's several on the market. We'll start with what came in this month's box, which is a unique take on a chatter bait called the Skatter Shad by Mustad. Now what's really cool about this bladed jig is there is a weed guard at the top, so you can fish this in a little bit more heavier cover around more structure. And in general, bladed jigs don't tend to get hung up, they're relatively weedless because of that blade that's in front of them, but this just adds a little bit more security there with that hook guard on the top. What's also unique about this [inaudible 00:01:54] bladed jig by Mustad is it has what some call the turbo blade in front, these unique holes and the blade on this jig allow it to start up really quickly. Meaning the vibration starts up really quickly when you begin to retrieve.

Jeremy Francis:
Now, most also commonly refer to the bladed jig as the Chatterbait, and that is actually a product name by Z-Man. And the most popular one, also the most expensive one, is the JackHammer, which you see here. Now, the JackHammer is a very finely tuned and a very unique bladed jig. And it's known for the components that are designed in this bladed jig, the Chatterbait, the JackHammer, to help it start up really quickly in the water in terms of that boy had action. I have here, well, we'll talk about trailers in a minute.

Jeremy Francis:
Also, by Strike King you have the Thunder Cricket, you received the Thunder Cricket in previous boxes. This also starts up really well in the water when vibrating, so quite honestly, I throw all three of these, really just depends on what color or style I have or need that particular day for water clarity.

Jeremy Francis:
Last, I want to talk about the stealth blade. It's a unique, clear blade that is on the front. And this particular Chatterbait is designed, and it actually has a little bit of a smaller presentation overall, but is designed more for heavier pressured bodies of water or clear bodies of water with that clear blade. It doesn't give off as big of a presence in the water, but still draws big bites because the fish still feel that vibration. So there's a couple of different types of Chatterbaits or bladed jigs for you to consider.

Jeremy Francis:
All right, now let's talk about the trailers that you can throw on these. And at least the ones that I use that I feel work really, really well. So first and foremost, what came in this month's Monsterbass bag is by Big Bite Baits, the Kamikaze Swimon. Now, you'll see, I have it rigged kind of sideways there. You can do either one, but that trailer on the back makes a very good swimming action and a very erratic swimming action behind a bladed jig.

Jeremy Francis:
Also, don't be afraid to mix and match your colors a little bit, to give a little bit of presence in the water. You'll see I've got more of like this shad color paired with a darker blue, nothing wrong with that. And in fact, I've done the opposite with this particular bladed jig. I've gone with blue and a darker color, but then a lighter trailer and I've caught some pretty good fish on this one.

Jeremy Francis:
Now this trailer is by Berkley Powerbait is called The Deal, and you'll see these two little legs on the back are shaped in a way that they swim really well in the water. All right, so it's a very natural shad like motion, very similar to the Kamikaze Swimon by Big Bite Baits. But just gives you a little bit of a different option as well. Now, you may have seen this particular bait recently Skeet Reese just won a lot of money down in Okeechobee throwing this almost exact trailer on the back of his bladed jigs down there.

Jeremy Francis:
Now, along with those two trailers, one of my favorites also to throw is the Swammer by X Zone Lures. This is the four-inch version, or if I'm throwing that stealth blade, I'll scale down to the 3.5 inch mini Swammer version. But because of the ribbed body that is in this paddle tail swim bait, it does not have a normal swimming motion as if you were throwing it on an EWG, underspin, something like that. Instead, because of that ribbed body and the water displacement that's coming off the front of that blade, this paddle tail swim bait actually has a lot of erratic swimming motion and it looks just like a bait fish, especially a bait fish that's [inaudible 00:05:50]. So between the three of those, you can't go wrong with those trailers on those particular chatter baits.

Jeremy Francis:
All right, now let's talk about the retrieval of a bladed jig and how it's different. It's not only the retrieval, but also the hook set, how that's different from any other normal lure you may throw. All right, so clearly the bladed jig is meant to be a moving bait. That's obvious. And when it's swimming, the blade stands up in front like this and shimmies back and forth, right? That's why it's called also a vibrating jig. But you'll notice, if a fish came to bite like this, and as soon as you feel that bite, if you were to then yank and pull to set the hook, you're going to push that blade back up, and it's just going to blow the fish's mouth open. So if you find yourself getting bites with a bladed jig, but missing them, it's likely because you're setting the hook almost too fast. We'll talk about some equipment in a minute that'll help with that, but that's likely the problem.

Jeremy Francis:
So instead, think about this way. All right, if a fish comes up and bites this, you need to hesitate just for a moment. Let the fish consume the lure, that blade will lay down. And then when you set the hook, the blade has now passed and the hook actually comes into the fish's mouth, all right? So again, it's a steady retrieve, all right? Every now and then you can stop or pause the retrieval, but it's a steady retrieve. And another tip when you're throwing the bladed jig is to reel it as slow as you can, while still feeling that vibration of the blade, all right. You want it to stay down the water column. Sometimes when you reel these really fast, they'll tend to come up, which, if that's what the fish want and they're feeding up that day, then by all means, reel it fast. The majority of time though, you want to keep this down the water column. You want to reel as slow as you can, while still enacting the vibration of that blade.

Jeremy Francis:
If sometimes you feel the blade stop moving and you know that it wasn't a bite, you just feel the blade stop moving, you can give a couple of quick rod jerks and that'll allow that blade to start moving again. But it is important though, when you feel that bite to give it just a second and you're not giving a hard hook set, you're almost just kind of leaning into it while still reeling, to just embed that hook. Now, you got a big gauge hook, heavy gauge hook. So you still want to penetrate the fish's mouth by having a good sweeping hook set while still reeling. Again, not sharp, not fast, just almost lean into them while still reeling.

Jeremy Francis:
The gear ratio of reel to use is really up to you. I prefer a 6.8. The reason why is because I tend to reel faster. So if I have a slower reel on my bladed jigs, it makes sure that I'm keeping that bait down in the water column and reeling a little bit slower. Normally, I'll use a 7.5 or even an 8.3 to one ratio reel. But in my bladed jigs, I'm going a little bit slower. I'm also using 14 pounds to 17 pound fluorocarbon. I usually prefer 17 pound fluorocarbon. Down in the south end in Texas, a lot of our bodies of water are not extremely clear, so I can get away with 17 pound fluorocarbon. And I don't have to worry about breaking off when a big fish comes up and hits my bladed jig.

Jeremy Francis:
The rod that I like to use. This is a little bit specific, and I'll talk about what I use, but I'll talk about a modification that you can use. The rod that I like to use is a seven four medium heavy tactical glass bass rod, my TFO. Now this rod is a mix between fiberglass and carbon fiber. It's about a 60/40 split, but that fiberglass feel allows for a little bit of a dampened feel. It's not quite as sensitive. And the reason why that's important again is because if I feel with a more sensitive rod, the minute that fish bites, I'm going to set the hook, I'm going to blow that fish's mouth open and I'm going to miss the hook set.

Jeremy Francis:
There's two things that a fiberglass rod does for you. One is, it allows for a dampened feel. So by the time you feel that the fish has the lure and you're leaning into them, you have a much better hook-up ratio. And because you're throwing a moving bait, you need a little bit of that parabolic bend in the rod and that give to absorb the impact of the fish coming up and hitting your lure. And it's going to allow the fish to stay pinned on the hook as you're getting it to the boat. Say, if the fish jumps, gives a big head shake, the rod is going to play with the fish and not be so hard and pulling that lure away from it on a big head shake.

Jeremy Francis:
All right, so you know I have a fiberglass rod. What should you use instead? My advice would be to use some form of a moderate action rod, again, because you want to absorb a little bit of the blow because you're going a moving bait, but you also want to make sure that you're a little bit of a slower reacting rod again, for the hook set. Trust me, it makes a difference. I've seen guys I've fished with over and over and over again get bites on the bladed jig, go to set the hook, because they have a really sensitive rod. They set the hook immediately when they feel it and they blow the fish's mouth open and miss it every time.

Jeremy Francis:
But don't take my word for it, there's actually some of the best pros on tour. They cashed the most checks using bladed jigs that are using a fiberglass rod or at least a moderate rod that's not quite as fast action or heavy power. All right, so think about more of like a medium moderate rod for your bladed jigs, you have a much better hook-up ratio.

Jeremy Francis:
So that's it, a couple of quick tips to help you go out and catch more fish with your bladed jigs, particularly the Skatter Shad that came in this month's regional pro bag. Along with that Kamikaze Swimon trailer by Big Bite Baits. This is a great trailer, a lot of pros use it on tour. Make sure you check out both of them, and if you've not yet subscribed to Monsterbass, the better bag, there'll be a link below. Go make sure you subscribe. There's a ton of great baits that are coming every month in the regional pro bags. I know that I've personally caught some monster fish with lures I've never tried before, they came in my Monsterbass bag. I think it's awesome, you should try it out. And if you haven't yet subscribed to the Monsterbass Channel right here, because there's more great tips and videos like this coming your way. Monsterbass, go catch one.