Normally, as the walleye opener nears, I'm looking over my tackle and prepping for the upcoming bass season. The walleye opener provides the perfect opportunity to tune up the crankbaits and any other marginal bass/walleye/northern lures I have in the tackle box. Now, I'm definitely not fishing bass during the two-week period from walleye opener to my favorite opener, but throwing these lures doesn't hurt my chance of picking up a stray largemouth now and again. Of course, the accidental catch will always go back in the water.
But during those moments when I'm throwing crankbaits and the like, my mind is always creeping over the other rigs and lures in the ol' box. Two years ago, a young salesman at Scheels tried to sell me on chatterbaits. I had no real interest in these lures, as I was set on replenishing my stock of PowerBait worms, specifically the 7" pumpkin seed/chartruesse worms that have landed me many a big fish. So like the on-a-mission fisherman I am, I dished out some small talk and went about my business of stocking up on worms.
Fast forward to 2008, when I decided to try my had at the Chatterfrog. I'm not sure exactly why I wanted to try the lure, because at nearly $6 a lure, the investment isn't cheap, but I think I liked the idea of the blade, which vibrates twice as hard as a traditional spinnerbait, but without the excessive drag that can come from an imperfect rod/reel combo for the weight of the spinnerbait. What I didn't realize is the versatility of the Chatterfrog. Being a jig-n-pig type of guy, I liked the ability to jig the Chatterfrog as much as I liked its straight retrieval. Tack on the ability to skim or pop it near the top of the water, and you have on heck of a bass-fishing combo. I pulled in 190 bass last summer — I'd bet 40 to 50 percent of those came on the Chatterfrog. Yeah, it's that good.
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