In today’s article in our lure color selection series, we’ll be talking about chatterbaits! A chatterbait is a good pick for when you’re looking to add vibration as an attractant to your lure. Chatterbaits are also a great choice if you are fishing an area which has a lot of grasses, because where other lures become annoying and get hung up in the weeds, your chatterbait will faithfully glide through.
But what color chatterbait works the best? Well, that’s what we’re going to talk about in this article! We’ll be touching on which color chatterbaits work the best for bass fishing and when you should use those colors, but if you’re interested, we also have a free downloadable chart which you can keep with you to know exactly when to use which color based on water conditions, weather, depth, etc.
Green Pumpkin
If you’ve read our other articles, like our “best senko colors” article you’ll know this is one of the most popular bait colors for bass. But it honestly just works really well for any fish you’re targeting which feeds on something with green hues, such as various species of panfish or crayfish.
However, due to the areas where chatterbaits excel, namely grassy areas, these baits work even better. Try darting a green pumpkin chatterbait like one of the ones above through the weeds and enjoy the strikes. Make sure to have one of these in your tackle box, because it’s likely the first lures you should toss out into the water.
Watermelon
While a lot of people believe you can only fish darker colors in the weeds due to vegetation shielding the water, the pros know that light still gets down there. That’s why Mercury Pro Angler Bryan Thrift favors the watermelon candy color. This is a lighter colored bait which features red flakes that catch the light.
In short, even if you’re fishing under vegetation, you should still match your bait to the quality of the water. So, if the water’s clear, then you’re good to go on a lighter color or more translucent lure, despite the fact that you may be fishing under a mat of aquatic vegetation.
Black/Blue
While I just told you that you don’t have to use black and blue baits for fishing vegetation, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t! Black and blue is a super popular color for a reason, it definitely works! This is especially true if you’re fishing darker waters, and while it may seem like a brighter color lure would work better, sometimes that’s not the case. Black/blue is actually one of the best lure colors for muddy water!
Because of the way fish see, when visibility is limited the black adds much needed contrast which helps them make out the shape of the bait. A lure which also features some nice blue sparkle flakes in it can also give you that little bit of flash which can grab the attention of bass hiding out in the waters waiting for a meal!
White
White is my favorite bait color, because it does well for me in dark murky waters. However, even in clearer conditions it can work. This is particularly true if you pull a noisey, bright chatterbait through a spawning bed! While I tend to use this strategy with a shad style lure to hook tilapia, it will work with numerous other aggressive fish species as well.
The white color imitates shad, and if the area your fishing is home to these bait fish in large numbers, then using this color is likely a good bet. However, many anglers have good results using this color even in waters where no shad are living! It’s a very versatile pick.
White/Chartreuse
Want something with even more attention getting power? This color combo is also very popular with fishermen who love chatterbaits. Though it’s also a popular pick for other baits too, as seen in our “best color worms for bass” article. Bright colors like this do well when visibility is low and the fish are having a hard time seeing your bait, which coincidentally is when you’d want a chatterbait to begin with.
While you could go for a straight up chartreuse lure, most people seem to prefer a mixed one, at least in chatterbaits. This is also a really great color for small mouth bass. For whatever reason, they absolutely hate this color and will attack it violently! Just a note if that’s one of your targets species, though plenty of other fish will hit this combo as well.
In closing, we believe that these are the best chatterbait colors for snagging bass. Though every angler has their favorite and an off-the-wall color can definitely work in some cases! Again, the most important part of lure selection is taking your environment into account. If you need help with this make sure to download our lure color selection reference chart. Happy fishing!
