Just wondering what the prevailing thoughts are with regards to a chatterbait blade being black nickel, gold, nickel, or powder coated a specific color? Do you decide based on sun/clouds? Do you choose based on water clarity? Does skirt color push you in one direction or another? I've had success on gold and black nickel the most, but have never really paid as much attention to the color of the blade as I do the color of the bait, and I started to wonder if that is a mistake.
I've experimented a lot with blade colors, but there have only been a few times when I've felt like it mattered.
Generally I like something shiny if the sun is shining, black if it's not. I even had some that had chartreuse blades (via those hologram sticker things) that I painted with black nail polish to leave only a sliver of chartreuse remaining. My thought was that it would make the chartreuse "pop" a little more, and would otherwise sort of mimic the thin strip of bright color on the ends of bluegill fins and tails much the same way we think about dyeing the tips of trailers chartreuse. I caught quite a few on those, but I can't say whether I think the color made any difference.
If it's a sunny day and I've got options, I've tended towards gold with green pumpkin or black and blue skirts and silver with white skirts. Since I'm usually throwing the first two colors, I'm usually throwing gold if throwing a shiny color. Aside from that, even though I've never applied it to chatterbait blades, my time spent ice fishing has told me that gold usually seems to work better in dirty water while silver can be better in clearer water...it might hold true with chatterbait blades as well.
Even though I've tinkered with it quite a bit, I don't have a terribly strong preference in any case...not enough to make me cut one off and retie if the sun pops out or it clouds up, for example. All else equal if I had to pick one to use all the time I'd probably want the black blade. Interested to hear what others think.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
I've painted a few blades and tried the copper ones, as well. As far as I can tell, blade color makes little difference.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Really? Lot more to catching fish other than blade color on a chatter bait. Just don’t believe it matters.
Reply With Quote