Although bottom-contact techniques are most popular when bass fishing boat docks, it’s imperative to keep the fish honest with a horizontal presentation as well. In this video, Wired2fish staffer Walker Smith explains how effective a ChatterBait can be when targeting boat docks. It’s a year-round option that will put bass in the boat when many other techniques fail. The proven side-to-side shimmy of the ChatterBait paired with a slender, streamlined trailer creates an irresistible profile that not only produces reaction bites from lethargic fish, but it also skips like a river rock and allows the angler to target hard-to-reach areas where big fish inhabit.
Walker also explains the importance of avoiding “robot mode”, as he calls it. When retrieving the ChatterBait, it’s important to impart an erratic action-especially near key pieces of cover. When the lure gets next to a post, ladder or cross brace, he suggests changing your retrieve. Whether you speed it up or momentarily pause your retrieve, these small changes can trigger vicious bites from inactive bass. The next time you need to dissect a body of water in a limited amount of time, consider this efficient and effective technique.
