The world of bass fishing bait has exploded over the past decade. And with the ever-increasing number of bait and lure manufacturers come a plethora of knockoffs. It’s common practice for companies to build their own versions of popular baits with just enough insignificant dissimilarities to avoid patent infringement. But there’s also a trend headed in the exact opposite direction. Some companies are taking bait genres back to the conceptual ground level to see if they can truly offer something different. That is certainly the case with the vibrating jig market.
I found these five baits during a recent deep dive into Tackle Warehouse. I’ll admit, I didn’t even read the descriptions; I just grabbed bait that looked the most intriguing. I then rigged them up and set out on the water. Here’s what my experience was like.
Teckel USA Bladewaker Bladed Jig (1/2 ounce)
This is my favorite of the baits I tested. At first, I mistakenly thought its name was “Bladewalker” instead of “Bladewaker.” It made sense to me that the side-to-side action could be considered a blade walking. But in reality, this unique blade is made to wake.
I began testing it around water willow grass. As I bridged the bait through the grass, I noticed it made a cool sound right along the surface. While the Bladewaker can be reeled beneath the surface — like a standard vibrating jig with an average thump — it can also be fished right along the surface, creating a repetitive gurgle like a buzzbait but with the pitch of a popper. This is a unique bait in that sense. It took about three casts for me to figure this out; I caught a small bass fishing it along the surface on my fifth cast. It’s also a really intuitive bait.
However, I will say that it’s a little tricky trying to reel it at the perfect speed so that it’s only on the surface. For me, it was more like five feet on the surface, the bait would blowout, then a few feet just under the surface, then back on top; not just a continuous surface presentation like a buzzbait.
Later in the day, after testing the rest of the baits, I circled back to this one to fish it as a basic vibrating jig in some muddy water. It skipped really well and came through cover really well too, no doubt thanks to the weed guard. I only ended up getting one more bite on this bait, but it was a good one between four and five pounds. I worked the Bladewaker through the end of a laydown and she smoked it. The big bold hook held its own and hauled her to the boat. I was very pleased with the versatility and effectiveness of the Teckel USA Bladewaker Bladed Jig.
Decoy Zero-Dan Flash Bladed Jig (3/0 Offset Hook 5/16 oz.)
This was my second favorite of the test — and the bait that caught the most fish. I rigged up a green pumpkin creature bait on this rig and fished it through that same water willow in pretty clear water. I had four bites in maybe 20 minutes. They were all small, but I was both surprised and impressed by that level of productivity, considering the lake I was on. This setup came through the grass pretty well, thanks to the soft plastic covering the hook when rigged weedless.
One thing I noticed: Two of my bites were outside the grass line, halfway back to the boat, and two over in the grass. Oftentimes, if the water is clear on that lake and others, I either don’t get bit on a vibrating jig after I leave the grass or, at best, they just swat at it. I believe the more subtle profile of the skirtless Decoy Zero-Dan Flash Bladed Jig made a big difference.
Fish Head Primal Vibe Jig
I ended the day with mixed feelings about the Fish Head Primal Vibe Jig. This bait is basically a hybrid between an underspin and a vibrating jig. The front blade gives off a strong thump while the belly willow leaf blade swings back and forth. It’s a nice concept and it works pretty well in open water.
But it was really hard to fish it through the grass. And it was even more of a problem around wood. I think that the shape of the head and the position of the line tie — which work so well for the original Fish Head Spin — are actually the issue with this bait. The narrow, pointed head just wants to lodge in anything it can find. I like the idea of this bait and think it could be good. But I also like to fish a vibrating jig around cover, and it’s not good for that.
ABT Lures Original I-Vibe Bladed Jig
The ABT Lures Original I-Vibe Bladed Jig definitely piqued my interest as much as anything else offered in this genre. I mean, what’s better than one blade on the front of a jig? Two, right? Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case.
This bladed jig worked well enough but the front blade ended up being just for show. The blade closest to the jig still kicked and performed as you would expect, but the front blade just kind of cruised along without much action. This isn’t a bad bait. It just didn’t do anything that a normal bladed jig can’t do.
D&M Custom Baits Chopper Swim Jig
I wouldn’t even really call this one a vibrating jig, but I don’t know what other category I’d put it in. And I suppose that was the case for the crew at Tackle Warehouse when they were trying to categorize it. So this is where it landed online.
In the water, though, I think this bait is more of a cross between a spinnerbait and a swim jig. The small willow leaf blade twists and turns lazily below while the bait tracks straight and true back to the boat. You can only faintly feel vibration from the spinner on the front for the last three or four feet of the cast. This is a very subtle bait, but it has a large profile and is surprisingly weedless, considering the open hook.
I could see the D&M Custom Baits Chopper Swim Jig being a good option when you want something a little more subtle than a spinnerbait with a little more flash than a swim jig.
Final Thoughts and Other Bait to Consider
I had a lot of fun testing out these baits. It introduced me to the Bladewaker and Zero-Dan Flash, which I’ll use again in the future. I consider the others to be valiant efforts at trying to create something new, so kudos to those companies.
There are also a couple other new vibrating jigs worth mentioning. Z-Man Fishing — the GOAT of vibrating jigs — recently released its latest heavy-duty, lightweight bladed jig, the ChatterBait Micro Max with a 3/16 and 1/4 ounce option.
And then there’s the Bass Puzzle Grass Piece. With its shortened spinnerbait arm attached to a ChatterBait-style blade, it’s getting a lot of buzz.
There’s lots of interesting stuff on the market in this genre, for sure. And, ultimately, that means more fun for us anglers.
