ChatterBait® Creators Reveal Ultra-Refined ElaZtech® Trailer

New Z-Man® ChatterSpike™ exhibits creative engineering, boosts bladed jig performance Ever since the Original ChatterBait® won the first of what would soon add up to dozens of tournament wins and mega stacks of cash a couple decades back, the bladed jig’s soft plastic trailer has always been along for the ride, almost an afterthought. Or, depending on the trailer’s design, maybe it’s the other way around—that the tail wags the dog. Maybe science explains it best: The tail helps maintain balance, offers counterweight and assistance with movement, and certainly, communicates a very specialized message. To Z-Man pro and ChatterBait tactician Stephen Browning, it’s all about the hydrodynamics. Always, he leans on the blade for its flash, action and lateral-line strumming vibes. But Browning also understands the critical role of his chosen ChatterBait trailer: to provide bulk, a bit of buoyancy, baitfish profile and just enough tail-kicking animation to augment—but not overpower—the blade itself. Bringing out all the best fish catching vibes of a ChatterBait—while simultaneously injecting extra dimensions of balance, movement and bass talk—the new Z-Man ChatterSpike™ looks and performs like it’s perfectly at home on the back of any bladed jig. “Beyond its soft, durable ElaZtech® composition,” suggests Browning, “the coolest thing about the ChatterSpike is that it absolutely maxes out blade performance and hunting action and never gets in the way of a ChatterBait’s talents. A lot of other trailers seem to be designed without considering how their bulk, shape or action affects ChatterBlade® function.” Think of the ChatterSpike as an intelligent, highly refined trailer that brings harmony to an already catchy tune. Streamlined and hydrodynamic at first glance, the ChatterSpike’s minimalist pintail baitfish façade embodies some impressive engineering. “To give the ChatterSpike a crisp, fluid, extra-responsive action, we sculpted it with a diamond-shaped cross section and leading edges that effortlessly slice through water and transfer energy all across the body,” explains Jose Chavez, Z-Man Director of Product Development. “To increase water displacement and quivering action though the tail section, we cut in a series of V-shaped ridges, top and bottom. This segmented posterior makes the ChatterSpike swim with a crisp, fast whipping action, side-to-side. It’s a tight but realistic range of movement that can actually be customized by the angler.”