The Tungsten ChatterBait Elite EVO

The Tungsten ChatterBait Elite EVO features 3/8 and 1/2 oz sizes in 12 colour patterns. 

Geologists call it a rare metal, an intriguing element that exhibits super-power like properties. Rivalled only by diamonds in hardness and extreme melting point, tungsten yields exceptional lure assets and numerous bass-catching advantages. Nearly twice as dense as lead, tungsten is a true heavy metal, affording lure smiths the benefits of building smaller, more compact profiles that heft and cast like little bombs, sinking quick, reacting instantly and tracking perpetually across the strike zone.

Concepted and chiseled to delve deeper in the water column and emanate its own vibrant sound spectrum and vibration, Z-Man® has refined its first pure tungsten bladed jig. Approaching luremaking perfection, the new Tungsten ChatterBait® Elite EVO™—progeny of the 2023 ICAST award winning ChatterBait Elite EVO—is set to excite angler-observers at ICAST 2024.

Built with a 96-percent tungsten head, the Tungsten EVO is wired to cut through water fast, hunting bites with its off-the rails wandering action, while singing to bass on multiple levels of vibration. 

Leaning on its compact size with reduced water resistance, Z-Man’s exclusive, low-center-of-gravity head sculpt features quick-start action and other special effects. “The new, smaller tungsten head was sculpted to move with a knuckleball effect, promoting easy hunting action,” notes Z-Man Director of Product Development, Jose Chavez. “It’s built with a blunt nose and streamlined top and side sculpting, so when the lure tries to wander, it can do so freely and erratically.”

“I didn’t think a bladed jig could get any better, but Z-Man’s new Tungsten EVO fishes with a responsiveness and sensitivity that all anglers need to experience,” notes Z-Man pro Stephen Browning, among the top ChatterBait tacticians of all time. “The smaller, more compact tungsten head offers less resistance, too, making it immensely castable, even into the wind.

Browning’s observations on jighead size and performance reveal additional advantages of Z-Man’s new tungsten tool. “The biggest difference is this lure’s vibration,” he believes. “Like the original EVO, the tungsten version starts vibrating the instant you wind the reel handle,” he observes. “But the heavy metal head also produces a sharper, crisper vibration.

“To me, the magic lies in the intense, acute sound that comes from the blade cracking the solid tungsten head as it pulses back and forth. The tungsten jighead produces a different, distinctive sound that sends key feedback straight to your rodtip, and bass get super zoned in on it.

“Z-Man’s sensitive tungsten head also keeps you in tune with the lure and what it’s doing underwater. But most importantly, it’s a superior transmitter of bass bites,” believes Browning. “I’d even go so far as to say the lure’s sensitivity helps you gauge strike aggression or lack thereof, allowing me to adjust and adapt my retrieve accordingly.

“It’s like the first time I threw a tungsten bullet weight after fishing lead weights for years. Every time it hit something, it felt like a bite. Same deal with this lure. It just responds quicker; has a shaper darting, hunting action; falls faster, so when you juice it with pops of your rodtip, the lure counters instantly. Zip-zip-zip. All that, and you get the positive feedback of the lure’s vibration, right up to your hands.”