Is it just me or have we not really settled on a generic category name for these Vibrating Bladed Chatter Swim Jig Baits? I’ve heard it called a dozen different things!
Of course, I hear it called “chatterbait” — which is kinda like the “RattLTrap” of this amorphous category — but I also hear it called “bladed jig”, “vibrating jig”, and “bladed swim jig”, “chatterjig” etc… I’ve even heard Mike Iaconelli call them “vibration jigs”… presenting yet another option. That makes sense… they do vibrate, but they also have a pulsating thump. Should we add “thumperjigs” to the long list of possible names?
What do you call this kind of lure?
If you ask me, this lure is a lot closer to a spinnerbait than a jig, since they both share some kind of flashy blade and are usually fished like a spinnerbait. So, should we call it a “chattering spinnerbait”? Well, that won’t work because this lure doesn’t really “spin” anything…
A lot of people don’t realize that a spinnerbait is really nothing more than a jig with spinning blades, so perhaps sticking with the “jig” nomenclature is more accurate.
Come to think of it, “bladed jig”, “vibrating jig”, and bladed swim jig” describes a spinnerbait pretty well. Spinnerbaits have “blades”, they “vibrate”, and they kind of “swim”. Here’s a new name for you… “spinnerjig”. Since we’re calling things by a dozen different names, I vote we also call spinnerbaits “spinnerjigs”.
You see how crazy this is getting?
We just don’t have this problem with other baits. Take a crankbait for example (which arguably “vibrates” and “swims”). Nobody is going around calling it a “vibration wobbling diving swim plug”. We’ve got a category name and we stick to it.
Sure, there are other lure categories with more than one name. The jerkbait comes to mind. Old timers call them “minnow plugs”. West Coast guys call them “ripbaits”. That’s fine. The lines are drawn and the terminology is pretty well settled by geographic lines and age.
I vote we just stick to “chatterbait” as the generic name for this category. We have no trouble calling most every Cross pen shaped soft plastic a “Senko”. I’m not sure the Z-Man guys would like all the Johnny-come-lately knock offs being referred to as “chatterbaits”, but look what Gary Yamamoto puts up with! I think we can all live with that… for the sake of simplicity!
Maybe you have your own special name for this lure… maybe something like “wiggling thing-a-ma-jig”. What do you call these lures?… Let’s hear it! I’ll count up the results at the end and we’ll settle on a name once and for all!
FishStrong
