The tail tells the story. It’s the instrument empowering baitfish escape acts; a visual profile that incites emphatic strikes. Underwater, this muscular, razor thin appendage ripples, fans and kicks continuously. In its wake, the tail leaves little breadcrumbs, unique undulations and a sound signature that speaks the language of a hunter.

When bass see the silhouette, when drumbeats dance across their lateral lines, it’s game on—the exact reaction process that inspired Z-Man to envision its newest, ultra-refined bladed jig trailer, the 4.5- and 3.5-inch ChatterShad™.

Designed to embellish and activate your favorite ChatterBait, the new ChatterShad imparts tantalizing tail-kicking signals that equally befit an array of other applications, including jerkbaiting on a jighead or straight-up tail-kicking on a ZWG™ Swimbait Hook. Fans of the ChatterBait MiniMax™ will be equally stoked to discover the 3.5-inch finesse sized ChatterShad profile— perfectly matched to the popular pint-sized bladed jig.

Leading with its broad, ribbon-thin fantail and lean baitfish profile, the ElaZtech®-enabled ChatterShad merges the softness and subtle movements of a small-batch hand-poured bait with the impossible toughness of its superplastic structure. The result, says Z-Man Director of Product Development Jose Chavez, is a high-action bladed jig trailer made for relentless bass bites.

“We built the ChatterShad to swim with a crisp, fluid, extra-responsive action,” explains Chavez. “The key to the bait’s rhythmic tail-driven motions is its diamond-shaped cross section. By sculpting the entire segmented tail zone with this specific angular arrangement—rather than more commonly used rounded or flattened sections—the ChatterShad kicks and ripples more like a natural fish, while exerting less effort, meaning its tail driven motions activate at any retrieve speed.”

Essentially, notes Chavez, this next-level engineering allows the tail to effortlessly slice through water and transfer energy from all across the body, straight to the tail. “To increase water displacement and quivering action though the tail section, we cut in a series of V-shaped ridges, top and bottom,” explains Chavez. “The design actually increases energy transmission from ChatterBait vibration right into the bait’s tail, for unmatched action and strong lateral line pings.”

Z-Man pro Seth Feider concurs: “The bait’s segmented, diamond-shaped tail section makes the ChatterShad swim with a crisp, fast whipping action, side-to-side. It’s a tight but up-tempo range of realistic movements that give a ChatterBait extra hunting action when you pop the rodtip.”

For rigging with standard sized bladed jigs, such as the ChatterBait Elite EVO™, Z-Man offers a matching 4.5-inch ChatterShad profile. And as a downsized jig trailer, the 3.5-inch ChatterShad fits the compact ChatterBait MiniMax to perfection.

“For the first time, we have the perfect little MiniMax and WillowVibe™ trailer—two of the coolest under-the-radar bladed jigs today,” adds Feider. “The fast-kicking action of the 3.5-inch ChatterShad makes it the ideal trailer for burner MiniMax retrieves in summer—or anytime conditions call for a more active presentation.”

Equipped with dorsal and ventral hook slots, the ChatterShad is easy to rig arrow-straight, fitting all bladed jigs. Slots also allow for effortless weedless rigging on EWG style hooks. Beyond deployment as a ChatterBait trailer, the ChatterShad fits other applications, such as a spinnerbait / buzzbait trailer and a soft jerkbait/swimbait.

Creator and leader of the ChatterBait category, Z-Man offers the most comprehensive range of bladed jigs and soft plastic trailers today. Slated for official unveiling at ICAST 2024, the new Z-Man ChatterShad lands at outdoor retailers in September. Offered in 10 colors to match prevalent ChatterBait patterns and two sizes (3.5” & 4.5”). MSRP $4.99 (3.5” - 5-pack / 4.5” – 4-pack)—crafted and packaged in the USA.