First Impressions

Just when I thought I ’ d seen it all regarding topwater fishing , ChatterBait inventor Ron Davis took the game to a whole new level with a bait that might be best described as hybrid cross between a walking topwater and a vibrating jig , engineered to rock the surface in a steady , straight-line retrieve .

Z-Man unveiled the oddlooking contraption at ICAST 2022 and we got our hands on one late last fall . At first glance , the peculiar design might cause a topwater junkie to back away and scratch his head . It ’ s just that different . Here ’ s the description :

The Main Body : Made from hard plastic , the slender , elongated body is shaped similar to a Pencil Popper , except the bottom is shaved flat at an angle for about half the length of the 5-inch bait . It features a stainless split ring line tie strategically placed on the bait ’ s chin about 2 inches below the nose . A nasty No . 1 treble attaches near the belly using a split ring for freedom of movement .

The Tail : A modified ChatterBlade dangles from a

stainless wire shaft that protrudes from the butt of the main body . The shaft creates a pivot point that allows the 1 / 4-ounce blade to vibrate and flash erratically on the retrieve . A No . 2 treble hook trails the counter-weighted blade on a split ring . The hook is feathered for additional action and visual appeal .

Colored Right : Comes in 10 attractive colors with 3-D eyes and that are slightly recessed . Factory colored silver , gold and black blades are used to coordinate with the finish .

In Action

The HellraiZer doesn ’ t just look different than any other bait . It behaves radically different , too .

The Action : There ’ s loads of it . Put the HellraiZer

in motion and the pointed nose rises to the surface , cutting hard left to right while the rear-mounted blade creates a combination of flash , vibration and chatter to lure bass and other surface-feeding fish from afar . The bait is meant to be fished in a straight line using a steady retrieve with minimal effort . Just chunk , wind it and hold on tight . It ’ s just that simple .

Something else to be aware of is the bait doesn ’ t float like most hard body topwaters . It sinks quickly when idle and relies strictly on forward motion to do its thing . A reel with a fairly fast gear ratio ( 7.1:1 or a little faster ) is ideal for getting the bait up and running quickly when fishing around grass and other cover that might be submerged a few feet