Overview
Featuring a patented direct head-to-blade connection and trademarked hex-shaped ChatterBlade, the Z-Man Chatterbait Elite EVO is designed to start vibrating immediately and produce erratic hunting action with each turn of the reel handle. Built around a 5/0 custom heavy-duty needlepoint black nickel hook, the Chatterbait Elite EVO is equipped with a stainless-steel blade offered in plated, painted, and glitter-coated finishes to mimic fleeing or distressed crawdads or baitfish.
Fitted with wire-tied 100% silicone skirting material for increased longevity, each jig has a hybrid molded split grip and wire bait keeper to hold soft plastics securely in place and allow for easy rigging. A highly evolved performance-based and more cost-effective bladed jig, the Z-Man Chatterbait Elite EVO is equipped with oversized lifelike eyes and available in highly detailed pro-inspired head paint schemes and skirt color patterns.
Awards
ICAST 2023 Best of Show - Freshwater Hard Lure
ICAST 2023 Viewer's Choice - Best Jig or Bladed Jig
Pro Using This Product
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Customer Reviews
Great bait!Snap does have a tendency to open but other then that excellent bait. Couldn't tell much of a difference between the evo and jackhammer. Paint holds up well and love the copper colored blade on the bama craw. Do wish they made a green pumpkin shad so I wouldn't have to buy any more jackhammers!
Flat out catches them!After fishing all chatter baits the EVO came out. Went out of town where BIGS live. Won't catch numbers there, could catch a PB. Third cast my reel locked up, it's on. She weighed 7.5 If you buy one you won't be disappointed.
Best mid-range priced chattetbaitGreat action and colors are all great, only thing is that after fishing it a lot the blade and jig head will start to lose paint where they hit each other. Still though probably my favorite chatter bait even over jackhammers.
Pretty solid!!Caught tons of fish on the one I tried. The paint didn't chip very much, and felt good. Only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because the hook keeper started sliding up and down the hook.
I’d give it 5 stars if….This bait has become my primary chatterbait. Reason I only give it 4 stars is because they don’t make it in a gold shiner color. In Florida , this is probably one of the most popular colors but there are very few chatterbaits in the golden shiner color. Maybe if Zman made an EVO golden shiner I’ll update it to 5 stars.
Freaking catches themThis thing freaking catches them.
Not buying a jackhammer again
Love/Hate relationshipFirst off, this is flat out my confidence bait. Oddly enough, when paired with a Chatterspike, it catches fish when I can't get bit on a Jackhammer. Bad news is like other reviews. The dreaded bring back just the blade on a retrieve. I had hoped that that they would fix this problem, but even my recent purchases have had issues. I think the paint on the blade stays on much better than the Jackhammer. Evergreen should be ashamed of how quickly the paint comes off the blades for that price!! I will begrudgingly buy the EVO and hope they get this blade connection thing fixed. It has only happened 5+ times. Smiling and chucking!
They work…but…The snap has a tendency to open. The eye of the jig also opens up. I brought back just the blade after hooking a fish. Quality issues here…especially for the price.
Catches them but………First off these catch fish. In my own opinion, I think they got more thump than a jackhammer. But there is a catch…..
First thing, check your snap or replace it. I haven’t broke one but I’ve took them out of the back and it was open or after fishing it I’ve checked it and it’s open. You can bend it back then use needle nose to crimp it.
Second, check the eye of the jig head. I was fighting a fish and only got the blade back. With she pliers I’ve close them and haven’t had issue. You can also tie a knot like said previously.
Third, after 20 or so fish I’ve had the paint completely come off the blade. Idk why but I’ve noticed that the there are times they prefer a black or colored blade over silver.
Fourth, the lead keeper can come loose and slide. It can be crimped or glue back in place.
Fifth and finally, the skirt just seems too long to me. I’ve noticed more bites after I trimmed it even with the hook
Good w/ some modsThese are almost as good as a Jackhammer w/ some mods. 1st you need some kind of "stopper" to make sure that if the eye ever opens up, you won't lose the bait & just reel in a blade + snap. 2nd, you need to make sure that the snap doesn't open up...you can either crimp it down with pliers or replace w/ Decoy Egg Snap (size 2). After just 1 afternoon of fishing, the snap was unclasped & starting to open up for me. I made a short YT video on how to fix, if interested. Type "Fix Elite EVO" in YT. If you want to fish a chatterbait w/ no mods, then I'd just pay up for a jackhammer (which is excellent right out of the package).
Love themGreat hook, great blade startup, hunting action, durability, better baitholder than the jackhammer IMO. Comes through cover well, hookup/ % is awesome. Have stuck some huge bass, and no issues whatsoever.
QualityGreat running with easy start up. Great for chunking and winding.
Don’t be a googan this bait is fantastic.Saw a lot of complaints about this bait having the blade fall off or snap unsnapped. Simply put y’all need to do some touching up on your chatterbait game. For the price these are great you and either crimp the connection and snap down so the blade and snap are unable to open and fall off. Also it isn’t hard to change out to a higher quality snap. they aren’t expensive at all and will make the bait run even better. Also maybe don’t lock down your drag. I crush these out of a kayak and have snagged rocks and pulled myself 30 yards down the shoreline with them and have had 0 bending in the hook wire or snap. Have also caught over 15 fish over 4lbs and over 100 total on these in the past 2 weeks.
Great productSheeesh this is my new go to bait every lake or pond I caught my Pb 5 pound bass on it or to catch any size quality and quantity I will say I got one defective one the blade came off the jig in the first cast reeled it in and blade just came back
Poor SnapsI’ve had the snap open up on two different baits now. Wasn’t even snagged just opened up from catching a few fish and ripping bait out of weeds.
DefectiveLike others, my bait came back with the blade only. Handful of casts, no hangups or anything like that. Just cast it and no bait returns. I have another one that had the snap open up as well. Not using EVO anymore.
Eye Opening and SnapI really really wanted to love the Evo. Great looking bait. Awesome colors. BUT. I have lost two now and I've reeled in just the snap/blade. Upon closer inspection, the EYE that connects the blade to the head separates after a while. Enough so that the blade will work itself into that tiny opening and....welp. Next cast - she gone.
Cheap hardwareBought my first EVO because it was in the right color the Jackhammer color was out of stock.
EVO caught fish fine but after one day fishing, its last cast came back with only the blade. Don’t buy it.
The Real DealThe new EVO is the real deal. This bait thumps hard and hunts like crazy. The bait keeper works great for holding ZMan plastics on but it also makes it easier to change them out when you want to. Don't let the lower price fool you and make you think it isn't as good as other pricier bladed jigs. This bait will catch them!
EVO is a GO!I caught a fat 21" Large Mouth on my first day out using the new EVO Chatterbait in Bluegill using a TW Sunfish Magic Spunk Shad as a trailer. The EVO blade colors with enhanced texture, a new hook position and hand tied skirts make the EVO an effective bait and excellent value. It is also nice that they are a lot less expensive than a Jackhammer. I expect to continue my success using the EVO. It is my new go to Chatterbait!
New go-to bladed jigI was a die hard jackhammer guy. But this “no-chip” blade with the same great start up vibration now makes it my go-to vibrating jig. The price is unbeatable . Hardware is decent, Just make sure you crimp the snap.
EVO is a performerNo offense to Jackhammer fans but the EVO is every bit a producer as its predecessor! It's an excellent value for a top quality bait. Start up is very comparable and this Dawg Hunts! Has earned a place in my arsenal!
As good as a jackhammerAs good or better than a jackhammer with better colors. Used several days with several different baits and all worked great.
Great BaitI ordered 3 green pumpkin 3/8 ounce EVO - I had no issues with the blade vibrating immediately - The new colors are versatile - I caught some nice fish first time out with it. I love the Jackhammers but these seem to be just as good. I ordered 3 more in different colors - they wont replace my Jackhammers however I will add them to my arsenal.
Chatterbait Elite EvoExcellent bladed jig! Great action and blade starts immediately. Solid quality and components. Z man has a winner and nothing out there can beat the value at $9.99. Caught several nice bass first time out.
I highly recommend it!
Stick with the JackhammerTried a couple of these because I have an addiction with Jackhammers and Slobberknockers. The blades and line ties are of poorer quality compared to the two previously mentioned. The blade startup just isn’t there. From casting alone the line keeper kept unclipping and I had to pinch it tight with pliers. Even with that, it came open when I caught a three pounder. Overall they work and the colors are awesome but the quality isn’t there. I’ll stick with buying one jackhammer for the price of two of these.
Good bladed jigI used the glitter bomb vcolor of this bait after using a jackhammer for about 2 hours. The 2 baits are very similar but with this chatterbait I had issues with it starting its vibration but just a handful of times. The jackhammer has no issues with that after multiple uses. Caught 5 bass in about an hour and a half of using this evo which was about the same as the jack hammer.
Fantastic action for the priceWhile the blade is stamped with the "Original Chatterbait" wording like the base model, it is not the standard blade. The bend in the blade is the same as on the Jack Hammer, not the lower/deeper bend seen on the base model (which is what causes the delay in startup vibration). Fished this a bit this morning after receiving them last night (1/2 oz bluegill paired with a 4" Zako trailer) and the action is fantastic. No delay in blade startup, it's vibrating as soon as I turn the handle, it thumps hard, and on reel pumps it has great hunting action cutting out to the side before returning to true. The snap is also much beefier than some previous offerings, so hopefully no need to swap them out like on some previous offerings. For just under 10 bucks, this definitely seems to punch above its price point and I would strongly recommend checking it out.
These things are amazingJust fished them for the first time and wow. Starts up immediately, has the right amount of hunting action, and the colors are amazing. They knocked it out of the ballpark.
Original Chatterbait BladeJust had 10 of the Chatterbait Elites arrive. Got to admit, was disappointed to see it comes with the original blade. Colors are amazing and I should have looked at the picture closer but not happy. The original blade just doesnt compare with the Evergreen. Should have known better at the cheaper price point. They should point this out in the description.