Overview
A favorite of touring pro and renowned bladed jig angler Brett Hite, the Z-Man Chatterbait Jack Hammer Baby Jack is a smaller version of the legendary Jack Hammer made for fishing in tough conditions. Precisely engineered with a downsized blade that starts vibrating with the very first turn of the reel handle, the Z-Man Baby Jack is crafted with a compact head that features an enlarged collar for improved balance and action.
Fully armed for big bass battles, the Z-Man Baby Jack features a wire-tied silicone skirt for supreme durability, sticky sharp 3/0 medium-wire Decoy hook, Decoy Egg Snap line tie, and double-wire bait keeper to ensure your favorite trailer stays locked in. Whether you're fishing in clear water or targeting bass that get pressured on a daily basis, the Z-Man Chatterbait Jack Hammer Baby Jack boasts the size, action, and color schemes that get results.
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Customer Reviews
YOU HAVE TO FISH THIS RIGHTThis will roll and hunt once you snap it out of the weeds. This is NOT a good chatterbait for open water. I use it more as a jig in heavy grass, I use to use the mini max for that but this made much better.
WTH?I have zero idea what everyone is complaining about. I fished a 3/8oz Baby Jack this weekend on 15lb Mono, with a super fluke jr as a trailer. It started right up after casting, and caught plenty of fish. I love the mini max and this is just an expensive alternative to it, IMO. $20 is too steep for these though, so the one I do have will sit in my chatterbait box solo until there is a sale.
Blade is too small, or poorly designedAs many other reviews have noted, this chatter bait is garbage because you cannot get the blade to run. Wish I could get my money back for the several I bought. Even with no trailer, getting the blade to chatter is a challenge. The Jack Hammer series is supposed to be known for fast blade start up. This lure is a colossal failure in that regard. I'll just use mine as standard compact jigs, because there is no charter to these.
Normal jack hammer>This thing needs to be refined and took off shelves. Rolls like crazy and inconsistent action.
Pass on this oneTo me the hook is too big to be considered a “Baby”version and you can’t feel it vibrate unless you use very light line. Not worth $20. Stick with the mini max or Elite evo mini for sure.
TrashIt's already hard enough to find a jackhammer that has a snap that doesn't suck but it really doesn't even matter with these, you won't get them to vibrate regardless. I live to chatter and I wish I could get my $100 back for these. I wouldn't even use one to go pond fishing for fun. I bet you could throw them naked and still not get them to vibrate. The Mini Max Evo blows these out of the lake in every single category and so does the OG mini max.
It has specific uses.This lure is probably the best Zman I've used for blasting through and snapping weeds. I've had my most luck with this casting it parallel to the shore with a mix of popping through weeds and slow-rolling it in the open spaces. In my opinion if the hook was slightly smaller I would probably see a better hookup rate with the smaller fish that go after it. They tend to either get hooked through the outside top of their lip or they miss the hook completely. As a result of the too-large hook size I give it 4 stars. It's definitely a nice lure for late summer when you have alot of spaced out dead floating weeds. I'm happy with the brett bluegill and I will be grabbing a couple more in the future.
Garbage not worth the moneyit has no chattering action and the hook is way too big for the size of the bait do not buy.
Not Quite the OriginalThis is a good lure, I have caught fish with it. I have only used the 1/2oz so far. I will say something is off about it. The just don't thump quite as fast as an original sized Jack Hammer. I still catch fine with them, just might take a light jerk to get them going and sometimes they still don't have that signature thud. Still worth a shot, but for the price of an original, I would just get the full size. The Mini Max does fine with a 1.5 sized Decoy Egg snap.
So CloseIt is SO CLOSE to perfect. Love the subtle vibration, not as hard as a jackhammer or mini max but more than the stealth blade. Love the hook size, nice 3/0 but shorter shank for a compact size rather than completely down size. Same great hardware as the jackhammer that can handle anything.
Only downside is consistency. I bought 5 and 2 do not vibrate immediately or at all. Those 2 require a really hard jerk to start and they can still die out unless burned in.