Read about a guy who was fishing an old Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug one morning when, within three casts, he tied into a nice bucketmouth. He quickly set the hook, and the fight was on. However, the battle was short-lived. With one jerk of the fish's head, the fight was over because the line broke just as the largemouth leaped from the water...taking the angler's favorite topwater bait with him.
This angler's feeling of loss was tremendous until, just a few seconds later, he got a break that few fishermen ever receive. The bass he had hooked jumped a second time and spit the gent's favorite bait back at him. Because the Chug Bug is a floater, the owner had only to putter over to the bait in his boat and pick it off the water. Can't beat that for a fisherman's luck.
This lure has been around for a long time...dating back to 1990, as a matter of fact. During this time, it has endeared itself to fishermen nationwide with those tell-tale blowups, so it's no surprise the earlier fisherman would have felt so bad when he thought his bait was gone for good. Nearly all of us have had similar experiences and likely shared some of those same feelings.
The "chug" in Rattlin' Chug Bug comes from the primary action produced by this bait's mouth. When twitched along the surface, the cupped mouth makes a chugging or gurgling sound as the bait pushes a small wave of water forward. The Rattlin' Chug Bug was one of the earliest baits to produce this kind of action.
Anglers also can walk one of these baits by twitching it a little slower than usual. When fished this way, the mouth doesn't dig in as much, but there's still a noticeable chug at the front of the bait. It's not as pronounced as when chugging the bait along in a straight line, but the subtler gurgling action is still there, and that sets the bait apart from other topwater lures like a Spook or Sammy.
According to Wired2Fish writer Shaye Baker, "The sound is loud and sharp, on the opposite end of the spectrum from what you'd hear out of a one-knock style bait. And it takes very little movement for this bait to make noise. Even if you pause it, and there's just a ripple on the water, the beads inside it will still roll around and create a bit of noise."
This bait comes in two sizes: a 2 1/2-inch version and a 3 1/4-inch version. These baits are noticeably different in size and "certainly plug into two completely different bites," said Baker. "For instance, if you're looking for more of a finesse popper during a tough post-spawn bite, go with the smaller bait. If you're fishing around a mayfly hatch, where big bass are crushing bluegill, step it up to the bigger version."
The Rattlin' Chug Bug is more elongated than most poppers, especially the larger model. And both of these baits have more of a squashed oval shape to their bodies if you look down them from nose to tail, compared to other popping-style topwaters, which are typically rounder when viewed from this angle. These two attributes give the Rattlin' Chug Bug a different look and action in the water.
This bait also comes in a wide variety of color choices. Many of the color schemes are super detailed, with tiny scale patterns incorporated into the paint jobs. Several colors also have a chrome finish to them, which do a great job of mimicking the reflective scales of a shad.
Besides not having a super deep cup to the mouth, this bait also doesn't have a split ring added to the line-tie eye, which you'll see on some topwaters.
As noted by Baker, "The absence of a split ring keeps the nose of the bait up. Simply tie this bait on as is, and you're good to go. However, if you want to walk the bait more, it might be a good idea to tie it on using a loop knot. This will create a similar hinge to what you'd get from a split ring, without adding any weight to the bait. Finally, if you just want to pop the bait along, whatever your preferred knot is will do just fine."
Storm also went with a light-wire, round-bend treble hook for the Rattlin' Chug Bug.
"The round bend is a good selection for most topwaters," continued Baker, "since bass have a tendency to swipe at these baits instead of eating the whole lure. Round-bend hooks give you a better chance of the fish hooking itself on the swipe, compared to EWG trebles that have more of an inward curled bend to the hook points. The thin wire allows for these hooks to be super sharp and requires minimal effort to hook the fish. However, you'll want to be careful not to bend them on the hookset or the fight, especially if you're fishing the bait on braided line. Just be sure to set your drag a little looser, and you'll be fine.
"The back hook on the Rattlin' Chug Bug is a feathered hook, although it isn't a feather like you'll see on the back of some topwaters. This is more of a coarse material, like nylon, which makes this teaser tail hook a lot more durable than a feather would be. A true feathered treble hook looks great, but a few good fish catches and a hard day of fishing can destroy a feathered tail. This one will last a lot longer."
Baker went on to say that the Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug had done what few early artificial lures have been able to do.
"It has stood the test of time," he explained. "This means that, even though it's been around for a while, it's not a bait you should sleep on. The bait's body style and durable teaser tail hook are a couple of the design features that set this lure apart. Then the two size options and vast color selection really round this lure off as a topwater to contend with. And at just $7.99 from Tackle Warehouse, the Rattlin' Chug Bug is a reasonably priced topwater that will catch fish and last a long time."
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