Product Review: Steez Cover Chatter

By Charles West

When it comes to summertime on our east coast dams first thing that comes to mind is, reaction lures for bass. There are a few different reaction baits out there, but I would like to focus on the bladed jig. Daiwa have a bladed jig called a Steez Cover Chatter, and I have spent some time using these as they have been reproduced for the Australian market and boy do they catch bass.

I have had a few sessions with this lure, and I am impressed, but there is one session that stands out, as I spent the entire day just using the Cover Chatter and had fun catching multiple bass.

Colour Selection and Weight

The Steez Cover Chatter has six great colours in 1/4 oz to 3/8 oz, ranging from fish colours to darker crayfish representations. This time of year, in my local lake I use the darker colours as the bass I am chasing are close to the bottom in 20ft of water, and I’m trying to duplicate a crayfish presentation. If I were chasing suspended bass, I would go to a lighter coloured bait fish duplicate.

I find for these two techniques I’m using the 3/8 oz model as it keeps the lure in the strike zone better and has a slow rise in the water column. If I am targeting bass in around weed I will go to the 1/4 oz as I’m fishing shallower water.

Retrieves

There are so many retrieves that you can do but for the purpose of this blog I will just outline to basic 3 retrieving techniques to get you catching bass.

1. Straight retrieve- casting the Cover Chatter and letting it hit the bottom and winding at a pace that you can just feel the vibration of the bladed jig, all the way back to you.

2. Hopping/Lifting – make your cast and let it hit the bottom. Once on the bottom twitche your rod up or lift your rod to feel the vibration. Then dip your rod and let it hit the bottom and repeat the process.

3. Roll and drop- cast the Cover chatter and let it hit the bottom and start your wind by rolling the reel fast enough to feel the vibration. Now this is when the variations come into play, the amount of revolutions effect how the lure will come up in the water column. For example, if you find fish holding close to the bottom only a few winds of the reel are required, and if the fish are sitting up off the bottom a few more winds are needed. You get the idea. The fish on the day will react to the lure at different depths so pay attention to how many winds you are apply; it pays to change it up. After the desired rolls of the reel, you have two options here. You need to return it to the bottom again which you do by free-spooling the lure down or letting it pendulum swing down.

A free spool down will allow the lure to fall straight down and will get to the bottom quick, while the pendulum swing will fall with a swinging action. Both opinions will come in to play at various times so experiment with both.

Outfit

When it comes to casting Cover Chatters around you can use either a baitcaster or a spin outfit. I tend to lean towards a spin outfit, something I use for soft plastics fishing. A fast taper rod in 7ft plus length when I’m fishing open areas and want the long-cast abilities of a long rod. The fast taper rod is great for hookset and feeling the vibration of the lure through the rod. A light to a medium-light rod is to preferred power rating of the rod.

The Rod

* 23 TD Commander Ocelot   

* 23 TD Commander 722MLXS Longbolt

* 26 Black Label 742LXS

* 26 Black Label 732MLXS

* 24 Aird X 702MLXS

* 24 Aird X 702LXS

The Reel

Reel choice comes down to personal preference, something from 2000 to 3000 in spin is adequate for all-round use.

* 24 Certate (G) FC LT 2000-P

* 24 Certate (G) FC LT 2500-XH

* Revelry FC 2000S

* Revelry FC 2500

* 26 Freams LT 2000S-XH

* 26 Freams LT 2500D-XH

* 26 Freams LT 3000-CXH

The Line

When it comes to line, I go to a PE line for pure feel and vibration transfer through the line. PE with no stretch allows the transfer of bites and vibration through the rod so you can feel everything that is going on. The leader I recommend, and use is the J-Thread X-Link Fluorocarbon, with its invisible characteristics and abrasion resistance making it perfect for the technique.  Below are some go to models and poundage to look for.

* J-Braid Expedition 8lb-15lb

* J-Braid 8 Grand 8lb – 12lb

* J-Thread FC X-Link Fluorocarbon Leader 8lb- 12lb

* My go to is 15lb Expedition with 12lb X-link fc.

Wrap Up

The Daiwa Steez Chatter is a highly effective summer reaction lure for targeting Australian bass, particularly when fish are active in the dams. As a bladed jig, it excels at triggering reaction bites and has proven its effectiveness across multiple sessions, including standout days where it produced consistent catches when used exclusively.

Overall, the Steez Cover Chatter is a versatile, confidence-inspiring lure that consistently produces bass when matched with the right colour, weight, retrieve, and outfit. So next time you are in the local checking out lures for the next trip, have a look at the Steez Cover Chatter to try next time you are out chasing bass.