Lake Trout and Chubby Darters

[superbee]

I am planning on trying the Chubby Darter for Lake Trout this ice season. What colors have been the most productive for the guys that have used them? I am thinking the hooks will need to be upgradedd for the bigger trout, anyone have any problems with the factory hooks being to light? Thanks.

[Mainehazmt]

I thought they bent too easy I changed them out to a #2 hook for lake trout

[toughguy]

I would say white, pink and purple. I've never fished a darter for lakers but these colors seem to work best on all other lures for lakers. Changing the hook size might change how the lure flutters in the water. You could try it out in open water this summer to check first.

[Borch]

I know Lisa was spanking them on a Chubby darter at the bash last year. I believe it was a #5 chartruese metalic dace pattern. Although given the big fish you likely run into up there upsizing might be a better idea.

[superbee]

Thanks guys, I think these will be great to add to the arsenal. Normally just use tubes, but somedayswhen the bite is tough, something new can be the ticket.

[Jim Hudson]

They work well here on Superior for shallower trout, same you would be targeting on inland waters. Mainly here though, its Browns and Splake, but occasionally we find some lakers shallower then a 100 feet too and catch em on darters.

Size 5 and or 6.. You can upsize hooks, but, be aware.. more weight could change the subtle shimming action that the darters are known for. Good colors for trout too.. I love the Red Tail Shiner pattern.. Dalmation might do good for trout up there, as I know you guys like fishing white..

[Jim Almquist]

I know Lisa was spanking them on a Chubby darter at the bash last year. I believe it was a #5 chartruese metalic dace pattern. Although given the big fish you likely run into up there upsizing might be a better idea.

The biggest one that Lisa has caught was a 28" and that was on the #5 with the original hooks. The chartreuse might be a Burntside thing but I know of some nice ones caught on a perch pattern #6 as well. They are slow to drop but that might very well be part of what brings them in and triggers them. I have tried the blue chrome without any success but that might just be a confidence thing- Just not keeping it on long enough.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

I was monkeying around on a slow day last winter trying different lures. I had a small #3(I believe) perch color Chubby in my walleye box so I threw that on and almost immediately caught a nice 22 inch laker followed by my biggest one through the ice about an hour later that went 30.5 inches.

Here's a blurry cell phone pic

Needless to say, I didn't need to upsize the hooks and to my surprise even the big girls like 'em small!

[Steve Foss]

I've used them for winter lakers the last several years, and haven't noticed one color outproducing others. No need to upgrade the hooks as long as you're not using heavy line or a stiff rod. Typical MH laker rods with 12-14 mono and a properly adjusted drag won't bend out the hooks on the two larger sized darters. If you use heavier gear or reef down your drag you might run into hook problems, but it's darn hard to fish those featherlight chubbies on heavy gear, anyway.

As mentioned, upsizing hooks will change the action on such a lightweight lure. Now, that might not actually be a bad thing, and is something worth experimenting with. My guess is heavier hooks will somewhat deaden that tight wobble. Good? Bad? Hard to guess.

Only time I've bent hooks on them is when I've had to get the hooks out in a hurry with a pliers, and then I bend them back or replace them with the same size/weight.

[superbee]

Thanks for the extra insight guys. It looks like I have a few different colors to get and give a whirl. Hopefully they give some good results. It is always nice to find another secret weapon.

[Steve Foss]

I know you guys up there are in love with white, eh?

But don't be afraid to get a can of black exterior grade spray paint and spray one of those chubbies black. They fish a lot better shallow than deep, because they sink so slow, and a fish deeper in the water column looking up at a black lure against the lighter background (even snow and ice, while cutting light, show lighter as a background than the bottom of the lake) has a VERY easy time locating it.

Unless I'm fishing a very shallow pattern, I have a lot of luck on lakers with black/dark lures.