Chubby Darters are all "Hype"!

[Ed Carlson]

Rumor has it that Salmo Chubby Darters are all "Hype" and walleye just don't go for funny looking critters like the Salmo Chubby Darters.

Might be…I guess?

Yet this Chubby may have a slightly different story to tell if asked about the walleyes general level of interest in him this winter.

Does this look like "Chubby Hype" to you?

[Northlander]

Looks like you shot it with a load of bird shot. Is that just this winters abuse? No doubt the Chubby darters are a great walleye catching tool. I just cant seem to keep the northerns from steeling mine though.

[Ed Carlson]

From what I understand that is one winters use on Devils Lake, that is how much they like them up there. My guess is there has been a pike or two on that chubby this season as well.

Those fangs on a 4-8# walleye can punch a lot of holes in a lure when they hit as hard as they do on a Chubby.

The more holes in them the better they seam to be working....Eh.

[Ice9]

That's funny...that Chubby Darter looks just like the one I threw out my window on I-94 the other day...wasn't doing diddly so I deep-sixed it. It was in a lot better shape when I gave it the heave-ho, but I was driving in front of a couple of snowplows.

ice

[Ed Carlson]

Maybe your poor luck stems from Bad Karma from being a Litter Bug?

[Northlander]

LOL!

[Guest]

I would vote in favor of the darter as this was the first year i bought and used them. Was not having alot of luck with them until i put a crosslock on my line and then attached it to Mr Chubby, then getting it to swim correctly,and mr chubbly caught the eyes it was supposed to.I believe this little chubby needs to be fished correctly,giving you the results your looking for.

[hip_hop_fisherman]

I've had zip success on them this year. Maybe I'm not "swimming" it correctly. Tried lots of different colors lots of different ways, still no fish just lookers.

[Ed Carlson]

That is a good point, do not tie the Chubby Darter on direct...always use a quality snap.

I prefer a Berkley CrossLock snap on the CD-5 and CD-6. On the CD-4 I am often shooting for panfish or generally smaller species and can easily get away with the Fast Snap style of snap. A lighter Berkley CrossLock is wise to use even on the CD-4 as they are strong enough to hold large predators if they should woof up the CD-4.

A couple of other Chubby Darter tips.

Use a longer softer action rod so your "Pumps" are smooth and you get a wobble on the rise as well as on the fall.

Fallow the jig down as it falls on a semi-tight line. Very often the Chubby gets Thumped on the fall out of view of the flasher cone....be ready for it...watch the line as it falls.

Fish the Chubby higher up then you would normally start jigging. The 3-D profile of the Chubby Darter is perfect to attract fish from all directions so jigging up higher is often key to get maximum visibility for active feeders.

Let that Chubby fly! Do not overburden the Chubby with too much of a scent option like a huge minnow or an oversized chunk of anything. A small scent option on the bottom treble is good enough to draw a strike. On rivers, the rear hook is often the best spot to add the scent so the Chubby performs better in the current. I often use tiny crappie minnows on the rear whole and alive on rivers. I feel this adds a bit of tease at times and if the blood scent is needed I pinch them off mid-way.

Walleye are not at all shy about the larger size Salmo Chubby Darters in CD-6 although it is common for them to like the CD-5. I start with the CD-6 and drop down if they appear too shy of the larger bait.

Experiment with how aggressive to jig. I start with a very aggressive 3' jigging motion when targeting walleye with the Chubby Darter. The Chubby is an attraction style bait...so get to the attracting Eh. If the fish come in and do not act aggressive then slow it down accordingly tell they tell you how much action they like. Some days it may be 6" hops, and other 2’-3' hopes with very little rest between the hops.

When a fish comes into a Chubby do not drop the Chubby down in it's face, work it up higher yet, make them go for it. This if especially true for hunt, capture, and ambush predators, like a walleye. How odd is it for a baitfish to see a walleye and immediately dive to meet him…”Eh you big toothy (Contact US Regarding This Word) how the heck are ya?”...not too likely? Ya..the walleye are likely to run then hit if you drop it on there heads. It is common to see an active walleye chase and hit a chubby up 10' or more from where it initially seen the lure. I have seen a group of walleye chase a Chubby Darter up over 20 feet and compete to get a shot at a Chubby.

On neutral to negative fish I may bounce the bottom several times and then rip-jig the Chubby once...then allow it to fall backs to inches off the bottom..add a long pause if they are looking and do not want to come in. If they sit and watch for a while then shoot the Chubby up again but the second time pause a foot higher and rest. Most of the time if they are going to hit this is when a neutral walleye will go for it. Neutral to negative bottom huggers seldom come up more then a foot. If this remains the case and they just do not want to hit switch to a large live minnow and a good jig like a Scenic Tackle Glow Demon and try to tickle them up off the mud. The Chubby is more of an active fish lure and it is good to know when to swap out for a less aggressive jig and bait combo to get-r-done.

Some of the most critical tips with the Chubby is use a good snap, and learn to have confidence that the fish will feed up on the Chubby Darter, and do not drop it on there heads once they come in for a look.

I hope this helps to get yur Chubby bit.

[ivegottabite]

This is all great info that I didn't know either. I had mine tied on directly when I used it earlier this year.

Ed-How do you fish these in open water? I have heard they can be very effective here also.

[icehousebob]

Somehow my last response got erased. I tried a Hot Perch Chubby Darter on Bitter Lake in South Dakota and it failed several times. There's a 16 inch minimum there and all it caught a Walleyes between 14 and 15 and 7/8ths inches. A good lure should be able to stretch them just a little. I was jigging without bait and they would follow it up a couple feet and then slam it. A little high buck but they do catch Walleyes.

[Ed Carlson]

On open water they shine as a vertical jigging option much like they are used under the ice. You can use them in situations that a plain jig may be often used in the vertical. They have also caught on for targeting suspended fish, they jig them on a drift over areas you have spotted fish suspended.

Another method some have had luck with is trolling them on leadcore. I have not tinkered with this so I am not of much help here. On some MN lakes some of the Salmo USA team did well on suspended walleyes with the leadcore method.

Rivers has shown some of the greatest promise for vertical jigging Chubbys on open water. Slip jigging with them has proven to be productive.

In many ways warmer water is the ideal place to use the Chubby. Fish tend to be more active with there metabolisms running at a higher pace, so they often react better to a active jigging presentation like a Chubby. Deep humps on a lake can be worked over with a bow mount trolling motor and Chubby. I hear tell that NightCrawlers can be a great tipping option on Chubbys in the summer.

I think you get the idea. In many situations on open water if you can spot fish on the electronics, you can zero in on them with a Chubby.

[hip_hop_fisherman]

Excellent tips as I always tied direct also. Had to print that post off! I especially like the "I hope this helps to get yur Chubby bit!"

[HoleHopper]

Thanks Ed for all the inside info. I am going to look into getten some of these. I wonder if they would work on Milleaces or Winnie with a crawler.

[Ed Carlson]

Ya I always wanted to get a T-Sirt made with a Salmo Chubby Darter on it and under it have printed in big letters...BITE ME!

...or...Bite my Chubby!...or maybe even...Got Chubby?...Ya know..kinda like the "Got Milk" deal Eh..

[nluchau]

Ed, Do you know anywhere in Fargo I can pick up a couple of these chubby's. Was at the boat show Sunday. They had a couple reps from Salmo there displaying their lures but none for sale. Thanks

[Ed Carlson]

I got some Good new and bad news there.

Most retailers consider the Salmo Chubby Darter an "Ice only lure" and stock them accordingly. Good news is you can find late season deals on some left over models in stock if you snoop around. Worse news is the selection will be very limited and most do not stock again tell fall.

Scheels had a fair selection of Salmo and rumor has it Gander Mountain is getting more of the Salmo lure line. Be sure to ask them about the Salmo line so they know to get them in stock.

Fleet Farm had some left in a very limited selection of models and colors.

You can find all the Salmo line with all models and colors on-line at Salmo USA. Or Salmo USA can tell you where to get them nearest you.

[nluchau]

Thanks Ed. I will try Fleet this morning and see what they have.

[nluchau]

All sold out. Hmm. Maybe I will stock up for next year if I find them that is.

[Northlander]

Might not help anyone but gander in Duluth has a few dozen as of 2pm today. 30% off as well. Only 2 colors left.

[Ed Carlson]

What colors did they have..do you remember?

[Gus]

Thorne Brothers had a bunch left the last time I was there a week or so ago. They also had a bin of clearance ones for maybe 2.99?

[Ice-9]

Check out the entire line of Salmo, on the HSOforum...some tasty big open water lures, though at tasty prices too. They are handmade in Poland. Cool.

ice

[Northlander]

Ed I will check and post back later.

[Northlander]

Ed I just called and Tom said all they had left today was a handfull of CD5's in Shad. $4.19 a piece. [email protected]