Chubby Darter's

[nluchau]

I heard they worked really well last winter but I wasn't able to find any then. I did find some yesterday and bought a few. Pretty spendy little buggers at $5.99 a pop.

What are your experiences with them if you have tried them. Any good techniques or favorite color?

[Bob Horn]

Thorne Bros usually has them at a good price. I use the perch one with a dropper for perch. I haven`t used them a lot but look at my avatar and you may get lucky like I did a couple of years ago. It was at a Iceleaders event to boot!!!

[stick]

I have a few Darters, but can anyone describe the jigging action they use successfully? Is it a bigger jig sweep, or a subtle 2" jig. Any suggestions?

[Northlander]

Stick as with anything I let the fish tel me what they want. I usually start out fairly agressive and if that doesnt work I tone it down. I will usually do about a 10" to 16" lift and drop. At times I let it just free fall and others I follow it down slowly with my rod tip. I do this in a series of 3 then let the bait rest for anywheres to 30 seconds. Then I start over.

If fish arent going for it agressively I shorten strokes and lengthen pauses inbetween.

Another option is pounding bottom or just doing some shaking. Also just some short drops in a row.

Watch the bait just under the ice a few feet and play around with your motions. Its amazing what you can get baits to do if you watch under the ice or on camera.

[caseymcq]

Northlander- what have you caught on Chubby Darters?

I have tried them for walleys with no luck. I am assuming they would work for northerns. Are they good for trout or anything else?

[nluchau]

Would panfish go after em or not. They seem alittle big for panfish I guess. Just wondering

[Tyler D]

One of the guys we fish LOTW with uses chubby darters exclusivley, only the perch color, in the biggest size they make, with no bait on it. He always does just as good or better than the rest of us. I've tried it a few times, but always switch back to the trusty jigging rap, probably something you have to get used to.

As for panfish I dont know, although I could see some red lake slabs nailing the smaller ones.

[iffwalleyes]

Gold metalic my friends at LOW is awesome. I have caught more fish on this sucker the last couple years. I just bought 5 more this past weekend at cabelas. The are awesome they work anywhere. Like nothlander said stick with them they will work. Watch the flasher. Also like northlander said if you need to slow it down the fish on the locator will tell you. I start it pretty aggresive and slow down if necessary. I usually use on minnow head on the bottom treble. I have them in all colors but the glow orange and metalic orange are the best for me. They are well worth the price. If you use a super line like power pro you won't loose many if any. I remember when Ed Carlson was talking about these and no one knew what they were but now people know.

[icehousebob]

I had carried a few in my tacklebox for a while before trying them one day in South Dakota when nothing else seemed to work. Jigged without bait, the Walleyes hit them aggresively. Perch color worked the best but I didn't give the others much trial because I stopped changing when I got to one that worked.

[ivegottabite]

Quote:

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Would panfish go after em or not. They seem alittle big for panfish I guess. Just wondering

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Check out Matt Breuers winter pics to see some of the slabs he caught with these. So to answer you question, yes they do work for slab crappies.

[Northlander]

Casey Walleye love them. On LOW the Pike also do and I lose a few up there to them. Panfish will hit them but I only use the smaller ones with a drop for Perch. As stated the perch, glow and metalic gold/orange are deadly on walleye especially on LOW and Winni.

I dont use them much for trout but I dont know why they wouldnt work.

[Jim Hudson]

For trout... this year I will be experimenting with the Giant Chubby Darters here on Lake Superior... From canadian reports, it sounds like I should have a ball jigging these baits for some big lakers...

For the rest of the Chubby Darter line up... Yup, deadly bait for a lot of species... Walleyes, Perch, Pike, and Crappies all can fall prey to the darter.

One tip for jigging with a Darter is to use a small Duolock snap for maximum performance of this lure.

[Big Paulie]

I have caught small crappies on metro lakes with them while it was on the fall..lol.. I really couldn't believe it at first, thought it was a fluke but they kept hitting it on the fall when I would drop one down the hole. So in my oppinion Crappies will hit them.

[walleye_dog]

Hey guys...there is a good article on these types of baits in the latest edition of Walleye Insider mag. Im a Chubby fan myself so the article kinda caught my eye...it explains the best situations and the best tecniques for fishing vert jigs especially the Chub-Dart. Just thought id give ya a heads up.

[nluchau]

Thanks for all the helpful information. Bring on the ice - cant wait to try em