I Bought A Chubby Darter!!

[roadkingclasic56]

The other day I was in the local sporting goods store and watched a video of really nice walleyes coming through the ice hole with a chubby darter in their mouths. I got hooked. I bought 2 since that was all my wallet would allow in that department. (That was a big bite to swallow)I started talking to a few other fisherman about how to use them most effectively. Almost everyone knew of them but were pretty tight lipped about favorite color patterns and jigging techniques. Since they operate like other jigging lures I have used I would guess you would use them the same way. I bought a perch pattern and a black and gold pattern since it mimicked a shiner. (At least in my mind it does) Let me ask you. Have you used a chubby darter? What color pattern seems to work best for you? Favorite jigging method? They were too expensive to experiment with different color patterns so I hope I bought some that will work well.

[Corey Bechtold]

What bank gave you the loan? lol

I saw that video too. Kinda nice seeing some nice Walleyes coming through the Ice!

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Meadow Creek]

I actually saw them for $.50 cheeper than the chains stores at a bait shop up here. I like to lower them a foot slowly with the line tight, pause, jig about an inch, pause, jig an inch, and repeat. They also changed the packaging for this year. If you don't know what they look like, you'll have to ask.

[Northlander]

My favorite color is the Gold/Orange and then the glow/orange. The shiner is good too. A lot depends on where you will use it.

Work it like other jigging raps etc. but I like to drop it on a semi tight line. Lift/pause/drop/pause over and over in a sequence that gets fish to react. On some days you can rip it and drop it as fast as it will go. The fish will tel ya what they want by watching how they react to your jigging cadence. Play around you really can fish them in many ways. Great lures for a short dropper rig too.

If you go to the ice show look for some good specials on them there.

[cold one sd]

The local baitshops decided to be more competitive this year and they are offering Chubby Darters with a six month zero percent loan. I hope this doesn't cause a shortage around here.

[walldoggie]

Dont want to hijack a post but exactly how much do these normally run i have found some on clearence for like 5.50 and 5 bucks, hope i got a good deal.

[iffwalleyes]

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Dont want to hijack a post but exactly how much do these normally run i have found some on clearence for like 5.50 and 5 bucks, hope i got a good deal.

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I have seen them from how much you paid up to 8 bucks so you did alright.

[Bryman02]

i thought they were a total scam when i first saw them. Used an orange/gold one on LOTW last year and it actually scared fish away. Ive heard people swear by them....Give me a bro bug or a buck shot rattler any day.

[Corey Bechtold]

I almost fell off my chair when I read that!

Later,

Corey Bechtold

[Ed Carlson]

In stained water the GMO, glow green, and glow org all produce well for me. In clear water the more natural chub patterns and the white dace produce well, the GMO tends to do well in clear water.

My best tip for use is jig a bit higher up than you normally do when jigging a Chubby Darter. Chubby's tend to draw fish up to feed better than most vertical swimming jigs. When a fish pops in to check on your Chubby do not drop it in it's face, work it up higher and pause. On late season deep basin bites beating the mud works and than bring it up as a fish pops into view. If your fishing without the aid of a flasher jig them hard several times, pause......jiggle.....pause....repeat. Do this about 1-2' off bottom and at times as high as 5' in clear water.

I have caught many a sumo eye on Chubbys under the ice as well as on open water so I have no lack of confidance in them. When you pull 3 sumo eye's out of the same hole in less than 1/2 hour on a Chubby, you gain a lot of faith. I use them from everything from cats to crappie, they work well for me.

I hope this will be of help this season, be it open water or under the ice.

[chris63]

My first choice is sweedish pimple,second is a jigging rap.These darter lures do work but they seem to be the new trend.If the fish are feeding it dosent really matter.imo.........c63come on ice! p.s,An old guy from wisconsin(70 years plus)i fish with every season on millelacs(outside all day no shelter)fishes with a small teardrop and maggots,never anything else and out fishes all of us (kids,40 somethings)3 to one!!!!!!!!!enouph ranting.later.c63

[roadkingclasic56]

Thanks for the inputs. I can't hardly wait to try them. I could sure buy a lot of minnows for what I paid for one of them but it will be fun to try something new. Do you tip these with a piece of minnow to, or is that not necessary? I ususally tip with something, half a minnow, waxy, or something. Another thing I bought was some Fireline Crystal fishing line. Have never tried that either. Hope the combination of Darter and Crystal will be magic. Was that the sound of auger blades in the distance?

[Jim Hudson]

Road

I am a big user of the Darters and really like their action and fishing catching abilities. 99% of the time I fish these lures clean, no bait, as I feel adding a minnow head or minnow takes away from the action of this bait. The majority of the time with any jigging lure such as this, you are trying to contact feeding fish that are turned on or semi-neutral, so the lure itself is all you need to catch the fish.

The times I do use bait with a Chubby is when I am running a dropper rig off of them. More subtle, using the bait to call the fish in and allowing the minnow to seal the deal.

Good luck with the Chubby!!!

[trapperdirk]

I fish them like Jim too and only add bait if I'm using a dropper line and there is a reason I keep well stocked up on darters even though here they are 10 bucks a pop plus tax and it's not for show . LOL It's them dang pike like them a wee bit too much too and really get me cussin when they steal them which can be often on some waters .

TD

[cold one sd]

Yeah, I was in the baitshop today and adopted another one. He sure is cute though.

[lureman]

Please explain the dropper aproach with the Chubby. Where is the dropper tied off from, how long, and hook size? Do you have any troubles with tangling of the dropper on the plug?

I have had excellent luck with the Chubby on LOW. I usally tipped with half a minnow on bottom middle hook. I've used #5 for size if I recall correctly, like to switch treble hooks up one size. Once a fish shows on the screen it seems best to take a slow rise and maybe slight wiggle.

[Jim Hudson]

Lure

For my dropper set up, I take off both trebles, and replace the belly hook with the dropper.

For making the dropper, I want the whole rig to be 3 to 4 inches, so I start out using approximately 5 to 6 inches of 10 to 12lb fluorocarbon, where on one end I attach a fast snap to clip to the belly hook, then attach a # 6 single hook (I prefer Mustad beak hooks). If you wish, you can also use a treble, but I prefer a single for tail hooking a minnow.

Tangles are rare, as I do not fish this rig erratic. And a lot of times I have switched to this rig after walleyes have shown their presence but were not tempted to bite other presentations.

Also, for upsizing the hooks, be sure to check out Mustad Triple Grips. I love these for switching out trebles on my jigging lures.

[lureman]

Thanks for the info JKH431 I'm planning on riggin a Chubby up in the manner you explained. The set up should popssibly entice those sniffers. Triple grip by far are the treble hook of choice!

Good luck on the haredwater!

[Farley]

I bought one last year, never got a bite on it, but that's probably because I only used it once or twice. Just couldnt part long enough with the "other" jigging lure I've had on my rod for two years.

[trapperdirk]

Well my dropper rig now consists of a thin wire leader that attaches to where the belly hook would be . I remove the belly treble first though . The leader has a small treble attached to it . With the stiffness of the wire it keeps your bait hanging straight below the darter and you don't get the tangles you can by using mono for dropper material and I don't have issues with the back treble .

A minnow head on the dropper works good or a small live minnow just hooked through the dorsel can allow you to even fish this dead sticked or on a tipup . If your jigging just do slow lifts and falls similar to a hop when fishing walleyes . If you see the eye coming in for a peak just lift it slowly up away from him and stop with an occassional jiggle . When they finally decide to give the morsel a nibble it's usually a good hard smack .

TD

[roadkingclasic56]

I may have to expand my arsenal of Chubbys in order to give them a fair chance. The cost will prohibit too much of an expansion.They do come in a wide array of colors. It was hard to decide which to try. Some friends of mine each have quite a number of them in their boxes but they seem to stick with one particular color, that being the "Dace" pattern. Their claim is that this particular pattern works well for walleye or the lake trout they fish periodically. The display I looked at only had the 3/16 ounce. I would like to think this is a good size for most species. It could be a little large for crappie I suppose. Any input on sizes for specific species?

[Jim Hudson]

Road

All sizes are good for walleyes, and the number 4's are a good lure for large crappie on any lake that might have them.

But for the majority of walleye fishing, I stick with the 5's and 6's. I probably use the 6's more then 5's during early or late ice, I just like the big bait appeal for the bigger fish. The best color I have, is not made anymore, which I am trying to change!!! Its a Silver Mettalic Dace (Very silver w/ a semi-black back). If you see these in any small shops, pick em up!!!

But with the current colors, most of my luck has come on the Perch Colors, along with the metallic orange and Luminecent Orange Dace... This year I am excited to try the new color of Red Tail Shiner.. I think this will be a winning color!!!

[PierBridge]

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My favorite color is the Gold/Orange and then the glow/orange.

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I picked one up tonight Glow Orange 8 bucks.......

If I was a big Eye I'd Hammer it......

[Sandmannd]

Walldoggie turned me on to this. Chubby's are clearanced for $5.50 at Fleet Farm in Oakdale. I bought a few last night, still have quite a few left.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

WELL HOPE THESE CHUBBY DARTERS WORK. JUST BOUGHT 14 OF THEM FROM CABELA'S.