Salmo Chubby Darter

[coldasice]

Has anyone tried or had success with the Chubby Darter? What have you caught and how and where do you fish them? I have seen them in the mags with rave reviews, just curious about about the facts, colors, sizes, etc.
Thanks
coldasice

[Try Too Fish]

coldasice
There were some comments on these on the ND and SD forums
Do a search on each forum for chubby darter
and they should come up
good luck

------------------
Try Too Fish
Forced Too Work!!

[mistermom]

On a recent trip to Lake of the Woods I caught several walleyes on a perch colored chubby darter including my largest (about 3 1/2 lbs).

mm

[Fisher Dave]

I havent been stocking the ice box lately .. I 1st discovered chubby darters when TJ Hunter caught a bullhead with one stuck in its mouth at Nokomis earlier this season..

After that vision I dont know if I will .. They look good .. hopefully some folks let us know how they work on fish other than bullheads.

* The one that got away * may never be looked at the same with me again.

[Steve Foss]

They wiggle, they wobble, they rattle, they dart to one side and then the other.

They catch fish a lot smaller than you'd expect. And they catch the big fish too. And if you get a fish to come in on a chubby but not bite, pull it up and drop a smaller lure. BAM!

Buy a few chubbies. You'll be glad you did.

[Guest]

They produce well under the ice, and on open water. Like any lure, some days one shines, the other does not.

There are not too many trips out on the ice that I do not use them, on most any species I fish. There are tricks to get lookers to hit, drop links, beating the mud, ZIP slip, rip drop & drag a link, high jigging, plus a few others.

Clear water try the natural perch patterns, silver black, Dace, then Gold Orange. Dingy water the Hot Perch is very good as is the Orange Gold, occasionally the Dace too.

A Chubby is a 3-D bait profile, so aggressive jigging will draw in fish from a wider area. If they get in the cone, and look, allow it to coast to a stop then hold. After 20 seconds if they still stare aggressively jig it again up higher and again hold. Odds are good if they are at all in the mood to feed, they will whack it then.

On aggressive fish I do not tip the Chubby's, I smear a scent on, like a mushed up minnow or an Amino Jell.

On lookers, a piece of meat on the tail or belly hook will prove helpful. On the tiny JR Chubbys, larva is a very good tipping tool for perch and crappie.

Well worth adding a couple Chubby Darters to the stash, they do produce.

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 02-16-2003).]

[Aqua Eye]

I have a question on Salmos' other hard crank style baits. I stopped by the Sport Show in St.Cloud for a little while today and spoke to a rep of theirs and was very impressed with the colors, finishes and selections of the Salmo crankbaits. But what really convinced me to give their baits a shot this upcoming open-water season was the way the baits are manufactured. Salmo runs a wire from the eyelet on the bil of the lure all the way through to the treble hooks which are also VMC. I like that idea because last year I lost two nice hookups to broken lure bills. I don't ever want to feel a fish like that on the end of my line and real in half a bill instead. Twice was two times to many for me.
Do any of you guys use these baits? If so, how do you like them? I asked the rep today about some purple color combo's and he said there are some in the works although mostly for saltwater applications. I'll keep my eyes peeled for them. TROY

[Norco]

I have heard that you can remove the trebles and put a dropper on it 2-3 inches long with a single hook and put the bait on the hook. The darter attracts the fish and the dropper hook is small enough you can nail alot of good size perch.

[LuckyFish]

Where do I find more info?

[Guest]

You can get lots of cool info from the Salmo web site.

Hit on the appropriate flag on the start page for the language of choice for you.

Shortcut to the English Salmo corporate web site.
http://salmo.24.pl/index.php?newlang=english

If you shop around on the internet, you will find Salmo cranks and Chubby Darters cheaper then at most present local dealer. New marketing in 2003 will bring Salmo more into main stream USA and Canada. Very likely with some better prices for the angler.

There are lures and there are lures, real quality does cost a bit more. The craftsmanship and detail of the Salmo line make "Jap", "Korean", & "Mexican" cranks look sick once you see Salmo, and use them.

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 02-16-2003).]

[Guest]

Aqua, I love them! I have replaced many Rapala options with Salmo, because of the superior quality and performance.

The Sting and the new Sting Suspender #9, Whitefish SW-13, and the Bullhead are 3 of my personal favorite's. And of coarse, the Chubby Darter line, that is by the way expanding very soon, more cool Chubbys...Oh--Joy!

If your into sumo toothy critters, they make serious pike and Muskie cranks, VERY serious stuff.

I wouldn't talk anyone on cranks, I love them too much to even try!

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 02-16-2003).]

[Steve Foss]

The only thing I have against Salmos it the price. They cost a lot. Maybe that's because they are new, maybe not. $7 for a small Chubby Darter? Ouch!

It's not just Salmo, jigging Raps and especially other Raps are darn high too on their newly developed baits. Long cast minnows and such are so pricy.

Basically, it means you shell out big money to buy a dozen of these lures in different sizes/color patterns, or you buy them over time, or you try to find clearance sales.

Either way, I shudder when I put one on, hoping a fishy critter won't rob my wallet.

[Sturgeon46]

These things look so good in the water, I want to bite them!

[fiskyknut]

I think they are a decent lure, I like the gold and orange one up here on LOTW thats for sure. They are sadly way overpriced though. Try the small rat'l-traps, work about the same and they cost half as much.

Fisky

[Guest]

STf catfish we were in cabelas in Owatonna Sunday and found a table of long cast Rap's in perch for $3. If that is a color you can use it's about half what they usually ask.
Rod S

[Guest]

fiskyknut

If you look, you can get them for $5.75, this I know.

Some retailers have bumped them up, a lot, in some areas.

Don't forget, A Chubby is a very deadly vertical jigger on open water too. Under a slip float, drifting a basin or river, they produce well on open water. Not many guys know that, but they can really bust eyes during post spawn and again in summer when they are suspended over deep water.

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 02-18-2003).]

[Guest]

Tried the Chubby Darter had some good success .Especialy when fish seem to want a slower presentation. Expensive but effective.

[Mykal]

You can get the chubby's for 5.00 plus tax at JR's tackle outlet off of 169 by Mills Fleet Farm. I was just in there and picked up 3. These baits definatley have there place. Using one with a 6 inch mono dropper is deadly for Perch.

[Guest]

they're only 3.50 at scheels in mankato

[coldasice]

Thanks for all the great info. I have just one more question. What sizes are you using? I bought a couple of size (5), but are these too big for ice fishing. The size (4) seemed a bit small. I know it depends on what species you are going after, but just curious what most of you are using. I have never used a crank style lures on the ice, mostly your typical jigs and plain hooks.
Thanks again!

[redhooks]

I like the littlest ones in perch pattern-I caught a 13" perch on one earlier this winter. After reading BWE's post I can't wait to try em on the open water! tight lines!
redhooks