Salmo Chubby Darter

[NCLaker]

Mozy - you got a steel of a deal on those CD's

#3's are a blast on Crappies when they are agressive. Fun to watch them on the vex coming from all directions then slamming em. When less agressive they draw a lot of attention, but tough to get them to commit. Took many tries with CD's before I caught my first fish and gained confidence to use them.

I like the quick clips for the CD's - call me lazy, but it works to switch between different colors or jiggin raps more quickly.

[mozy]

Using snap swivels also keeps your line from twisting.

I bought a #4 hot perch last week and used it this weekend. Had a lot of hard hits, but couldn't get the hook set so I'm thinking they were walleyes. I would have moved up to the 6's but I was using my crappie rod with 4# test on it. Ended up losing the #4 to a big snagged snapping turtle, thought I had on a decent pike right away.

[NCLaker]

Good point on the swivel. I tie on a swivel then 24" leader to a quick clip.

Never tried using a CD for open water, just for hard water. May have to give that a try.

[Ed Carlson]

I have been using Salmo Chubbys for open water for years now. In fact, I was jigging a CD 6 LOD for 25# class sumo catfish on them last weekend...man is that a HOOT on a 6' 6" med/heavy Guide Series walleye rod.

Rip-Rip-jiggle...*THUD*...Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

A good trick to use them for walleye and crappie in the fall is rig them on a slip float and set your depth with 2 slip knots...one above and one below the float for a controlled zone fishing approach. This works well over dying fall vegitation or rocks.

This Slip Chubby method is also good for shallow spooky fish. Use a conventional single slip knot float system for deeper water jigging. You jig them on a 12 to 9 O-clock retrieve to get the coverage and vertical action on the Chubby. Mood dictated action, so tinker with it tell the fish tell you what they want.

My Slip Chubby system works from the tiny #3 up to the #6, just rig your slip floats accordingly.

Bait tipping is seldom needed. If you do, try tiny GULP ice maggots in RED or PINK.

Try it once...slip them the Ol Chubby.

[NCLaker]

I guess this means I might be digging into my ice fishing stuff for my CDs. May have to pull the flasher as well - it is fun seeing them swim up on the screen and nailing your bait.

[Scott M]

Great tip Ed. That's a great thinking outside of the box approach. Open water with two stops and a sliding float.