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I'm a dyed in the wool dropper rig guy....tip ups too. I make a lot of lures into dropper rigs...even Chubby Darters. I use a dead stick next to it usually...my favorites are (in order) Northland Rattle spoons (1st through 3rd place), 4th place - pilki/ hali / ect. 5th place - Northland forage minnow. The rounding out the box - Genz worms, ice flies, nuclear ants, and the little gold hook with a single spinner and 2 red beads. Chubby darters are awesome for bringing fish in...and their new little teeny ones look incredible...probably going to be my new favorite....if they could only get a rattling version. I just don't take much tackle I guess...I have the box that came with my FL-18...that is all I need or want. I don't get the "tackle box" deal. My buddy has a huge one...never figured it out.
what do you mean by dropper rig. that might be a dumb question but im curious. i saw chubby darters the other day but i wasn't sure about them. but if you say they work them i might pick a couple up. what colors of chubby darters do you use?
Match the hatch! Or, if you need to bring them in on flats, use a chrome with some flash.Dropper rig: Normally a single or treble hook on a line (or chain) that you attached to the spoon or lure. With chubby's, I take off the back treble and split ring. Then, I take off the bottom treble but leave the split ring. Now, use a length of flourocarbon line (8-10 lb) or whatever line you think is suitable and tie a treble (or single) not more than 2.5" long and attach to lower split ring . I don't like braid lines or super lines for this. They seem to tangle. The lure or spoon is the attractor..as a fish rises, they run into the bait. I think the underlying theory (at least mine) is that the spoon / lure resembles a fish and the bait underneath them (dropper hook with grub or minnow) looks like something the "fish" dropped or wounded. I just seem to out fish people with plain grub jigs or spoons with the bait hooked right to them. I should clarify: I outfish people sitting right next to me...LOL. Also, the heavier wieght allows you to quicky get the bait back down on misses or allows it to get through some of those smaller aggressive fish that tend to be very active in schooling perch. Doesn't seem like much, but if you are taking 20 seconds to drop a bait...you catch enough dinks and pretty soon it adds up.
That is a great idea with the chubby darter, every time I see one of those, I say to myself, I am not waisting money on those.....but that sounds good with a dropper rig. What size do you use with the chubby darter?
I had good luck with the chubbies last year on crappies. I use a #3. Also did well on some jumbo perch. #4 is a good size for walleyes. I've got a #4 rigged with dropper chains and have also caught perch on it.Koele, if I'm reading your post correctly, do you only have one dropper line? From the front split ring?