fishing a chubby darter

[Fish_Tko]

i bought 8 chubby darters in various colors last year, mostly the small ones for walleyes, but had little success catching walleyes on them(only caught a couple). It seemed to me like they fished slow because they are so light. Anyone have any tips on how to fish these?

[Bill Collector Bob]

http://icefishingtoday.com/pages/web_extras.php

In one of these he uses the Chubby Darter, can't remember which video... I guess I'll have to watch them all again.   

[DasRottweiler]

Short pulls 8-12 inches up, then try to follow the lure down while it freefalls. Too fast, ya miss the strike. Too slow , ya interupt the action. The bites gonna happen on the fall so watch yer line at the watersurface. When in doubt , set the hook! (which is good advice hard or softwater) Keep another rod nearby with a change-up bait on it.  Jig aggresively for abit then switch to the change-up. Let it hang almost motionless and pulse it, don`t lift it . Often the fish will move in to check the darter out , but will be reluctant to bite it, this is when the change-up picks up fish . On active days or when active fish are present , the darter may get bit, but on slower days and neutral fish, the change-up lure may be the deal.

[Walleye64]

you have to have 2lb test for a number 3 chubby and 4 lb test for the bigger ones

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I usually just jig it 3-4 inches up and every 20 seconds maybe I'll either jump it or drop it into the sand and rip it out a couple of times to get attention.  I do this for the first minute when I first get to a new hole to attract fish in.

[johnnyb]

Short pulls 8-12 inches up, then try to follow the lure down while it freefalls. Too fast, ya miss the strike. Too slow , ya interupt the action. The bites gonna happen on the fall so watch yer line at the watersurface. When in doubt , set the hook! (which is good advice hard or softwater) Keep another rod nearby with a change-up bait on it.  Jig aggresively for abit then switch to the change-up. Let it hang almost motionless and pulse it, don`t lift it . Often the fish will move in to check the darter out , but will be reluctant to bite it, this is when the change-up picks up fish . On active days or when active fish are present , the darter may get bit, but on slower days and neutral fish, the change-up lure may be the deal.

Great info DasRott...when it's legal, have your change-up bait down a hole just a couple feet away...totally deadstick.  You can attract fish over with the darter then have'em slam the nearby deadstick bait.  Was reading up on that tactic courtesy of my fave fisherman/writer Gord Pyzer in this years IceGuide...definitely gonna try it out

[Irish Jigger]

I always have a deadstick bait pretty much right next to me. A minnow on a dropper rig usually and it seems the bigger fish will always hit it while I yank the smaller ones with the rod I'm jigging with. Almost all my bigger perch came on the deadstick last season. I was thinking of picking up an automatic fisherman for the hookset action but it would mean one less tipup. I used the chubby darter a couple times last season but I didn't get them till late and didn't put much time in with them. I'm hoping to target walleye this season and give them a good workout as well as the lindy darter and do a little comparison between the two.

[panfishman13]

i want to try a #3 this year for trout, perch, and bass. last year i lost my tiny jigging rapala to a big trout while sight fishing, so i want to find a replacement.