Fifteen years ago, one of my hang-ups was trying to catch walleyes without using livebait. But a friend eventually taught me how to use crankbaits, which forever changed my confidence and thought process regarding my livebait-only policy. Right now, the same evolution is occurring on top of the ice.
Some of the best walleye anglers are perfecting systems to catch big fish and cover large expanses of water without the complement of livebait (a. k. a. "meat") on the lure. Not using livebait while ice fishing is a hang-up for many if not most ice anglers -- but it's a legit option, particularly when using specific presentations and lures.
Baits that work well without tipping seem to have one thing in common -- a horizontal profile combined with vibration on the up or down stroke. Some new soft plastics like the Storm WildEye Jigging Swim Shad and Jigging Soft Minnow fall into this category. Bladebaits like Heddon Sonars and Reef Runner Cicadas are classic lures that work well without bait. Yet in my estimation, the lure that has opened the most eyes is the Salmo Chubby Darter. In the right hands, and with the aid of a Vexilar sonar or underwater camera, this bait comes alive.
Potential applications for the Chubby Darter are much more extensive than with most lures because the bait is so versatile. Each different jigging stroke seems to make the bait do something different and good -- an angler can work a Chubby Darter in more ways than any other lure. In the end, working one of these lures is much like casting and reeling a crankbait, or even trolling one. The similarities between working an artificial with a baitfish profile during the open water season and under the ice are strikingly similar.
Aggressive fish large or small are obvious candidates, but these baits also seem to have a knack for triggering most big fish. Without the hassle of tipping, these baits are great for dropping down the hole just to see if anybody's home. Work a series of holes in fast order, and you have the iceman's version of a trolling pass.
What's really fascinating, though, is how these baits can turn a seemingly passive lurking walleye into an aggressive striking predator. The same fish that hit traditional baits fairly light just slam a Chubby Darter -- so hard, that I can feel it in my toes. Walleyes often inhale the bait so deeply that I have to use pliers to remove the bait lodged down their throats. The hits are awesome, bone chilling. In all the years I have been ice fishing, swimming lures like the Chubby Darter are the most revolutionary things I have ever seen for walleye fishing, and I predict they'll change the ice-fishing world in the way trolling tactics did in open water, creating more versatile anglers along the way.
CHUBBY 101
The root of these particular lures' effectiveness seems to be their distinct flash and vibration. They're capable of drawing fish from a significant distance into the cone angle of your Vexilar. Nothing beats this type of presentation for finding fish. Any fish in the vicinity knows about your bait. They come a-runnin'.
Even if the fish choose not to bite right away, you still know you've found fish if they suddenly appear on your sonar, and that's a big step to eventually catching them. You can break down quadrants of water in a hurry -- you're not only moving from hole to hole, you're also pulling fish into your position from farther away, dramatically increasing the amount of water you're covering.
Sonar is a crucial piece of this presentation. Any sonar units work for ice fishing, although Vexilar's FL-18 or FL-8 flashers are currently the most popular and best for telegraphing the mood of the fish. When a fish moves, the signal elicits a telltale flutter. Knowing when the fish moves, stops, or fans its pectoral fins to tilt and examine your bait is crucial to providing the mental picture needed to play this game. The only other alternative is an underwater camera, but the lowlight conditions typical of walleye fishing, or a cord potentially getting in the way of a nice fish, often limits the use of a camera. Looking down the hole to see how your lure acts and moves is also recommended for any angler using these lures for the first time.
In my experience, you have to move the Chubby Darter to catch fish with it, most of the time. That's not to say traditional pauses and stops (which work so well with other swimbaits) don't work, as most of the fish still seem to hit at the bottom of the jigging stroke. The lure shoots forward when snapped up and wobbles on the drop. A short, hard snap actually makes this bait shoot in an "S," up and away. This particular move seems to produce optimum flash off the lure.
