Chibitarel
The Chibitarel, or Gantarel Jr for the nostalgic, is a small hard swimbait in the shape of a North American crappie. In France, it's mainly used on sun perch, as well as carpeau, rotangle and even small black bass.
This last resemblance makes it particularly interesting for pike fishing, in places where black-bass are also present. In fact, small black bass, because they don't move very much, are prized prey for pike.
Triple hooks are mounted on rolling swivels, to accompany the fish during the fight, and limit the stresses that can help it unhook.
These same hooks are fitted with feathers, which serve two purposes. The first is visual appeal and the second is to make the hook more mobile when sucking in a fish.
This system is very good and shows Jackall's determination to build an optimized lure. However, if you want to replace the treble hooks with single hooks, they end up in an indeterminate position, so it's not optimal, but not impossible.
Hard fins on each side help to keep the lure stable as it swims.
Last but not least, the tail is hard, which is appreciated for its longevity, as it is not made of elastomer-type plastic, which can tear. The tail has a ring to give free rein to the angler's imagination, who can attach feathers or a paddle.
Use
As mentioned above, the Chibitarel matches the proportions of a sun perch, carpeau or rotengle. As a result, it is neither too small nor too big a prey for pike or black-bass, the two main targets in France. It is particularly interesting to use at the start of the season and in midsummer, as it adapts to the size of the prey of these two predators.
Chibitarel or Chibitarel Deadrise?
The Chibitarel and Chibitarel Deadrise are aesthetically identical, but don't serve the same purpose.
The Chibitarel's swimming action is much better than that of the Deadrise version. As a result, the Chibirarel is a hard swimbait that is useful for prospecting medium to large areas, casting back.
However, if you want your lure to imitate a wounded or diseased fish in a specific spot, you'd better go for the Deadrise version .
Even if they both have the same name, their use diverges and it's not inconsistent to have one of each, in order to respond to the mood of the fish, to adapt to the type of prospecting desired and to the positions.
My opinion
Even though the name is changing, it's a pleasure to see the Gantarel Jr reappear. The lure's finish is excellent, its only concern being that its name change is accompanied by a price change, from ?37.90 in 2019 to ?69.90 in 2024.
It's a lure I particularly like and recommend for black-bass fishing. We can only hope that the larger 16-centimeter version will also return to the shelves.
