Slip Bobbers
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If you're not familiar with a slip bobber you're missing one of the most effective fishing techniques for suspended fish. A slip bobber allows you to suspend your bait above the lake or river bottom at any depth you desire. This is especially useful in the summer months when fish, like trout, tend to suspend anywhere from 20 to 40 feet deep. Most of us when we were just learning to fish someone clipped a little red and white round bobber onto the end of our lines 2-4 feet above our bait and told us to watch the bobber and when it goes down set the hook. Well that's good if the fish are 2-4 feet deep but if they are deeper the clip bobber is not very practicle. With a slip bobber the bobber (float) slides up and down the line, getting close to the bait for easy casting then sliding up the line to the predetermined depth set by the bobber stop. To use a slip bobber first but on a bobber stop. I prefer the string bobber stopper that comes pretied around a plastic tube. Run your line through the tube to the predetermined depth. An arms length is about 3 feet. Slide the knot off the tube and onto the line in the direction of the rod. Tighten the knot onto the line by pulling the two tag ends then discard the plastic tube and clip off the tag ends of the knot. Next, run your line through the small bead that comes with the bobber stop (the reason for the bead will be explained later). Then run your line through the bobber; next run your line through a barrel weight (1/8th to 1/4 ounce is usually adequate). Tie on a snap sweivel then clip on the snelled hook. You don't have to use a snelled hook but I like it because it's easier to change. I use a #8 gold hook for trout and a #4 barbed hook for bait like a worm or minnow. Once you're set up, wind up your line and the bobber stopper will roll onto your spool and the bobber will slide down the line toward the bait. Cast the bobber and bait out into the water. The bait and weight should pull the line through the bobber until it hits the bobber stopper and your bait will be suspended at the depth you determined; however, if the bobber does not stand straight up or if the bead is not sitting right on top of the bobber then you've over estimated the depth of the water and your bait is laying on the bottom. In this event, wind in your bait and shorten the depth of your bobber by sliding the bobber stopper closer to the bait. |