Why slip bobber?

[Smellson]

With everyone talkin about slip bobber fishing I gotta ask. Why fish with slip-bobbers? Other than out on devils lake fishing around trees I have never used slip bobbers. What is the advantage to using slip bobbers. To me it seems like it would be difficult to keep the bait consitently near the bottom unless you were fishing a pretty flat consistent depth. How does everyone fish a slip bobber? Do ya'll just anchor and cast or use em drifting? What am I missin here!?

[slabchaser]

i love slip bobbers because they are so constant. Its great for picking off a school of fish. It is very hard to use as a locator though. Ive noticed that your bait just needs to be within a few feet of the bottom. i always pay attention to my depth finder if im moving and somtimes that sudden drop towards the bottom can trigger the strike. great tool in the right situation.

[gregg52]

they are very good for fishing rocks weeds anything really

sometimes work good on a slow bite puttin bait right in front of the fish for an extended time

you could use trolling very slow throwing them ahead of you till you find what you lookin for weather it be crappies sunfish waleyes etc etc

i personally use them in certain situations like

finding shallow reefs that come out of deep water

or small pieces of structure that can be hard to troll and keep the bait in front of the fish

wind on such structure is great for using bobbers

i just use 6lb xt green with a plain hook and just a split shot about 18 inches above it

or a a small 1/8 ounce jig or some kind of tear drop type of hook

leechs or minnows

also alot at night very good way to catch walleyes

[MidCoast]

Slip bobber is definitely not good in windy conditions in my opinion.

[irishjigs]

I use slip bobbers because I don't feel like casting 6-10 feet of line. With the slip bobber set-up you can reel right up to the bobber and cast with ease.

[gregg52]

actually unless fishing at night the only time i would bobber fish is if the wind is blowing

the wind is what turns those fish on specially on shallow reefs and humps or points

if theres no cover for then they will still deep and not be as active

you need to be set up for wind the right anchors bobbors etc etc

buts in very good presentayion for walleyes

WIND...ROCKS...WALLEYES.. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BOBBERS

[slabchaser]

if it gets windy use the very large balsa wood bobbers

[firefish_12]

if you never tried a light-up slip bobber for walleyes or crappies dude you're so missing out

[EyeGuide]

Well, almost every tourney on Mille Lacs is won with bobbers so whether you believe in em or not they flat out work regardless of the wind speed.

[schr0563]

You guys make it sound like floating a bobber on the lake will automatically bring in walleyes. Let's assume you have never fished Mille Lacs but want to try it out. Do you bobber fish in 30 or 10 feet of water? Top of a break or bottom? Rocks, sand, or weeds?

More emphasis needs to be made that bobbers are ideal at targeting specific locations that you KNOW are holding fish. Pick the wrong spot and you will catch nothing. Trolling and drifting are your search tools for finding these spots. If you're venturing out to a new spot being mobile will be the key to your success until you figure out the patterns.

[Mallard1]

Back to the question. Most guys will anchor while bobber fishing. We have drifted a flat that the depth was the same for a ways, keeping bait at the right depth. you can try either. Known early season spots for the fish to feed on at sundown attract slip bobbers, we have tried different spots at different times of day, when the fish are on it can be alot of fun.

[gregg52]

yes you need to try to understand structure

i very seldom drift i'll look for fish before i do that for the most part thats a waste of time theres an old saying 10% of the lake holds the majority of the fish

i see people drifting catching the fish in the samme spot then keep drifing pull up their sock go runn all the back then start drifting to the same spot

if you are on the flats the edges down the sides out alittle ways from the bottom of the flat that 32 -35 feet of water will hold big fish

if i'm going to fish say indian point i would find a spot on there that comes up alittle like if its runnin 7ft and i come to 6ft hump on it thats where i would fish or go out to where it drops into to deep water find the point it comes up to its shallower spot something different on the rocks sand or mud is where the fish will be

i'm up at winnie right right now going to head out to bobber fish on a spot the wind is blowing into pretty hard right now as it lays down the cover of night will help the fish bite (hey that rymned lol)maybe i should right a song lol

i'm not sure every tourment on mille lacs is won bobber fishing

i fished quite a few over there and none of those were won with bobbers i'm not saying that some havnt though its a very good presentaion

u can move around to with out even pickin up the anchor

switch it from side to side let more rope out etc etc

i carry 2 anchors both have close to 150ft of rope on them

[jay83196]

So you would toss a slip bob off the flat into the deeper edges say 10-20yds off the flat itself not the edge where its transitioning but where its deepest next to the flat? How far off bottom do you present your bait? How long do you stay in a spot with no action before you would move?

[ranger20]

i keep mine 6inches off the bt,i will sit any where from 45-60 min if nothing i will troll untill i find some and them set up shop right above them and toss bobs and go from there

[iceman16]

i do the same as ranger20. if i am drifting and catch fish in the same spot i will set up shop and give the bobber a shot. if that doesnt work go back and try and find another school of fish and set up on top of then.

iceman

[Tim_Anderson]

The slip bobber can be a pretty deadly technique in many different types of scenarios.

Mille Lacs is a classic example. Known for it's famed "flats" and rock piles, it's a great technique when you've located fish. Anchor up and fish right close to the boat. I usually like to cover the top edges of the flats, and sometimes all over the entire top. Some chop helps to jig the bait (usually a leech for me) right in front of them or slightly above, and they find this hard to resist.

As mentioned earlier, it's also a great technique for flooded timber as it keeps your presentation vertical when a horizontal presentation produces nothing but snags.

I also love to use them in river pools. When the pools, eddy's or back-currents are loaded with fish, it's absolutely deadly for great multi-species action.

And it's easy and relaxing. When the bite is on, most people find this to be fun. And when it's not, just keep moving. This is a great technique, not only for the serious angler, but also for the more laid back, family type outings.

Who doesn't like to see their bobber going down?

[gregg52]

bobber fished on winnie sat \

set up on the end of reef that was 10 ft droped just bout staight into 30ft light chop the fish turned on for 45 mins we caught 7 all to big 19 to 25

not sure if they just quit..i think that was the case

or if it was cuz the wind laid down to almot glass flat

which could certainly shut them off but it is lots of fun

to watch that bobber go down if any bodys interested i use to bobber fish the south side of shermans pt(landing side) this time of yr the til the ban went off in bout 6-7fow and usally did ok

with this cool weather i have to believe it would still be good

[Fever]

On Mille Lacs during daylight hours we will drift or troll using jigs and lindy's marking bites and continuing to look for the active fish. During the waining hours 8-10pm (look at sun set and hold your index and middle finger parallel to the horizon) when the sun is that close to setting get your lighted bobber set up, get your rear end to the shallow flats (16-12 fow) and set your leech up about 12 inches off bottom and flip it out... This is a fantastic way to spend the last few hours of a day on Mille lacs and I have always found it to be effective. I won't give the area away but you should look for shallow rock and gravel, and if possble find a transition area from soft to hard bottom. Walleyes tend to use these transition areas like highways. The evening hours just turn them on. And watching your red lighted bobber slowly dissappear again and again while you set your beverage down and get ready to set the hook is somehthing quite special.

[BigWadeS]

why slip bobber .... because it works and a little chop to drift them down as your anchored works well on the rocky reefs