whats your favorite panfish rig??

[cal okeefe]

i have been using a small mitchell reel and a ultra light berkley tactix rod.. like many of you i have many poles but i allways pick this one for some reason.. i have alot more expensive setups but they are collecting dust. ( st croix-allstar)

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

What if you dull the ends with some sanding. Not enough to break through into the inner chamber, but enough to dull the point. Then a quick wipe with alcohol and finally some varnish.

[JBplusThuy]

I just ordered 10 of the 7" floats for $1.80 each. Longer sizes are much more costly, but these are pretty reasonable. Can't wait to try them out!

[Leo Nguyen]

That's so cool! Let us know how it turns out! I bought a few of the pen floats from Bass Pro Shop earlier, mimicking the same pen float by Thill. Will let you know how they work out after next weekends as I hunt for the carps and basses near the tules weed lines.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

I got some plastic wagglers last season that do the job for a tenth of the cost. I have even modified them to my liking. I want to try some of the quills, but shipping on just a few makes them prohibitive.

[Leo Nguyen]

David, the dimension of the quill can be matched, with the same floating capacity and detection, can be whittled out of bamboo chopstick, or better yet, arts and crafts pine sticks for picture frames shimmy. What we want is an extremely small water profile, while the density of body create a buoyancy to support itself, and the total rig's gravitational weight (including water effect upon the rig). Pine is the best way to go. Must seal the pine's wood pores with varnish or gloss.

[JBplusThuy]

My quill floats arrived today. Won't be able to field test them for a bit, but the quality looks good. Very straight and uniform in size.

Jonathan

[Leo Nguyen]

Ooooo..nice! Do a bucket/swimming pool test and post the finding!

[Vic Tankersley]

If you cannot find Quill floats you can find them on ebay but they may come from europe or austrailia, but they can be had. Good luck

[Leo Nguyen]

Quill floats can be purchased by the local fly makers. I have a few veterans of fly fishing who love to tie flies. They have a few quills in their arsenals. The were willing to make some for anyone who request them, but at a costly price since the quills can be hard to obtain in this region. Vic, you're correct about the quills come more from Euro, since quill users are abundant over there, as well as resources.

[Dwayne Denison]

Barlows tackle has them, I think this is what you are talking about.

 

http://www.barlowstackle.com/Porcupine-Quill-Bobbers-Floats-QPQ1-P2...

[cal okeefe]

so how do these quill bobbers work.. how much of the 7 inches sticks out of the water.. they have a wire eye on the end do you use them like a slip bobber with a bobber stop or do you tie directly to the eye on the bottom.. never used one

[Leo Nguyen]

Think of the quill float as a stick/pencil bobber. Same design like every other bobber, BUT, the unique about the quill is the profile. It's the smallest bobber for its class. Finicky fishes will see the overcasting shadow of the bobber, and they will split from the scene. Quill bobber design in mind is to minimize the overcasting shadow, and prevent the spooking of the fishes. The top has a small rubber band to create that horizontal untouched bait presentation, and a standing up for a hookset. The bottom eye or swivel will be for the direct tie to the leader, or can be set as a sliding bobber rig without tying directly to the bottom eye/swivel. Either the quill or the pencil bobber will not spook the fish, since they both resemble an overhead floating branch of some sort. Larger oval bobber will spook the larger fishes since they are somewhat more experienced. Go figure.