ULTRA LIGHT SLIP BOBBER SETUP

So this is my ultralight bobber setup for bluegill fishing is composed of Eagle Claw PowerLight five foot IM7 graphite rod (very sensitive) Pflueger ultralight reel, 4 pound monofilament, Eagle Claw octopus lazer sharp hook size number 8 and thill slip bobber . I was pretty happy with the set up until I started catching about the tenth fish in yesterdays outing. Something was seriously lacking. there was no bluegill violent head shake that I could notice on the rod it was like I was fighting spongebob. I could feel no solid hookset. When I originally put this set up together I thought I didn't need braid on this setup because you don't need the sensitivity. But you need the braid on there to experience the full fight potential of the bluegill. Solution I stripped about 70 feet of 6 pound braid off of one my ultralight setups and spooled it on top of the mono filament existing in the ultralight bobber setup. Big difference night and day! I could now feel every head shake of that bluegill. Not only do you need braid on your setups for sensitivity you need it to experience the full fighting potential of a bluegill.

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Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on August 25, 2014 at 2:25pm: I think the same way, Big Jim. The least weight needed.
Johnny Wilkins shared much of his knowledge a few years back, and then kinda disappeared. I'm glad to see him back. But you summed it up pretty well.

I use homemade popper floats for shallow water bluegill (since crappie ignore me completely, they don't count). These floats are really just the smallest cigar floats, cut in half. I slide them where I want them and peg them with the pointed end towards the hook. They weigh almost nothing and slide right on after a taking fish.
The broad, cut end then faces me and makes a dandy popping surface. I do this when fishing a tele pole and generally when 4' or less. Much deeper and I switch to a slip float.

Comment by jim cosgrove on August 25, 2014 at 2:16pm: for crappies in brush i use a small thill clip on stick bobber.just a hook with a minnow.the minnow struggles against the hook.the bobber mostly lies on its side if the bober tips up the minnow is running or the fish already has it.either way i am reeling up any slack and ready to set.i use small round bobbers in the wind with a jig as the waves and bobber jig it for you.i use the smallest one that will not sink.very little resistance.the euro thing became popular here in the 80s.i think americans were too diverse a group so they never took off.too many different fishing situations and we use boats alot more than the euros do.i am sure johnny wilkens can help you out with the whole balancing thing.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on August 25, 2014 at 1:15pm: Bobber fishing algorithms? Uh oh, Ken... You've gone over to the dark side!

Comment by Slip Sinker on August 25, 2014 at 1:00pm: does anyone know the two major flaws with this setup which is used 99.9 percent of all bobber presentations?

Comment by Slip Sinker on August 25, 2014 at 12:57pm: So in Europe where bobber fishing technique is king their bobbers are rated by grams not how much the actual bobber weighs but it is the ideal weight of shot to add to the bobber to fish optimally. Too little shot and the fish has to pull mightily against the forces to keep it afloat (stolen bait) too much weight it becomes too sensitive. Here in America we use a split shot sizing algorithm that really doesn’t make sense. The bobbers you buy here in America have no gram identification on them at all. It is trial and error at best. The one thing we have going is the indicator color line on the bobber itself… add enough shot to get the color line at the water line you are in the game. The bobber I was using yesterday I select to the red indicator line because of the reflection of the clouds on the water and the light bite. If I saw red disappear or saw any chartreuse or white (fish rising in the column) I set the hook. This bobber I have used to fish down to about 20 ft. the chartreuse Dacron I use as an indicator. Highly visible if it falls short of the bobber I’m hung up or too shallow. I can see this easily at a distance of a long cast. What is funny ive seen bluegill smack this stopper while traveling to the bobber. lol

split shot conversion chart...

Comment by Tony Livingston on August 25, 2014 at 4:25am: I use pre tied knots for convenience, but I refuse to use the plastic beads, as well as slip floats with plastic beads in the tube.....way too many instances of the line sliding through the plastic and cutting a groove, resulting in my bait hanging up and not dropping to depth.

But, I use a LOT smaller weight than what Ken shows in his photo. Maybe this is one reason I dropped the Nano? I keep one rod configured for slip floating all of the time, and make my own slip floats with glass beads in the tube rather than plastic or metal grommets. Very smooth line feed with minimal weight.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on August 25, 2014 at 2:53am: I use both the store bought and the self-tied.
I first learned to tie my own, then discovered the pre-rigged ones.
Like you, my standard kit includes a small spool of colored mono for tying them in the field. I mY tinker with pre-tying them on cocktail straws, just for the fun of it.

Comment by Slip Sinker on August 24, 2014 at 11:27pm: thanks McScruff... buying those little knots can be expensive

Comment by Slip Sinker on August 24, 2014 at 10:16pm: i tie my own right in the field without the tubes ... i just make sure i carry my spool with me when slip bobber fishing. in a pinch i have used heavy braid off of one of my reels instead of the Dacron.

Comment by carl hendrix on August 24, 2014 at 7:47pm: yep;; I tie my own to david!! I get those little straws from convience stores; where the coffe is!!