Techniques for beating the murky water at SARL and Corona...(w/ pics and video!)

[Redside]

I too, tried a slip bobber from shore at SARL last Sat. night. I made my own bobber stops from dental floss, I used the Reach woven type. Make sure you get enough wraps, so it doesn't slide through the bead. I found it worked pretty well, it was very small and cast without hanging up in the rod guides. Try to find a bead with the smallest possible hole.

[sapdawg11]

Okay, so I finally had a chance to try out the slip bobber. As a result I have a few questions. I was fishing from shore and the current was coming in so when I tried not casting far but just letting line out it did not work. Then I tried casting far out and the line did get fouled up at least half the time. So what can you do under these circumstances? Seems like the slip bobber is much better in open water than from the bank.

My slip bobber, the style on the left in your initial post picture, did not stand up perfectly straight. It seemed like the bead weighed enough that it tilted it slightly. Did not seem to be a problem but would prefer it to stand straight - so maybe my bead was too big or did?

There were 2 slip knots in the package with 2 bobbers. It seems like one will need a lot more slip knots than bobbers so can you purchase slip knots separately? Any way to reuse the tube that the thread is on?

I was generally pleased with how my first try with a slip bobber went even though didn't catch any fish with it. Any further advice is much appreciated!

Awesome questions. Really glad you brought them up...

I was fishing from shore and the current was coming in so when I tried not casting far but just letting line out it did not work. Then I tried casting far out and the line did get fouled up at least half the time. So what can you do under these circumstances? Seems like the slip bobber is much better in open water than from the bank.

Bobbers will almost always be "easier" to use from a boat. I put easier in quotes as it is a relative term. To use a bobber (either conventional or slip) from shore or a boat, you HAVE to consider drift direction. This is pretty easy to figure out...simply watch a leaf (or any other object) float by on the water and note its direction.

From a boat, drift direction doesn't matter as much in terms of getting your gear out. Simply drop it in the water and let it go where it wants to go. However, to do this right requires anchoring the boat correctly so that you can have as many lines out as possible without having them bundle up. Typically you try to set the boat so that its axis is perpendicular to the drift direction.

Shore fishing, as you noticed, is entirely different. Your position is set and you have only a small window in front of you that you really want to be fishing. But to fish it, just like fishing from a boat, you have to consider drift. And to consider drift, you have to pick a spot along the shoreline where the drift will work for you. In other words, the drift direction needs to be moving away from you. Thus, if you want to fish the bobbers from the shore, you have to pick an appropriate spot to do so. Fishing from a point is a great advantage as it takes the "window" you want to be fishing and widens it substantially.

My slip bobber, the style on the left in your initial post picture, did not stand up perfectly straight. It seemed like the bead weighed enough that it tilted it slightly. Did not seem to be a problem but would prefer it to stand straight - so maybe my bead was too big or did?

Nope, you had it right. The slight angle is due to the drift of your bait pulling on the bobber. If when you saw the bobber dipped at an angle you flipped the bail on your reel to let line out, the bobber should have then stood straight up. The only problem comes when the bobber is lying completely on its side. Sometimes this isn't so much of a problem...such as when a fish comes up through your bait rather than taking your bobber down with it!

There were 2 slip knots in the package with 2 bobbers. It seems like one will need a lot more slip knots than bobbers so can you purchase slip knots separately? Any way to reuse the tube that the thread is on?

Stop knots can be purchased from a slew of retailers or you can make them yourself! Someone mentioned using dental floss and that works great. The knot is actually really easy to tie and if you've lost your clear tubing, you can tie them around a standard coffee/drinking straw. I found this quick video that will show you how the knot is tied...


Again, great questions! Hope this answers them. Let me know if this didn't and I'll try again!

[Jake'sDad]

Thanks for the thorough answers to my questions and the video - will have to do some shopping for slip knots as my knot tying abilities are pretty poor.

[Josh]

one thing you may want to try for the slip bobbers are some carolina keepers, I know they sell them at SARL. All you need is a pair of pliers to squeeze them open enough to slide up and down your line.

[Jake'sDad]

one thing you may want to try for the slip bobbers are some carolina keepers, I know they sell them at SARL. All you need is a pair of pliers to squeeze them open enough to slide up and down your line.

The carolina keepers are too big to go thru the rod guides so you only have about 6 feet of line you can work with. But I do like them for fishing the c rig setup for trout.

[Josh]

The carolina keepers are too big to go thru the rod guides so you only have about 6 feet of line you can work with. But I do like them for fishing the c rig setup for trout.

Yeah didn't think about that. I do like the keepers as well, much more manageable.

[Trout-Chaser]

Sapdawg, you are the absolute master of making something muddy absolutely clear! This post and your other on trout worms have been of great value to me!
Thanks a heap!
TC