When hooking a steelhead on drift gear or on spoons and spinners it is usuall a 90% chance I will land the fish. I have noticed when jig and bobber fishing, I lose about 50% of the fish I hook-up on. Does the bobber moving around in the water make it easier for them to throw the hook or is it just me. Anyone ever notice anything like this.

With the extra line and drag of the float you are probably not setting the hook deep enough

[ 10-26-2001: Message edited by: rainycity ]

like said before, your probably not getting the hook set in deep enough. i saw a prime example of this, this last weekend. i've really gotten into fishing bobbers, but my dad was fishing with me and rarely uses a bobber. i hooked and landed almost every fish i had a bobber down on, but my dad lost over 1/2 the fish he had on. this is very unusual for him. it was directly due to the hook sets! if you have lots of line on the water, it makes it kind of hard to set the hook. now your not supposed to have any line on the water but, many times it can't be helped. i gave him a couple of tips that helped. if you have a lot of line on teh water and a fish hits, use the line as an extension of the rod, and use it to help set the hook. the other tip i told him was, to think of it as a spring salmon bite, kind of let them take it while reeling up the slack and then hammer it home, with a mondo hookset! the tips worked, because after he watched me he figured it out and his landing ratio increased quite dramaticly. hope this helps ya.

When you set your hooks while bobber fishing, do you set the hook until the drag kicks in or do you put your thumb on top of the spool and then set the hook. Normally I do not put my thumb on top of the spool, but I do tend to set my drag a little on the light side in case my leader has been nicked. I use a 10.5 foot pole for jig and bobber so there is not much line in the water, usually, to take up unless I have had to make long cast.

Trying to keep as much line out of the water is the key when Bobber fishing.A lot of times when extending the drift this is unavoidable,
Normally the fish hooks them selves , as soon as I catch up the fish, I give him another good hook-set.
I tend to fish my drag a little on the tight side,I allow my rod to compensate,and if he's taking line then I know he's a healthy one.
Keep those hooks sharp......Os

One of the main reasons that a 10 1/2" rod is used in bobber fishing is to have a better opportunity to keep as much line as possible out of the water during the drift. Then during the hookset, your are not lifting the line out of the water, but sending the hook home, with power and quickly.

If you have a rod and reel dedicated to float fishing I would highly recommend using a super thin braided line over monofilament.I have been using 30# Power Pro for the last few years for float fishing for salmon and steelies and have had great success with it.The line has less than 3% stretch factor,so when you swing on fish that hook gets buried.It also lets you run a lighter,longer rod for protecting light leaders but allows you to use largers hooks and still get great penetration on the hookset.Another great attribute is that the line floats on the surface so that you can actually mend the line as you would a flyline for great line control.All these factors help in landing more fish when float fishing.Hope this helps.

GOOD POINT, RR, i forgot all about that, the other difference between my dad's rod and my rod was i was using fireline and he had maxima on. big difference here. float fishing i would say a big help would be adding some kind of a super braid to your reel, it really does make a BIG difference!

Its also a good idea if your useing mono to wax your line so it floats its hard to get a good hookset if the line that is on the water is under the water.Reg candle wax works fine or you can get the stuff fly fisherman use,I don't remeber the name right now but the line that is in the water needs to float not sink !!
Bob

I'm glad someone brought this up. How do you select the right size bobber? Has anyone used the weighted bobbers? It seems that wouls help when using the mono line.

I think it's called mucalin, dawhunt. Don't know if it's spelled right though.

Since all the expert bobber fishermen are here, do you prefer a baitcasting rod or a spinning rod for float fishing? I was thinking about getting a long rod for float fishing.

~ Dr Pepper

I would like a long spin rod so bad for jig fishing. I think that's ideal. Have you tried casting a bobber/jig with a baitcaster? Stew suggested I use a little lead along with the jig/bobber on my baitcaster, but I'd still prefer the spin rod.

I use a spinning rod when bobber fishing, especially in smaller rivers when making shorter more precise casts.

10 1/2 ft rod and a spinning reel is the very best setup for float and jig fishing, for all the reasons mentioned before. Better line control and faster pick-up. One other point, which I am sure you already know, but which no body has mentioned yet, make sure your jig hooks a extra sharp! that is key to getting solid hook sets.

Some really good points so far on this thread! Keeping the line off off the water with mono is a product called muclin (I think I spelled that right), and it is a fly fisherman's product as indicated. Also, Os recommended to me silent approach jigs, of which I just received. They are beautiful (if I was a fish, I'd eat that!) the hooks stick, I mean STICK, in your thumbnail, and the hooks are not lightweight. Thanks Os!! The test will be in the morning. I also agree with with what what someone else said (who? beer fart) about the braided line staying off of the water because it floats, it is a basic fly fishing principle. Will it all work? Don't know. Can I brag in the AM and spew my guts on where I was to see how many people on the board I can pi$$ off??? Doubt it, I'm going to the Cowlitz, with how many others? :p

I fish a 10 1/2 foot rod for Jig and bobber fishing.
Heck I', looking into building something closer to 12-13.
I prefer a spinning reel for most of bobber fishing.
I normally don't add weight,and using a fixed bobber trying to cast a riggin thats hanging 9-10 ' is real tough with a bait caster.

"steel" I'm glad you liked the jigs,wait till the fish see um ....Os

Run a sliding float O's, and you won't have to try and cast 8 foot of anything. I run a 3 foot leader with staggered shot, up to a #7 Rosco swivel. Place a bead at the swivel, chunk of 1/4" lead hollow core, another bead, the float, a bead, then a bobber stop. You can adjust your depth on the fly, and it works like a dream. Get that float set up so it's almost neutrally bouyant, and all a fish has to do is breath on it, and it will bury.

As for rods and reels, I'll take the baitcaster any day. You can thumb line, and drop it in a pop can with a little practice. It's easy to set your spool tension, and keep the float tilted upstream, or dead drift it for wary fish, and have an almost drag free drift like a center pin. Baitcasting reels allow me to apply pressure periodically throughout my drift, without having loops of line come off, like they do on a spinning reel. A Shimano Castaic is a great float reel, as it has a thumb applied "flippin" button that engages the reel instantly at hook set without turning the reel handle.

I'll stick with mucilin coated super lines for running floats. With the sliding rig, you won't lose many floats, and worse case scenario, you replace the hook , staggered shot and leader. The superlines work real well in very cold weather, and don't ice up terribly bad and freeze your reel up.

This set up works pretty well around here, and worked darn good in Washington on cohos a few weeks ago. I wonder if the locals from Sedro Wooley ever figured out that I was running a sliding float and clear float stop. They weren't catching too many fish on 2 foot fixed floats in a 8 foot deep hole.


Hey O's, sorry about your ViQueens rump whippin yesterday. At least my Saints didn't roll over on their backs at half time and quit. Peace

Thanks for the input Hawk,
But I tend to fish my jigs very aggresively,so I need to steer them sometimes,and with a slider it pulls the jig out of the....strike zone.

when I fish a slider for tide water fish and springers I'll fish my bait-caster,just because of the reason you mentioned.

nice going Saints........viks are sooo sad....Os

Thanks everyone for the good tips, I love bobber fishing when I find a good section of water for it. Usually tie my bobbers fixed. Have tried using a rubber band for a float stop but it usually does not make it more then a few casts through the eyes of the rod. Is there something else that can be used for a float stop in pools that would require a leader longer then a fixed float can accommodate.

Hey Lead Thrower. Just buy some bobber stops. You can get them through Cabelas or my friends at Teds. They are just a small nail knot tied to a straw tube. Slide them on your main line and you are set. I usually use two of them, so if one gets trashed, you have another one already on your line. If you use the same reel to drift fish with, just slide it up your line, and it's out of your way until you need it. Good Luck

LT, I tie a blood knot using dacron line as a bobber stop. I then put a corky between the dacron and bobber. One tip, after tying the blood knot, trim each end down to about 1/8" so you can tighten the knot when needed. I have never had a problem with this knot going through the guides and they last nearly all day.

[ 10-29-2001: Message edited by: ritefish ]

I have to agree with the guys that fish the longer rods when fishing floats(bobbers are for kids!)I never fish a float rod shorter than 10.5', preffering my 12' stick. I also agree with RR about using braided line...no stretch on the hookset and you can mend the braid better than mono. I'm always holdin back on my float once it is below me so my line is almost always direct to the float. When your float goes under it should load you rod up if you are getting the proper drift.

BTW, i hooked my first jig caught Steelhead -(Silent Approach jigs)- the other day. For anyone that hasn't seen these jigs, check them out...they're sweet. www.silentapproach.com

Lead Thrower, dont waste time and energy, on sliding floats, there are really very few river situations that call for a sliding float, and I would venture to say zero situations for steelhead, and just a handfull for salmon, as Osprey put it, maybe for lower river Springers, but thats about it.
you will be much happier fishing a fixed float on a long float rod. I fish jigs much like Osprey does, very aggresively and often "tail" or hold back a bit on my float to get the jig to swing into a particular piece of holding water, with a sliding float this is impossible.
when the float dissapears I reel as fast as possible,until I feel a little tension, and then set the hook, as hard as possible, followed by several more fast cranks of the handle, followed by a second hard, downstream hookset, the rest is up to the fish. dont be afraid of setting too hard, it isn't possible with long float rods, you arent actually setting as hard as you think.
bury that sucker! good skill, and stay with it, you'll soon be landing more steelies than you though possible.

Fuzzy

Silent Approach Jigs

Long rods are definitly the key to fishing floats and jigs properly. If the fish you are losing are coming unhooked a little trick I use is pinching the barbs on the jig hooks, either halfway down to the shank or all the way down. Half way down will still give you some barb to work with if you are concerned about not having a barb. I've found that you will land more fish without a barb then you will if you keep the barb on the hook due to the better penetration you'll get with the hookset. I keep my drag really tight while I'm fishing so the drag will not slip on the set then loosen it after the fish is hooked and fight the fish on a fairly loose drag. You are always going to loose some fish, but with a jig and float setup you should be landing 75+% of the fish you hook.

I'm with Os on keeping as much of your line out of the water. I recently switched to Fireline and with little or no slack and no mono stretch you can really drive that hook home. Of course Os uses those little red/white plastic bobbers

Fuzzy I don't see how you can say that fishing a fixed float is better than a slider. I fish for steelhead in 3 ft of water and in 15 ft. All within a couple of casts. And then in a 5 ft. run, next a bit shallower, then again in 10 ft., etc. How can a fixed float compare???

Gotta go with Os and Fuzzy here Jack. I'll take fixed anyday! With my 10 foot TH rod and Stradic reel I can fish the deepest of holes effectively. There is a popular salmon hole on the Wilson that is very deep and I can fish it with my fixed bobber with no problem.

Fuzzy, I gotta pick a fight. Tell me how to run a 10 ft plus rod on a brush infested river and toss 8 feet of line twenty yards next to wood sweepers, without hanging up your gear. Load up a sliding float, fish a three foot leader and stagger your shot on the leader. Gradual stagger for slow, and rapid stagger for fast water.

I'd put a slider against a fixed float in that scenario every time. You can also dance a jig through slow frog water without horsing up your drift. Most of it depends on how you weight your float. We get lots of fish, where the float just wiggles, hitches, or rises a 1/4 or 1/2 inch on the surface of the water. Like a crappie bite.

There isn't a right or wrong way to do it, but I can walk a long stretch of water, adjust to different depths a lot quicker with a slider than I can with a fixed float. To me, it's all about time spent in the water fishing. More time in the water, more fish. You can run a modifed rig with a bead an bobber stop below your float, if you fish a chunk of water where you want to lean back on the float. That way, you can go form a sliding set up to a fixed set up, by adjusting the lower bobber stop.

The aggressive approach on jigs works well where you are. I have fished out there, and it's pretty hard to boot a fish on a jig set up. If you fished here for these spooky pressured fish, and leaned on a float, you would just be watchin your float all day without a fish. These fish in 33 degree water want an absolute dead drifted jig, tied sparse (2 or 3) light hackle tips on a 1/32 or 1/64 jig. Maybe a maggot or calamari tentacle for odor in cold water. You may want to try it on your spooky summer fish. There are a couple guys out your way trying some of this stuff on summer runs, and they are cashing in on it.

Good luck, and good fishin. :p

Good point Hawk. There are many situations where a sliding bobber outfit will work better then a fixed one. My preference is for running a fixed float mainly because I fish smaller coast rivers where I don't fish deeper then 8-10 feet.

lead thrower- back to your original question of hook-up ratio. Over the past couple of years I've switched over to mainly float fishing for salmon and steelhead 90 percent of the time and have found my success ratio increase dramaticly. As mentioned above, using a long rod and keeping your slack line to a minimum will help you chances. The single thing that has helped me put more fish to the bank and boat while float fishing is swithcing over to Owner jig hooks. I started using these hooks last year and absolutely love them.

Mark

I like float fishing with either setup, depending on the water I'm fishing. Shallower steelhead fishing I prefer a fixed bobber and for 'nooks in deep holes I prefer a sliding bobber. I posted a week or so ago a way to get 2 different depth levels with a cork float on a single drift, to cover the shallower water at the upper end and the deeper water in the center of the hole. I'd repost it here but Os would make fun of it again.

Hawk for the situation you discribed,that would be the only way to fish it,
Like I said before I fish a fixed 95% of the time,this would be one of the 5% .

I fish my own design float,it's weighted , yet easily adjustable,just like a bobber stop,So I'm able to change depths as needed.

during summer times I fish as small a float as possible,and yet alot of times I've had summeruns,just tip the float over

My hook ratio is high,I can't remember the last time I lost a fish I hooked on my float rod,
I did notice that it helps to have more than 40 yards of line,when hooking into a big Native Steelie.......Os

Does the type of float matter, if you use those white floats with the orange paint on the top, can those spook the fish? I have heard people say to use the natural cork floats but have never seen these in the stores.

I beleive so.
I'm so anal about this ,heck I even camo paint some of my floats......a little over board huh?

what ever catches fish ....Os

Caught and released a very nice 8# hatchery brat this morning, with my float-n-jig set up. I tie my own jigs and had on a blood red one, with a sliding, charcoal colored foam float, weighted to netural boyancy. Went through the same drift 3 different times at 3 different depth adjustments before she hit, and that was the only one touched all morning. For the kind of water I fish, only a sliding float will do.
The most important thing to remember about any style of fishing, is that you use what's right for you. When you have confidence in your equipment, you'll catch fish. To each his own and tight lines!

Well put papa.

I prefer a fixed float, but that's just my preference because of my target water. That's not to say any one of you guys couldn't fish a slip float just as effectively. I just prefer a fixed float. Since I fish a Thill float, and prefer not to use extra weight when fishing jigs, I also use a spinning setup most of the time.

There's more than one way to skin a cat. Learn the right way to offer the presentation that suits you, and you're in bi'ness.

I guess I was a bit biased in my opinion on fixed floats, but I do what most of you suggest, and that is to fish with whatever works for me. there might be some certain situations that a slider might be effective, but for me, I havent found it on the rivers I fish. I target the bright, moving fish most of the time, and in the rivers I fish, that eliminates the 10 foot deep frog water holes, those places are where the darker fish usualy hang out. my fixed float system that I have come up with, allows for instant depth change,I can fish a 3 foot deep section thouroughly,and in an instant I can fish six foot depths and back again, with no hassle. just a pull on the float, and the depth is changed, but the float stays fixed and tight. it is weighted for extremely long casts if need be, and the weight can be adjusted (or removed completely) for any size jig, in two seconds, without re-tying. its sensitve, stealthy, and just plain beats anything I have ever seen or tried. there is only one knot, and thats to the jig, no leaders, swivels or anything else.
its also cheap, I can have three floats rigged and ready for the price of one thill. it involves modifying an already existing float style to one that is readily adaptable to any water condition.
I agree with the rest of you, figure out what works for you, and stick with it, confidence in your own abilities, and gear is whats important.

Fuzzy


Silent Approach Jigs

I prefer a baitcasting reel simply because I like fighting a fish on a baitcaster. I also always use slip bobbers. I fished with a fixed float for awhile and when I swithched to a slip float I found it much easier to adjust on the fly.
Waxing your line also gives you a much better drift and helps your hookup ratio. I found that a longer hookset, making sure all the slack is out is essential to hooking up with more fish. Make sure you reel down to the fish before you slam him.

I use a bait caster because it's easier to freespool, drag set light, thumb on the spool to set the hook, long rod[11' 4'']. I use both kinds of floats, fixed and slider, always with powerpro line. One technique[learned from REITERRAT]is to put another bobber stop below your slider so if you break off at your swivel your expensive isn't heading for the pacific.

Lead Thrower:

1. long rod----I use 10 and 10.5 ft., would like a longer one.

2. Slider dink float---made the change this past summer...make my own, have painted ones, green or red head. Green for early morning, red if many leaves on the water.

3. Good spinning reel---Shimano's are tough to beat. Like the number 200 best.

4. Use slinky for my weight, if needed, have hole at both ends, run line thur, go around slinky, 1-2 times, out the other hole. This allows you to "slide" the weight closer to the jig quickly. Pinch on weights scare me, they might put a nick in the line.

5. Keep as much line off the water as possible.

Never thought about the "fire Line" or "power Pro" but will sure give them a try.

"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"

This bobber fishing truly intrigues me. I have not tried this type of fishing. I was wondering if you can effectively bobberfish with a shorter rod. I have a 8.5 foot and a 9 foot but the lengths that I am seeing in the posts are longer. Also is there anyone willing to let me meet up with them so that I can watch your technique? I read quite well but find that observation of technique can reveal finer points. Anyway, I am really enjoying this thread and hope to learn more from it. (As an aside, right now I flyfish, baitfish (rarely) and use lures mostly. I am looking for a different and more effective way of fishing with standard gear and bobber fishing seems to have promise.) Thanks

Thomas: To answer your first question, yes, you can fish floats with an eight or nine foot rod--they're just not as effective as the longer rods. When I first got into float fishing, I just used my standard 8.5-foot drift rod. I learned the basics and caught a few fish--and realized I liked float fishing enough to invest in a longer rod. With a longer rod, you're able to keep more line off the water, which helps in achieving a drag-free drift. The longer rod also helps on the hookset, because it's able to pick up more slack line.

To answer your second question, I'd be glad to meet up with you on the river sometime and show you what I know (my skills are adequate, but nothing like some of the experts on this forum, I'm sure). I live on the eastside too, so we're in the same neighborhood. I'm currenly nursing a sore back, so I'm out of commission right now, but I plan on being healed up and ready to fish by the beginning of December--just in time for winter steelhead. If you want to try to meet up this winter, just drop me an e-mail.

Tillamook tidewater bobber fishing, Trask tidewater 11/3. Fishin' Mission scores in
the Asaltor.

Nanook, I'm curious what rods you and Fishin Mission are using for the big Tillamook tidewater fishing. I used to use a Lami Kenai Killer in 9' length and line rated 10 to 30 lb. I lost that rod out of my boat and have been using 8.5' 25 lb. rods in recent years, and am thinking about a 9.5' 30lb. rod. What do you guys recommend?

As for floats, I like the slidding larger Thill 'torpedo' shaped slidders for deep tidewater chinook holes. Up river in clear water I have watched bigger and/or brighter floats spook fish off to the side of the drifting float. I like to use the natural cork fixed floats in clear water up river.

Steve

[ 11-07-2001: Message edited by: RT i ]

I have a 10' TH custom rod rated 6-15 lb. This rod has a longer butt grip and will whip salmon up to 35lbs. My reel is the Shimano Stradic 4000 using 14 lb. Fireline. My cork preference is changing somewhat from cork to Thill steelheader floats and I fish it fixed because I rarely fish in water over 10 feet deep.These floats are easily "clipped" to your mailine and then held snugly with a rubbersleeve. I would say the only drawback might be that they are not able to handle a 1/4 ounce jig head with a shrimp tail or eggs without almost going under so I don't use any weight with them. When I do fish deeper water I can easily go to a sliding float because I usually carry two rods. What everyone is saying about longer rods is right! My next rod will be 10.5 feet at least! It's so important to have little or no slack in your line so when the bobber does go down you have a "direct" connection and the longer the rod the easier it is to keep your line mended off the water.I also use braided dacron line I can really bury the hook. Most jig hooked fish are upper mouth hooked and sometimes through the beak so you really have to put it to them and with the "no stretch" dacron (Fireline,PowerPro or Spiderline) line you can do just that.

I am confused about the fixed vs slider float discussion. As Hawk pointed out a few days ago, if you put both a top bobber stop knot AND a lower bobber stop knot you have the best of both worlds. Keep them both at the lowest possible position and you have a fixed set-up. To fish the bobber as a slider, simply slide the top knot up the line.

The discussion about the type of reel is also confusing. I fish a baitcaster and just add enough slinky weight to the snap-swivel to keep my bobber barely floating. That gives me enough weight to throw any distance I like and then I have all the advantages of a baitcasting reel (and there are many). In the summer I use exactly the same set-up, but lighten up on the leader diameter, reduce the jig size and adjust the length of leader to suit the conditions. The baitcaster works just fine all year around.

The point is that you need not throw light weights when bobber fishing with jigs, bait or one of RT's pink worms.

[ 11-07-2001: Message edited by: thumper ]

It's a matter of preference Jack what is so hard to understand about that? For holes that are 4-10 feet which comprises 90% of my jig fishing for steelhead I like the Fixed float with spinning rod and reel For tidewater bobber and eggs,deep salmon holes I will use a slider and baitcasting reel.I fish small streams
and this method WORKS FOR ME Your method
works for you so don't look down upon people if they fish differently from you.

Shane --- I don't look down upon anyone. I just think that this whole bobber/jig fishing thing has been made out to be much more complicated than it really is.

Well Jack it doesn't get much simpler that tying on a jig, setting your bobber for the depth you want and going for it. Nothing complicated about that! Only one knot you have to worry about.