When planning a day out at the waters, you also plan on having fun fishing. The key to making great catches is to have a solid line and pole that balances weight, visibility, and control.
A bobber is quite vital on your angling trip, especially if you don’t want to hook yourself if you do not cast the reel properly. So How do you put it on a fishing pole?
To put your bobber on a fishing pole, determine how far you want the bait to go into the water. For instance, if you want it to go four feet, your bobber should be three feet above the bait. Then press the plastic on top of your bobber to attach it. It will release a tiny clip beneath. When it does, thread your line and release.
This article talks about everything you need to know about a bobber and how to put it on a fishing pole
What Is a Bobber?
A bobber is a piece of equipment usually attached to a fishing line for various reasons. It suspends baits at predetermined depths, serves as a bite indicator, and carries bait to almost inaccessible areas because of its buoyancy (it floats a bit further than we can throw).
Experienced anglers use bobbers to keep their bait at preferred depths, while newbies use bobbers for reference and indicators for when fish bite on the bait.
Fishing bobbers come in a variety of styles, sizes, and colors. The common examples of bobbers include Avon floats, bubble floats, Dink floats, popper floats, quills, self-cocking floats, stick floats, wagglers, and floats with directional control.
Some bobbers rattle when you hook fish. Bobbers come in bright colors to make it easy to focus on them.
Bobbers have forms like round, cylinder-shaped, hollow in the middle (slip), popping, and oblong. The most common materials that make bobbers include balsa wood, styrofoam, bird or porcupine quills, and plastic.
Float Styles and When to Use Them
Sliding/ Slip Float
This float slides up and down the mainline and requires a bobber stop above it for depth adjustment. This type of bobber allows adjustment to just about any depth by simply moving it up and down the line, and you can reel it into the spool.
Sliding floats are hollow, and the fishing line goes right through. Slip floats allow you access to much deeper waters than you could typically access when using fixed floats. You can use them when still fishing for salmon, catfish, bullheads, and steelhead in deep brushy waters.
Fixed Float
These usually have a red-and-white appearance and have spring-loaded clips on each end that you push to attach to the line. They maintain a definite leader length between the bait and bobber on the line. Adjusting their depth requires you to remove them from the mainline and reattach them at the desired position.
These floats work very well in shallow waters and warm conditions but break easily in cold weather. They are great when you are fishing for salmon, steelhead, walleye, crappie, and carp. The Dink float is an example of a fixed float.
Clear Floats
An excellent example of the clear float is the “adjust a bubble.” You can fill the bobber with water to give it additional weight to reach farther into the waters. They are great for fishing in ponds to catch trout and perch.
How to Select the Right Fishing Bobber
It is best to narrow down the size of the bobber to match the size of the fish you are targeting and the bait you plan on using. Use a bobber where you can easily focus and detect movement.
The bobber should be the smallest size possible and still be able to float your bait without submerging it (half of it should be above the surface). The heavier the bait, the larger the bobber.
Also, keep the bobber small enough so that the fish you aim for can easily pull it with little resistance. If the bobber is too heavy, the fish may drop the bait.
As the diameter of the bobber increases, it will be more stable in the water. Large-diameter bobbers are well-suited for high-current areas. Large bobbers offer more resistance causing increased sensitivity of the line.
The size of the bobber you choose also depends on the casting distance. If you plan to cast over a long distance, you will need a heavy, large, and easily visible bobber.
Choose a bobber depending on the water currents and wind speed. If you are fishing in waters with strong currents, I would recommend a heavy and steady bobber.
How to Attach Fixed Fishing Bobbers
There are a few essential things that I would recommend you have if you plan on using bobbers: Clip-on bead weight to keep the weight of the bobber from the mainline knot; clippers to cut the line; and a pair of pliers to pinch on the weight.
There are many ways of attaching bobbers, but the goal is to prevent the bait from hitting the bottom of the water. There are fish at every level of the water, so the bobbers will help you control how deep your bait goes.
Here are the steps to follow while attaching your bobber:
Step 1
Decide on a bait you want to use, depending on the fish’s habitat. I would advise you to select an appropriate hook and attach it to your line.
Step 2
Choose an appropriately sized bobber. While using heavy baits, you will need bigger bobbers than when using small lures.
Step 3
Determine the depth of the water body. Attach a sinker to your hook and lower it until the line stops moving to determine the depth of the river, lake, or pond. Mark the point where the line stops moving.
Step 4
Determine the depth at which you aim to fish and mark the same distance on your line. Usually, the standard distance is 2 to 3 feet. You may increase or reduce the length depending on the depth of the water.
Have a good understanding of how far you want your bait to go. If your sinker goes too deep and is at the bottom of the water, your float will lie sideways and may not be a good indicator.
Step 5
You can now attach your bobber. A standard fixed bobber has provisions for attaching both at the top and bottom. At the top, a protruding piece of plastic makes a small hook appear at the bottom of the bobber when you push it.
Step 6
Thread your line through the hook that appears when you put pressure on the protruding plastic. Gently release the pressure once you have placed your line on the hook. Wrap the line around the hook severally. The clip retracts and grasps the line.
Step 7
To attach the line at the top, push the protruding plastic while carefully placing your fingers on the edges of the plastic to expose the hook. Wrap the line around the spherical surface of the bobber toward the hook at the top.
Step 8
Continue applying pressure, and thread the line through the top hook. Once you have correctly placed the line, release the plastic to allow the sleeve to cover the hook and grasp the line. Make sure the line tightly attaches to the bobber.
Tip: To determine which part of the bobber goes up, toss it into the water. The side that floats up on its own is the top. If you reverse the positions, your line will twist
How to Change the Placement of the Bobber
When you want to change the position of the bobber on the line:
Step 1
Remove the top of the bobber from the line; leave the bottom attached.
Step 2
Mark the new desired distance and slide the bobber to this point.
Step 3
Reattach the top of the bobber by pressing the clip and then placing your fingers around the edges of the plastic to expose the top hook and thread the line through it. Gently release the pressure and make sure the line hook tightly grasps the line.
How to Set Up a Slip Fishing Bobber
To successfully attach a slip float, you will need a bobber stopper, sliding weight, fishing beads, swivel hook, and weight.
Once you have all your materials, follow these steps to attach the float:
Step 1
Determine the desired depth you are aiming for and mark the same length on the fishing line.
Step 2
Fix the bobber stopper at the marked point first, then the fishing beads (the fishing beads are optional) to prevent the bobber stopper from passing through the bobber. You can pinch or tie stoppers onto your line, depending on the model.
Step 3
The next step is to attach the bobber. To secure the bobber, thread the line through the narrow hole in the middle of the bobber and pull until it reaches the bobber stopper.
Step 4
Attach an appropriate sliding weight (this is optional but helps your bait sink fast and allows you to cat over long distances). If the weight is too heavy, the bobber may sink. If too light, the whole bobber will float.
Step 5
Set up the swivel at a reasonable distance from the bobber, attach your hook and your bait, and you are good to go.
To adjust the position of the bobber, move the bobber stopper to the new desired position and adjust the position of the float, weight, and fishing beads.
While you prepare your rods, reels, hooks, and lines for that amazing angling trip, why not get some bobbers and add a little fun to your fishing? The bobbers also make fishing easier for beginners who have trouble making accurate casts.
Related Articles: