Thread: Article: Stay Off The Grass

Great post, you're a good guy slab.

Wow! Nice catch. Thanks for sharing the report and pictures.

Great report and pics

good info

Great story. Everytime I read a kayak report I want to go buy one.

Slab, I think I noticed you fished both with and without a bobber. When do you decide to go bobber? Without the bobber do you drag back on the bottom, or reel slowly above it? (assuming it is crappie you're fishing for, which gives better results?) Also, my wife generally lets me know when something I am wearing does not go together as she says I "have no taste in clothes". Is there a general rule for crappie what goes better with a bobber?

Originally Posted by keeganzpapa

Slab, I think I noticed you fished both with and without a bobber. When do you decide to go bobber? Without the bobber do you drag back on the bottom, or reel slowly above it? (assuming it is crappie you're fishing for, which gives better results?) Also, my wife generally lets me know when something I am wearing does not go together as she says I "have no taste in clothes". Is there a general rule for crappie what goes better with a bobber?

As far as what goes better with a bobber, the one thing that I have found to be true most of the time is that a straight soft plastic, with a straight, or paddle, tail works best for me. If I am simply suspending the jig under the bobber, and not adding much action, then I will use the straight body and tail type plastics on my jigs. If I am dragging the jig under the bobber then I will sometimes use the paddle tail style just to add a bit of motion to the lure. I pretty much never use jigs larger than 1/64 ounce, especially when bobber fishing. As far as when do I decide to use the bobber or not is a matter of letting the fish tell me which they prefer. I always have one pole rigged with, and one without, a bobber. Water conditions, and depth, will often determine which one I will start with. If I am fishing water much deeper than 8 feet or so, and have found that the fish are in the bottom foot of the water column, I will go with the bobberless rig, and slowly reel my jig along, unless the fish are very neutral or negative on that particular day, then I will sit directly above them and just wiggle the jig. If the fish are in 8 feet or deeper water, but are suspended anywhere in the top six feet of water, I will often use both methods simultaneously. Casting the bobber rig to one side of my kayak, and the bobberless rig to the other. Of course the mood of the fish might force me to go to one or the other. If the fish are very active, the bobber rig is often just too slow and they won't mess with it. If the fish are neutral or negative, the bobberless rig might not work at all. There are so many variables to both methods that it really is just a matter of using both until I find which, if either, is going to produce better at any given time. Sometimes, like in the Fall, the fish will be right on top in the morning and will be eating anything that slightly resembles zooplankton, and it doesn't matter if it is sitting still under a bobber or moving swiftly without a bobber. But, as the sun rises, and the fish start to descend, what I did at day break might be useless at noon. Trial and error, lots and lots of it. During early season cold fronts I will mostly use bobber rigs, but during mid summer cold fronts I will actually use the bobberless rig. I have found that cold fronts don't always slow down the bite, and sometimes, actually make for a better bite. When the waters are very warm in mid summer, fish can be a bit on the sluggish side and prefer to see a bait just hanging in front of them, but when that summer cold front hits, and the water cools just a bit, the fish can get more active and be willing to chase a faster moving presentation. I look at it much like I feel on those really hot days. When it is very warm out, I don't feel like doing much of anything, so if I am going to eat, I don't want to put a whole lot of effort into it, but if it is a bit cooler the next day, I have no problem putting a little extra effort into finding a good meal. Might sound crazy, or so my wife often tells me, but I just try to think like the fish. I hope any of this helped out. Good luck.

Way to go "Slab" and sharing your finding with a fellow kayaker,
hopefully will bring him into this circle of fishing fanatics!
Great story with a good ending. Thank for posting.
Dave