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Anyone prefer using bobbers for spider rigging either jigs or minnows? What is your technique? I have tried it a couple of times with no real success. What type bobber do you use and how do you use it in 8-14' of water? Do you use the bobber only when it is calm and can go really slow or does it matter? Any good videos on it?
I have a set of poles rigged with slip floats for when it get rough. I rig mine with a cigar float about 3 in long, use 1/4 oz weight on my 2 hook rig. I rig mine with the little rubber slip on bobber stops from bass pro. Put on stop then bead then float then bead then tie on a #2 Duolock snap. All my rigs are tied on a #10 swivel for quick change. When I fish them I try to judge how high my tips are coming up from the water then let out enough line that tip can bounce up and down without jerking hooks up and down. You will get some movement of the line through the float but it really minimizes the up and down jerking of your hooks when the water is rolling. I also like to use them when the bite is real light.
I found using bobbers caused my line to float too far back because of the added resistance dragging through the water. For a very slow presentation, they should work.
Gman
We pull them out the back of the boat up north.
i only spider rig with bobbers, never tried it without. I use slip floats with bobber stops set at the depth I want and adjust the weight on them to hold the lines vertical.
Seems kind of redundant to me when spider rigging. The main purpose of the bobber is to control the depth you wish to fish. It also tells when you have a bite. When spider rigging you use long sensitive rods with enough weight to keep the line straight down and tight. You control the depth by how much line you let out and bites are detected by a twitch or bend in the rod.
Seems to me a bobber would just be in the way and would cause a drag on the line as you move along.
Just my two cents, I am not expert by any means.
You're just thinking like an engineer Ray, that's all (I was thinking the same thing) :rolleyes:
Slip bobbers work great for spider rigging in the wind.....reason.......only the waves move the bait up and down......which is a lot less movement that a 12 0r 14 ft. pole does on a rocking bouncing boat. Also makes it easier to see the bite under those conditions.
I really don't like to use bobbers but when the wind gets so bad your rods are bouncin i feel like you have little to lose by putting them on,i went to 16' rods and that was one of the reasons why the bobbers can come back toward the boat but with the long rods you still have your baits far enough away from the boat not to affect the bite.
This all good information. I really like this site. Very helpful people on here.
I like to use bobbers when fishing the spawn in shallow water and also if fishing around standing trees in the water. When I use them I want to use my longest rods and I am moving very slow from 0 to .03. I reel off enough line to have slack from the bobber to the rod tip. This allows the minnow to swim around to give a more normal look. When using the bobbers you are watching the bobber for hits but most of the time you will see the bobber moving in a side movement as the crappie sucks the minnow into its mouth or starts to swim off with the minnow. Other times it is just a hard hit :) Y'all need to try this in the spring, you may change your mine about bobbers and spider rigging.
All very good info. I have watched the pro on tv using this method. I was going to use slip bobber when fishing out the back of the boat this spring.