I don't use them much but recently read an article about them being used very effectively in the winter on deep, suspended, open water crappie. Anybody on here do that much?
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I don't use them much but recently read an article about them being used very effectively in the winter on deep, suspended, open water crappie. Anybody on here do that much?
Yes, Good for maintaining depth especially if using minnows. Mostly for casting from a bank though with a jig suspended. I do not use them for deeper than 12'. If they're deeper than that, I'll sit over them and just jig for them. My friend "corks" for Crappie year round, every trip along with over the side jigging. He uses a spring bobber though and is very good at 12' and under casting that dude out there. Most of his fish come from this method.
I have tried slip bobbers but every time the bead gets stuck in my last eyelet or the slip knot won't stay in place. Therefor I leave it alone.
I've done a fair amount of "float and fly" fishing for smallmouth and a little for crappie. I usually restrict that to about 10' or less. I've also used a slip float shallow in the spawn successfully. The article I read was talking of using the slip float as deep as 20-25 feet. I know it's done some that way for walleye up north, also. Never tried that but apparently they have some success with suspended crappie back east doing it. Will take a little heavier weight to get it down quickly but I might try it. Just thought someone here may already have.
Nip, I settled on these in the springtime and don't have that problem. Bass Pro Shops Bobber Stops | Bass Pro Shops
I'm with Nip my knot slips through bead or the bead gets hung up so I leave them on the shelf . I have had luck with them dragging jigs over brush while fishing docks . Way too much trouble for me also.
I slip-corked for crappie all the time for about ten years, before I went to the float tube. In the eighties, Carl J. and I slip-corked Hefner nearly every day. We were onto the 2.5 pounders in the big curve, for about three years. The fish would come in about 4:30 in the afternoon and sit just above the brush at 12-14 feet. Earlier in the day, you had to go deep, as much as 28-32 feet, which is when you want a very long rod, 12-14 feet. You don't need to buy bobber stops. Just get some thin-diameter dacron and tie a knot (don't know the name), but it's the same knot you get when you buy the bobber stops. You lay the dacron along the line and loop the dacron; then run the tag end of the dacron around the dacron-line side of the loop four or five times. Cinch it down tight, and it won't budge.The knot will just about never get hung up in the last guide. Make sure your bead does not have a large hole diameter, so the knot won't pass through the bead. When slipping close to the boat or the bank, you can use a small styrofoam float, rather than the bigger, heavier wood float needed for long casting.
Slip corking has been working very well at Carl Blackwell this winter, and you don't have to be inside where it's elbow to elbow. The corking has been at 14-17 feet, with the small styrofoam floats.
ps If you don't mind getting cold, the float tube gives you a much superior ability to vary your technique, without the movement that you get from a boat that is rocking with the wind. And you are constantly in the strike zone, as opposed to slipping, although slipping keeps you in the zone longer than when you cast, count down, and retrieve
Hope that helps.
IKENI - I will show you how to do it at the Winter Camp. I also make slip floats for giggles occasionally.
Super! looking forward to it.
I've never found out how to make a stop work properly either and they always hang up on the guides if casting.
Reaper,
I almost never have the knot hang up, even with my rod with the smallest size guide. Read my post above. If you ever get to Midwest City or Edmond, look up the address for Carl Jones. He has two stores, and anyone there can show you the best way to rig the slip cork. Better yet, go to the winter crappie camp at Hugo and get together with George.
I mostly had problems with the bead getting stuck in the eyelet than the knot slipping. Over time the knot does seem to loosen up and then it is just time to replace it.
Your bead should not go inside the eyelet, if you have the proper size knot and proper bead size. It should slide down the line freely. The problem could be that your bead fits too tightly to the line, or it could be that the bead opening is too big, allowing your knot to hang up in the bead, drawing it into the eyelet. To function smoothly, the line diameter, bead size (bead diameter and bead opening size), and the dacron line diameter (dacron works best for me, and will not slip if cinched down) should match up properly. I use a number of bead sizes and dacron diameters, depending on whether I'm fishing for cats, crappie, or blue gills. It took a lot of experimenting to get everything just right, but hopefully these tips will make it easier for you.:biggrinQuote:
Originally Posted by DrNip
I don't want to hijack the thread, but do you tube all winter? I don't, but that's mostly because of my work schedule rather than water temperature.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigskyfisherman
Hello, Nodisco.Quote:
Originally Posted by deathb4disco
Yes, I have fished the tube all winter. There have been times that we have used a big hammer to break a path through 2-3 inches of ice in order to get out to open water. When people drive by or ride their bikes on the dam, they will say (not knowing how well sound carries across the water): "Look at that idiot out there." And I always say: "That's what my wife calls me."
When the water is really cold, the crappie are usually at 30-36 feet. In the 80's, I would catch and release 70 quality fish before going to my 9:30 shift. The last two years, creeping geezerism has cut down on the number of winter trips in the tube.
In spite of several layers of clothing and some thinsulate, a trip to the bank is necessary every 45 minutes or so, even if you didn't have a cup of coffee or anything else to drink before hitting the lake.
ps Tubing high mountain lakes in Montana is also a very cold water experience.
Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigskyfisherman
I don't want to further derail this thread, so I may start a related thread in the "Kayak, canoe ..." forum.
The beads and knots I used were purchased from BPS as a set along with my 9' Crappie Maxx rod. The knots do not slide through the eye of the bead but the bead gets stuck in the last eyelet of the rod like no other. The way I combated this was I went to Wal-Mart and purchased some beads in the hobby craft section. I have to use the Wal-mart bead and the BPS bead as the diameter of the eye of the Wal-Mart bead is too big and the knot will slide through it. The BPS bead is between the knot and the Wal-Mart bead.
Dr,
Those BPS stops are very thin diameter. In order to get a bead that won't let the stop slide through, the bead eye will be tight enough on your line that it won't slide freely down the line during the retrieve. It sounds as if you may need a larger bead eye and a larger diameter dacron line to use as a stop. The bead should be able to slide freely down the line as you retrieve. My beads never go up inside the guide eye. If the dacron line is too large, it will hang up as you cast. Experiment, experiment, experiment. And you will have a system that won't give you any problems (except for the jig-eating riprap or brush).
Look me up before you start class on this Crickett !Quote:
Originally Posted by cricket george
Redge - If you are REAL lucky I might give you a private tutorial lesson this week.:yikes
I have not used this knot, had it in a file waiting to run out of store bought.
Attachment 182483
That's very similar to the knot I use, rdjj. Mine is different in that the stop line (dacron) is laid parallel to the main line and the spiral wrap is done on the other side (around the main line and dacron. It gives you more surface contact between the main line and the dacron, giving a knot that less susceptible to slipping.
where do you guys purchase the Dacron
Any sporting goods store will have it. It is usually used for fly line backing or trolling. Some places sell it in spools and some sell it by the yard. I have gotten it from Academy and Bass Pro Shops, getting several different diameters, based on whether it's for catfish or crappie. You want larger diameter for the cats, since you are using much heavier line and your eyelets are bigger. Use smaller diameter for crappie, since you are using lighter line and have smaller eyelets. The line diameter, dacron diameter, bead size and bead eye diameter need to match up to have maximum efficiency and minimum problems. It might take some experimentation.
I use unwaxed dental flause for my stop knots. But I'm cheap!
Crappiepappa, I have heard of that, will have to try it (If my wife will let me use hers). :hatchet:
My wife's dental floss is now in my tackle box.:hatchet: Bigfishmama is the one with the hatchet, and I'm the one who usually has a knot on the noggin.Quote:
Originally Posted by rdjj71m
Never tried it in the winter but, spring spawn it works great, especially shallow fishing. I use the prepackaged Mr Crappie slipfloat/botterstop, makes it simple to hook up and use. Once you get the depth, hang on and open the lifewell door!
As Bigskyfisherman stated I have seen Carl Jones and others catch crappie at Hefner with a slip cork and jig at 25-30 ft. I have caught a few that way but never really got the hang of it. Carl has been fishing that way for years and he is an expert at it.
You have to read the cork. The first time I took my son-in-law out to Hefner, he said: "Why did you swing? The cork didn't go down." Out of sixteen crappie caught, he only saw one bite (the only one that pulled the cork). The others, it was just the way the cork rose, or set back down. Fred was up at CB a week or so ago, and slayed 'em. Others were corking and did nothing, mostly, I think, because they just couldn't read the super subtle bite. Gina and I got them pretty well on the cork last week, and there wasn't one time that the tiny bobber got dunked.
I just watched Carl for hours before I started corking for crappie, back in the early 80's. When I first started watching, I was like my son-in-law, not recognizing the bite. I had corked for cats, but that is a totally different bite. You will learn a lot faster if you watch a guy who is good at it, just as in most things in life. Getting together with a wiser, older head beats learning from a manual, seven ways from Sunday.
I'm even cheaper. I take the rubber bands from my newspaper, cut em to about an inch, tie em in a knot, then clip the ends. the slide up and down when you want to change depth, but don't move just because you are casting. just saying....
WW taught me a few things about jig and cork winter fishing on his home lake a while back. Pretty much shock and awe really. Never saw it used so effectively in winter over brush- he is pretty much my bobber hero now.
C2, I think the MD20/20 has definitely affected your memory and recall of the actual events! Lol!Quote:
Originally Posted by Crappie ciller
Attachment 183567OK Bobber boyz, I'm only gonna say this once. At times Crappie can be somewhat finicky about how hard they take a bite at something. When verticle jigging, hi vis line is handy as can be because you can see slack happen when a fish grabs hold on the up swim. You see the slack and set the hook. To be a better bobber fisher, start by buying the right bobber for the tackle you plan to use. Thill bobbers are very good at matching weights, breaklines(paint) on their products. A 1/16th oz jig floats perfect sitting under a 7/8 Thill. Any upward bite will cause it to lay down on it's side indicating to you to set the hook or go home and watch TV. If your bobber is oversized for the weight of your tackle, it will never sit up right in the beginning.
Sometimes the crappie actually chase the bait in a circle causing the top of a stick bobber to do circles. Set the hook! I love to fish bobbers at night under a black light with calm waters during the spawn. It's almost magical to watch a bobber start heading off while slowing diving as if a seasoned submarine Captain just gave the order to dive.
The reason bobbers have two different colors is for the fisher to be able to detect the strike but where the manufactuer places those lines is another story. A good bobber will have the colors separate when the right amount of weight is under it and the separation is at the waterline. Cheap bobbers won't do this.
A bobber doesn't have to laydown all the way to indicate a hit. It could be a slight upward bump that tilts the bobber slightly and shows the bottom color of the bobber for a split second. Set the hook!
There's not a better bobber on the market than the Thill in my opinion.
OK, Got it?
Not sure, can you elaborate further. You are just getting warmed up.
Thill are great bobbers. I found one that rides lower in the water that is not affected hardly at all by wind. It works! They have a Youtube video on how to rig it.
You must be talking about the waggler with the weighted bottom and the pencil thin top above water.
Reaper is right about Thill. The Mini Shy Bite is my favorite. It will barely float a 1/32, and a 1/16 will sink it, but at a super slow fall rate. I have killed them with that super slow fall and a very slow retrieve, when others are using the same jigs and getting just a few.
Cricket george, click on the link in my post and you will see. Wind does not affect these near as much as a Thill.Quote:
Originally Posted by cricket george
I am familiar with Carl's floats. I make similar ones myself and you are right, wind does not really affect them
I BEEN slip corking crappie at canton lake since a long time years had alot of luck at canton but im having a hard time slipcorking at carl blackwell crappie. Still learning that lake .at canton its the rip rap