Best Night Time setup/bobbers

Hey guys, I just have a few quick questions for you experts out here. Good morning!

Okay, so my thing I do is this ...

On one pole I have a slip cork, but the dang string gets lose and slips a lot. I use a spring bobber from rob n bobs or something like that that I got at basspro, with a glow stick in it. The spring gets stuck and doesn't allow the minnow to fall to the proper depth, unless I put 3-4 weights on the line.
My second pole, I just tight line, which I lose a lot of fish for not looking directly at the line with my head lamp.

I do use high-vis yellow line. Which I'm still trying to figure out, because I use Mono basspro line and mr crappie line and I've tried vicious line and they all twist up bad.

I am looking for a good night time bobber. The reason for me using the slip-cork method is because my pole is only 7 ft. The water we sit in is about 25 ft. The fish are bouncing between 12-5 ft.

I am fishing a bridge. I ran across thill splash brite bobbers, but they say the batter is non replaceable. Thill Splash Brite Heck, after 36 hours, you got to shell out another $6.00?

Any help?

Best I came up with is a Thill bobber of choice and the small glow sticks most lighted bobbers are too heavy for my taste. I think Rocket bobber makes a glow in the dark float that can be recharged with a light source although I have never tried it out. I can remember searching the internet for the perfect lighted bobber. I started nig fishing more a d forgot about it.

Well, I got glow sticks, but the bobbers I have for the glow sticks I have to do the slip-cork method. The dang string that thill offers gets lose and well, there that goes. I'm trying to find youtube videos on night time crappie fishing to see what people are doing, but not too many videos out there.

Am I to assume that you're using lighted floats & a headlamp, because you don't have a lantern, submersible or floating 12V light ?? ... or because you're not fishing from a boat ??

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

Am I to assume that you're using lighted floats & a headlamp, because you don't have a lantern, submersible or floating 12V light ?? ... or because you're not fishing from a boat ??

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Hey CP! Well, Sir, my friend I go with has a green light but doesn't ever want to use it. He mainly just tightlines. I am more of a visual bobber type fisherman. We sit under a bridge at night from his boat. I have 3 poles I use and then 2 for casting jigs. I am currently using a bobber that you can place a glow stick in it, but the spring catches the line and it won't drop properly to the depth I need it to. I was just wondering how you guys do it with great success. Without a light. Oh and yup, I have a head lamp, but I don't like shining the light on the bobber ya know.

Other than glow bobbers,or the more expensive lighted bobbers,you are gonna be pretty limited on watching your bobber.line watching may be the best option if your determined to night fish, but hey,I'm interested in others thought also.

(just some random thoughts)

A 9V lantern ?? Then you wouldn't need a headlamp or lighted float.

I have a couple of blacklights that I use to night fish for Bass with, and one has two bulbs on the same side ... one is a black light and the other a white light. The blacklight will light up a 6lb test hi-vis or clear/blu fluorescent mono to where it looks like ski rope, if you're in near total darkness. And I'd almost guarantee it would do the same to a float that had fluorescent paint on it. And if the floats don't have that kind of paint ... the white light will light up the area !!

I also have a Coleman gas lantern, which is what I grew up using to night fish for Crappie with ... and one of those in the middle of the boat, hanging over the side or mounted on a hanging rod will light up the area.

As with most any "light" (even blacklights) ... you're going to draw bugs. Most of them will just be an irritation, as the biting kind prefer darkness. But some good bug repellent, or a good little breeze will keep most of them away.

I think I may still have one of the "12V headlight in styrofoam" lights, that float on the surface, but haven't used it in decades. It does suck the battery pretty hard, which is one reason I haven't used it much. Well, that and the fact that all the boats I've had or fished out of prior to the one I have now, only had one battery for everything. And it shines "down", so it doesn't light up the area above the surface very much, either.

The new LED deals don't pull as much juice, so they're a lot more popular (and much brighter), and most are designed to use submerged. That may cut down on the bugs, but doesn't do much for lighting up your rod tips or floats.

Have you ever thought about putting a light stick on your tightline rods ?? Like taping one to the underside, near the tip. Don't know of any cures for the lighted floats, other than maybe taking the spring off and drilling a small hole thru the bottom stem & making it a "slip float" that way. A small bead between the bobber stop string & the float should keep your string from getting stuck in the hole. Even if the float lays down, from the lack of weight ... when you get a bite it will stand up (before disappearing below the surface).

I bought some blacklight led strip lights and glued them to the outside rim of my boat to be able to see my rod tips late in the evenings and early mornings. Pained the rod tips fluorescent yellow and fluorescent green and they are very visible in the dark. The fluorescent line also seems to be bright and well as twice as visible. Check them out and how cheap and easy they are to install yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...trips+on+boats

P.S. And the bobbers will also stand out like a sore thumb at night also.

When fishing under bridges at night I would hang the Coleman lanterns from vice grips or C- clamps so I could get them away from the boat seems like the fish would come to the orange white light from the lanterns. One bridge I used a rope to hang it over the water when fishing from the bank, the other Lantern would be hung on a tripod. I have about twenty Coleman white gas lanterns I have picked up because I liked them so much for fishing. Kamplite made an inverted Lantern that they advertised for fishing because its light came from the bottomAttachment 267719

I use bobbers from this site...The Everlasting Slip Bobber - the world's finest slip bobber!
They are quality bobbers and I have never had to buy another bobber since then as these are great and last!
I have green LED lights I use to draw in plankton which draws in bait fish which in turn draws in the predator fish like the crappie.
Buy the size you want based on the amount of weight you will need to use. I use the second to the largest on 6 rods I own and put a 1/4 oz weight on them and they sit about 40% under water and 60% above the water line to see the bobber well. With the green LED's it makes the bobber "stand out" as if it were fluorescent.
Trust me when I say these are the best bobbers out there.
As for your slip knot easily moving, make sure when you tie the slip bobber sting knot to your line that you use pliers to pull it as tight as you can get it on your line. This will keep it from coming loose and sliding on it's own. You can slide it as needed by pinching the knot tight and sliding to the position you need.

Rubber / silicon line stops, are much better than the string kind.
BPS has the red ones on a yellow disk. About 10 to a disk. I like Drennen, Brand, as they are clear, and seem to hold up better than the red ones.
Slide them up and down the line slowly, so you don't burn a groove in them.
Floats.... Ya just gotta deal with..
everyone keeps trying to invent the perfect mouse trap.

I have found that most slip floats will were out in a short time of using. The line will wear on the bobber stop side and cause a grove that will keep the weight from pulling the line to the stop. When you find good slip floats you better hang onto them. I have just purchased some of the ESB floats in the 1/4 ounce style and they look like just the thing I need. Glass bead for the stop and brass terminal end. I also use use the shake and glow sticks. Have never had any trouble with them and they can be seen as far as you can cast. Can also be put on the end of your rod if needed. Good luck.

Have you tried clear fingernail polish to seal the knot? It will keep it from getting loose and failing.

I use any run of the mill slip float but it has to have a long stem. I bought a hundred little 2" glow sticks on eBay for next to nothing. Before I thread the line through the bobber I take a rubber band and wrap it around just leaving enough room the place 2 of the glow stick between the stem and rubber band. You can even do the same thing to your rod tip. Or you can buy a Rhino rod that has a glow tip.

For the bobber stop I have found that with some lines they slip more than others. I happen to use Stren and don't have any problems. I use the florescent line that can be easily seen at night with a light. Wet the stops before tightening.

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

Have you ever thought about putting a light stick on your tightline rods ?? Like taping one to the underside, near the tip.

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I saw this on a youtube night time fishing hack video. lol. I got some tie clamps and bought some glow sticks and the little plastic tube that comes inside the glow stick pack, I clamped that to the end of my tightline pole. I got some reflective tape for my floats. All is well. I haven't been able to go yet though with these stupid storms moving in ruining everything. Not very smart to be out there during a lightning storm haha. Thank you all for your input. I work 2 jobs so I apologize for the delayed reply. Hope you all had a wonderful and safe Father's Day!

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Originally Posted by sparkie51

I use any run of the mill slip float but it has to have a long stem. I bought a hundred little 2" glow sticks on eBay for next to nothing. Before I thread the line through the bobber I take a rubber band and wrap it around just leaving enough room the place 2 of the glow stick between the stem and rubber band. You can even do the same thing to your rod tip. Or you can buy a Rhino rod that has a glow tip.

For the bobber stop I have found that with some lines they slip more than others. I happen to use Stren and don't have any problems. I use the florescent line that can be easily seen at night with a light. Wet the stops before tightening.

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Hey Sparkie! Thanks man. Great idea. I thought about that too! Yeah, the Bass Pro Shop line and Mr. Crappie line they twist up bad. I have to soak the spool in hot water for 20 minutes and then good to go. Which is silly. Now the Vicous line does not twist at all. But I put line conditioner on there. I backed off using braided line. It's not that serious. I just like to keep it simple as I am on a budget.

Seems like a hard way to fish with just a head lamp for light. Your head and neck has to be sore from moving so much! I have only used a float to get out to the shadow area. If you would use a starfire or green submersible and set it just under the surface a few inches you would be better off. It gives enough light to see your rod tips and line. Also, for tight lining paint your rod tips with flat white paint from third eye out to the tip. Don't paint the eyelets. You can put masking tape on them, then pull the tape off when dried. As far as light goes in the boat use a small lantern or headlamp. We also use an inverter and run a clamp on light with a 26 watt curly bright bulb. You would be amazed at what it does for night fishing. It lights up the water and provides enough light for seeing floats and in the boat. As far as slip corks you can get the rubber bobber stopper. It come in line sizes and holds pretty good and is moveable. Hope this helps you. Good luck. :popcorn

Well, I'll report what I done the other night and it worked so good!

Okay, so I went to Dollar General and purchased some 8" glow sticks, yellow and green, so that's what I used. I used some zip ties and zipped them to the end of my rod, from tip to 2nd eye back. I didn't even need a head lamp except for when I went to bait the minnow. No bugs was a great thing! When you get the lightest bite, you will see the stick twitch. I out fished my buddy who usually out fishes me, due to me not seeing my bites. I also went to walmart and purchased some florescent paint and my old rods, I painted from the tip back to the 2nd eye and used those too. Had a great time! The only time I used my slip setup with bobber was when the wind picked up and I wanted to throw closer to the bridge pillar.

I use these things night fishing: Rod-N-Bobb's Universal Beacons 4-Pack | Academy but I think you can get a much better price on 'em in bulk online if you look around some. I've used them for surf fishing too; they stand up pretty well to being whipped around on the end of a 14' surf rod, so I'd imagine they'll work fine on a slip cork or the end of a tightlining rod.