My introduction to fishing came at the end of some black nylon line with a wine cork tied above a worm-baited hook. Between the two was tied a bolt. It was pretty rudimentary but functional. The first time I saw that cork disappear beneath the surface it seemed this fishing stuff was pretty easy, Not!!! Regardless of which title one applies to these little pieces of plastic or balsa wood, they are an essential tool or the ground pounder. For our purposes here they are bobbers.
Bobbers come in basically two classes: fixed position and slip bobber. The wine cork of earlier fishing experiences is a classic example of the fixed position bobber. It holds the bait or lure in a set position. The disadvantage is that one can only set the depth at what will allow for casting. That distance is seldom more than the length of one’s rod. Anything longer becomes unwieldy to cast.
Slip bobbers are another situation. Allowing ease in casting, they also allow the bobber to slide up and down the line and stop at the position where you want to suspend the bait. You set the bobber stop so that the bait will be at or a little above the level you expect the fish to be holding.
With crappie, bluegill and sunfish this distance will be a little up off the bottom. One experiments as to how deep or shallow the bobber should be set. For channel catfish this is usually about 9 inches off the bottom. Flatheads and blue catfish it is just above where the fish suspend as they feed up from their positions.
Channel catfish in put and take lakes are often inclined to feed about 18 inches beneath the surface. This is because often they are accustomed to eating commercial pellets where they in the rearing ponds at the hatchery.
All bobbers come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Generally smaller is better. On windy days a low profile bobber is less inclined to be move around by the wind and waves.
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