Bobber Fishing

[ThatZX14Fella]

So, when I fish, I fish for whatever bites. Sometimes I like to take some bream baits and a bobber out to try and catch some panfish. However. My hookup ratio with this technique is probably 1/500. I’ve tried taking my time after the bobber goes down, setting the hook as soon as it’s underwater, swinging for them fences, a gentle pull, reeling in slack, leaving slack, essentially everything I can think of to hook into a fish. I always end up missing. What’s the trick? It gets frustrating when my bobber is down every thirty seconds and I can’t land a fish. I’d like to even catch some as bait for catfish, but it’s pretty impossible if I can’t land the fish.

[Jar11591]

What kind of hooks are you using? A small Aberdeen (long-shank) hook should give you a good hookup ratio on panfish. 

[gim]

My guess would be that the panfish are on the smaller side and they are just nipping at the bait, and not getting any of the hook.

[MN Fisher]

I'm thinking Gimruis and Jar have the right of it....I'd go with a smaller hook - #8 or even #10 if you're using one larger than those....then 1" baits if you're using 2"....maybe even try a Trout Magnet set that has even smaller baits and hooks.

[ThatZX14Fella]

2 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

What kind of hooks are you using? A small Aberdeen (long-shank) hook should give you a good hookup ratio on panfish. 

I was using some small jig head hooks just to give a little weight. I’ve got some smaller hooks I’ll try.

 

27 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I'm thinking Gimruis and Jar have the right of it....I'd go with a smaller hook - #8 or even #10 if you're using one larger than those....then 1" baits if you're using 2"....maybe even try a Trout Magnet set that has even smaller baits and hooks.

 
I’ve been using the little yellow nugget looking things for bait. I’m going to try a smaller hook, and I’ll see if that solves the issue.

[MN Fisher]

13 minutes ago, ThatZX14Fella said:

’ve been using the little yellow nugget looking things for bait. I’m going to try a smaller hook, and I’ll see if that solves the issue.

Powerbait Crappie Nibbles from Berkley?

Those things fall apart in the water, and are also easily nibbled off the hook.

 

Try some of the 1" and 2" plastics from Mr Twister, Mr Crappie or Big Bites. Powerbait Ripple Shads and Gulp Alive Minnows in 1" and 2" are also good to try.

[ThatZX14Fella]

13 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Powerbait Crappie Nibbles from Berkley?

Those things fall apart in the water, and are also easily nibbled off the hook.

 

Try some of the 1" and 2" plastics from Mr Twister, Mr Crappie or Big Bites. Powerbait Ripple Shads and Gulp Alive Minnows in 1" and 2" are also good to try.

I haven’t had any issues yet with them. Every time I reeled in yesterday, they were still attached. They seemed to stay on the hook ok, but it could’ve just been from the fish not committing, which could be the issue entirely.

[islandbass]

All good points. One thing about float fishing that is sometimes overlooked when bites are missed is if there is too much resistance against the float when the fish bites and pulls down. If there is too much resistance, they can feel that and might think something is off and you can notice this bobs up and down a lot or goes down and pops back up really quick (they didn’t have the hook and let go). 
 

To remedy this, you can add just enough split shot (it won’t take much) so that the float still floats but if the fish takes, the float will go down easily and the fish won’t feel too much. 
 

Then reel in as much slack as you can and pull back to increase the tension in the line. That’s it. 

[Swamp Girl]

Don't dangle a worm. Bluegill will grab the dangling bit. Run a thin, tiny hook through the worm. 

[MN Fisher]

14 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Don't dangle a worm.

Yep - thread the worm on the hook - the bigger worms either use a bigger hook or cut the worm in half.

[gim]

I'll go even further.  Use GULP.  Its far more durable and you don't have to stop or pay for any live bait.  Sunfish are bait thieves.

[MN Fisher]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

Use GULP.  Its far more durable

They've been liking this one lately

Z-Man Tiny Tickler in Pink....why pink? I dunno, but they attack it voraciously...and being Elaztech, it makes Gulp look flimsy. I'm still on the first one of the bag after four trips, a few dozen sunnies/crappies....and several put in the freezer.

 

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

you don't have to pay for any live bait.

I just dig up worms in the garden and have a worm-farm running in my basement...can't remember the last time I paid for live bait.

[gim]

Just now, MN Fisher said:

Z-Man Tiny Tickler in Pink....why pink? I dunno, but they attack it voraciously...and being Elaztech, it makes Gulp look flimsy.

 

I don't generally specifically target sunfish but I could see elaztech holding up to the pack of bait thieves well.

[Hoosierman]

#8 bronze cricket hook with the point bent to the side just a little. Also use 10# braid line so when you get snagged you can pull hard and straighten out the hook to free it. Then bend the hook back once you get it back in. I use wax worms, red worms and Gulp maggots. With braided line all you have to do to set the hook is a quick jerk back with just your wrist. The bobber doesn't have to always go all the way under, sometimes if its just jiggling a little you can catch them too. As always, pay attention and learn and adapt as you go. 

[OmegaDPW]

I probably panfish more than anything. One rod is strictly for crappie (larger jighead/larger soft plastic) and one for bluegill (1/80 jighead with a #12 hook and a 1/2 inch curly tail grub). Both are fished under a weighted bobber. In reality, I could just fish the bluegill set up because everything winds up biting it. But, even with the tiny jighead and hook, I still lose fish- you'll know who the small ones are because the tail of the grub will eventually be bitten off. Usually those quick tugs where the bobber moves rapidly and then stops, the tiny fish have just grabbed the bait's tail. I don't have much luck setting the hook with those. 

 

 Upsize the bait just a touch if you're getting the quick bites on the bobber. You'll target a few more bigger bluegills and some of the nibblers won't attempt to bite it. My favorite lures for crappie and larger bluegill are the black bodied Beetle Spin grub without the tails. Fish just the grub body and not the spinner. It sounds counter-productive but my fish will rarely touch anything with the spinner right now. My ponds are normally shallow, so I start off about 1.5 feet under the bobber and just do a straight retrieve. You wouldn't think that the plain grub body would have much movement, but it actually does with a side to side wiggle. The crappie are killing it right now down here. 

 

With the bigger fish, you'll know when they commit. The bobber usually goes under and off to the side. Set the hook normally. Like @Hoosierman said above, sometimes with crappie, the bobber will just tip over and the fish has picked up the bait and continued up in the water column. Other times you may be reeling in slowly and the bobber isn't moving. Set the hook during those times too. Like everyone says, "hooksets are free" so you may as well try. Good luck!

1 hour ago, Hoosierman said:

#8 bronze cricket hook with the point bent to the side just a little. Also use 10# braid line so when you get snagged you can pull hard and straighten out the hook to free it. Then bend the hook back once you get it back in. I use wax worms, red worms and Gulp maggots. With braided line all you have to do to set the hook is a quick jerk back with just your wrist. The bobber doesn't have to always go all the way under, sometimes if its just jiggling a little you can catch them too. As always, pay attention and learn and adapt as you go. 

 

 I had all of my bobber set-ups on 10lb braid until recently. Just swapped back to 4lb mono. My biggest problem with the braid was the weighted bobber eventually getting all tangled up in the braid on the cast. Has this happened to you? It probably happened at least twice a session and took forever to untangle the braid. I finally gave up on it with the panfish rigs. 

[JackstrawIII]

Smaller bait. When panfishing, I use a <1" chunk of nightcrawler. It makes it much more difficult for the fish to steal it. I put them on small ice fishing jig heads with a size 6 or 8 hook. Works great. 

[Hoosierman]

I too get the tangle issue when casting but using a slip bobber helps.

I use a spit shot closer to my snap swivel and tie my own bobber stops.

My biggest reason for the braid setup is fishing from a boat and moving the boat to get a snag free ruins the fishing spot for a while. Pulling and straightening the hook prevents that problem.   

[OmegaDPW]

3 hours ago, Hoosierman said:

I too get the tangle issue when casting but using a slip bobber helps.

I use a spit shot closer to my snap swivel and tie my own bobber stops.

My biggest reason for the braid setup is fishing from a boat and moving the boat to get a snag free ruins the fishing spot for a while. Pulling and straightening the hook prevents that problem.   

 

 I gotcha. I use a fixed bobber most of the time. I know I should be using a slip bobber, but I have a ton of fixed bobbers to use up. My kids usually give me those for Christmas or birthday presents. 🙂

 

 I also use a snap swivel on many lures. So many people look down on them, but I'm all about the KISS principle. Especially for panfish. 

[Hoosierman]

Pound for pound, nothing fights as hard as a bluegill. I usually look for pine/fur trees with part of the branches sticking in the water. Crappie are kind of a dead fish to reel in (little fight). It's kinda funny catching gills when it seems like you go thru the whole family size (big down to little) when on a honey hole spot. Bending the end of the hook out just a little really seems to help on all of them no matter the size.