Slip Bobber Rod

I’m looking to get more into slip bobber fishing and was wondering what a good rod is for it because everything i have read says you must have a long rod.

Thanks

I typically use a 6’6″ Berkeley Lightening Rod. i have used 6′ too.

big g

I use a 7’6′ G Loomis 8400 rod for further casting capabilities and in my opinion i can put more into the hook set. My two cents.

I fish a pair of 7’6″ rods for corking: a St Croix avid (76MFL) and the comparable tournament series rod.

I don’t think you need an Avid for corking. But I’ll bet those Avids serve as super rigging rods too! I have 2 St Croix Premiere 76 MLF that I just love for bobber fishing. Soft tip and enough backbone to handle big fish.

Some guys are into the 8 footers and longer. The one thing I don’t like about those rods, most are 2 – piece set ups. I’ll stick to a one piece and a 7 foot 6 inch rod still fits in a lot of rod lockers!

-J.

The best rods I have found for corking aren’t top of the line rods. I build custom rods and if I thought I could build one better I would. But the 8’6″ steelhead rods from cabelas are 59.99 for the Tourney Trail and 39.99 for the Pro Guide. The Tourney Trail is a touch too stiff in my educated opinion – so for 40 clams for a Pro Guide you can have what I consider to be perfectly adequate job for the task – they are two piece too – so storage isn’t an issue. The additional length is really appreciated when making long drifts (casts) – and really help immensely with hooksets. I have even used mine for gill fishing – the length isn’t a negative there either – to my way of thinking the longer rod allows you to set the hook in the roof of the mouth with more regularity (less missed fish). Your results may vary – but I have the knowledge to build a better rod if I wanted one – just don’t see where I can make any improvements over these rods for the money. Chuckles

I agree with JJ.. 7’6 St. Croix Premier one piece.

For me personally, I just don’t like the feel of the Premier rods for some reason. The Avids are a bit more money, but they also feel a lot better. For some reason the Premier felt like a wet noodle in my hands in the store. I have a 7′-0 MLF and a 7′-6″ MLXF Avid that I purchased this year for corking on Mille Lacs and they work awesome. I would recommend the 7′-6 MLXF. I wish I would have bought two of these, rather than the one seven footer. I let the first salesman talk be out of the longer rod.

I absolutely love my 9-6 St. Croix Wild River MM for bobbers and rigging. It is a 2 piece, but handles and performs like a 1 piece.

I like longer rods for bobbers as well. The rod I use is a Scheels Bobber Rod. 7’6″ with a nice tip, yet a good amount of back bone. They are reasonably priced at $60. They work well here at Devils Lake and performed very nicely at Mille Lacs this spring.

I take it the longer rods are for quickly taking up slack in the line to set the hook. Any other purpose for the extra length?

I think you hit the nail on the head Mike. Long rods seem to be more forgiving also when fighting the fish. I had my five and six year-old nephews reeling in 24-28″ fish all day on Mille Lacs earlier this summer and they didn’t lose a single fish.

The longer rods are good to move a lot of line when you go to set the hook. They also allow for a softer pitch to keep the bait on the hook while still being able to obtain enough velocity to lob a bait out there a good ways (longer drifts present to more fish)- and allow you to tend the line when current or wind pushes slack out in a bow shape – which would give you too much slack to set the hook and also would cause an unnaturally quick drift for your bait dangling below. Long fishng rods are the wya to go for corks. As Hunter88 put it they also allow for more of a buffer when fighting the fish as well. Your results may vary, Chuckles