Slip bobber/power corking

I changed my slip bobber presentation a year or so ago. Went from traditional stop, bead, bobber, split shot, bare hook…; To stop, bead, bobber, bead, 1/8 egg sinker, bead, swivel, flouro leader, 1/16 fireball short shank jig. Like the new setup…but find at times if the jig is on bottom the bobber will still stand up straight from the egg sinker and not lay sideways to alert on bottom. All the while crayfish are eating my bait while the jig lays on the bottom and I’m non the wiser. I set my depth with the old school clamp on depth checker.

What am I doing wrong?

You’re not giving in the “HAWK-TUAH”

Sounds like your trying to be to close to bottom. I also use the length of my rod for depth. If I have a 8 ft rod and fishing 17 ft I put my stop up just short of 2 full rod lengths. That’s put me at 15 ft depth roughly.

For really lazy slow style, make to bottom like a drop shot rig or a floater rig?

use stiffer leader line to avoid line tangles.

****

Is the egg sinker necessary?

You can also measure with your out stretched arms, that distance is the same as your height.

acarroline wrote:

I set my depth with the old school clamp on depth checker.

This is what I do too. It takes like a minute or less to confirm the depth.

Your stop is slipping, and/or you are placing bait too close to bottom and small fluctuations to where your cast is bottoming your jig out. Always fish above the fish.

You got too much stuff on that line. Different parts want to fall at different rates. stop, bead, float, bead, flouro, jig. I run my floats up and down a zebra mussel filled river from shore so depth is key. I match the jig to the float, and the bottom bead keeps the float from getting stuck on the knot to flouro.

Riverrat wrote:

You got too much stuff on that line. Different parts want to fall at different rates. stop, bead, float, bead, flouro, jig. I run my floats up and down a zebra mussel filled river from shore so depth is key. I match the jig to the float, and the bottom bead keeps the float from getting stuck on the knot to flouro.

He saying the jig is on bottom, and the bobber still stands due to the egg sinker. His problem is he’s trying to fish to close to bottom.

Buy a livescope

Slip bobber fishing the river this past weekend got me a chestnut lamprey, and next time I go tubing down the river my butthole gonna be just a little more clenched. Nasty little thing.

Maybe you need a larger bobber.

K.I.S.S

BC is right. Don’t try to fine tune a bait that close to the bottom.

Riverrat is also right. The more components in a slip bobber rig = more issues with casting, setting depth, and re rigging.

buckybadger wrote:

K.I.S.S

BC is right. Don’t try to fine tune a bait that close to the bottom.

Riverrat is also right. The more components in a slip bobber rig = more issues with casting, setting depth, and re rigging

The way he has it rigged is exactly how you rig a power cork for water deeper then 10 ft. That way it can drop fast to the zone.

I use the same setup on my bobber rod, but maybe consider using a drop shot. Several advantages include you’re always off the bottom as long as you keep the line tight, you can change how far you’re off the bottom in seconds, you can actually feel a bite rather than just watching a bobber go down, and you can retrieve/walk it back to you to cover a little more ground. I have a buddy that fishes exclusively this way both open water and ice, and I’m just getting used to it, especially walking it back to the boat, but it’s effective. It also allows me to fish sharp breaks without having to worry about casting too far on top of the break. Even if you’re 3 feet off the bottom with a bobber, sharp enough break could be more than 3 feet of depth change in 20 yards distance. Plenty of videos out there on how to do it.

That was the way back in the olden days, now tungsten will get you down right quick.

Riverrat wrote:

That was the way back in the olden days, now tungsten will get you down right quick.

No tungsten for me. I’ll use up the 30,000 jigs and egg sinkers I have first lol.

Appreciate the thoughts.

1. Too close to bottom has been the concensus of convo’s i’ve had…yes! Learned to bobber fish being 12-18 inch off bottom, gotta adjust. Better to be above then below fish.

2. Livescope…working on it but agree!

3. Too many components…agreed. May try to eliminate the bead after the bobber and before the egg sinker. Would be nice to eliminate the sinker and go with Tungsten jig. Maybe the next try.

acarroline wrote:

Appreciate the thoughts.

1. Too close to bottom has been the concensus of convo’s i’ve had…yes! Learned to bobber fish being 12-18 inch off bottom, gotta adjust. Better to be above then below fish.

2. Livescope…working on it but agree!

3. Too many components…agreed. May try to eliminate the bead after the bobber and before the egg sinker. Would be nice to eliminate the sinker and go with Tungsten jig. Maybe the next try.

Live scope, not needed, eliminating bead, not needed, tungsten not needed, adjusting depth correctly definitely needed.

Depending on how clear the water is, don’t be afraid to go 2 to 4 feet off the bottom. Walleyes will easily come up that far to hit it.
DT

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>acarroline wrote:</div>
Appreciate the thoughts.

1. Too close to bottom has been the concensus of convo’s i’ve had…yes! Learned to bobber fish being 12-18 inch off bottom, gotta adjust. Better to be above then below fish.

2. Livescope…working on it but agree!

3. Too many components…agreed. May try to eliminate the bead after the bobber and before the egg sinker. Would be nice to eliminate the sinker and go with Tungsten jig. Maybe the next try.

Live scope, not needed, eliminating bead, not needed, tungsten not needed, adjusting depth correctly definitely needed.

Yes…but the Livescope is gonna be a “really nice to have”

I think the problem you are having is that the egg sinker is still off the bottom and thus your bobber is still standing up. But the line / drop below the egg sinker with the jig is on the bottom. You need to account for the length of line that you have the jig tied to that is below the egg sinker. Often with a little wind you will notice when the jig is on the bottom and hanging on rocks or weeds by watching the bobber as the wave crashes over it. If it dips below the water as the wave passes over it and then pops right back up after, then the jig is probably hanging on the bottom. If fully off the bottom, the bobber will ride the wave and stay above the water the whole time. I hope this makes sense.

Bearcat is right. Too close to the bottom. Get the bait 18″-24″ off the bottom.

fishthumper wrote:

I think the problem you are having is that the egg sinker is still off the bottom and thus your bobber is still standing up. But the line / drop below the egg sinker with the jig is on the bottom. You need to account for the length of line that you have the jig tied to that is below the egg sinker. Often with a little wind you will notice when the jig is on the bottom and hanging on rocks or weeds by watching the bobber as the wave crashes over it. If it dips below the water as the wave passes over it and then pops right back up after, then the jig is probably hanging on the bottom. If fully off the bottom, the bobber will ride the wave and stay above the water the whole time. I hope this makes sense.

I think you’re spot on!

Your set up is fine.
At least 18-24 off bottom. This past weekend I was fishing closer to 4-5 ft off bottom.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Your set up is fine.
At least 18-24 off bottom. This past weekend I was fishing closer to 4-5 ft off bottom.

Thats typically what I try to do buy wasnt used to accounting foe the egg sinker portion. Gonna fish higher now.