slip bobber tangling with hook

[CrappiePappy]

It's your casting method. You can't cast Crappie slip bobber rigs like you can Walleye rigs. I prefer a nice easy cast, which means you won't get the same distance. 90% of the time, I use an underhand casting method to about 30'.

Yep .... overhand & sidearm casts with slipfloat rigs usually end up with tangles a high percentage of the time, unless you "loft" the cast, rather than "snap" the cast. I never try and cast a slipfloat rig very far, anyway ... especially if I have the bait set for very much depth. Even with a 10-12' rod, if you're bait is deep and your slipfloat was cast a long ways off, the hookset power is diminished quite a bit (mostly from the mobility of the float).

[deathb4disco]

Good video on casting. His comments on "feathering" the line are key. He is talking about touching the spool to slow the line down. This allows the float rig to stretch out in a straight line over the water before it lands.





Side note: believe it or not, these two men are speaking the same language as Richard Gene.

[DockShootinJack]

Good video on casting. His comments on "feathering" the line are key. He is talking about touching the spool to slow the line down. This allows the float rig to stretch out in a straight line over the water before it lands.





Side note: believe it or not, these two men are speaking the same language as Richard Gene.

Good point been doing that so long it becomes automatic

[BobC]

Good point been doing that so long it becomes automatic

That is an excellent point DSJ. I was just thinking how I have been casting my float/popper rigs and I remembered that feathering really helps with the tangling. Good video - always learning or being reminded of an old lesson. Getting the line to straighten out is important, and don’t try to overpower the cast.
Bob

[Hanr3]

I feather the line differently.
I pull the rod top back up towards me as the line neras the end of the cast. I also use this method to avoid casting too far. Like before i tangle with a tree.

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[Kevin22]

I am a seasoned bass and walleye fisherman but I just took up crappie fishing last year. My slip bobber rig is a light action spinning rod equipped with four pound line and the usual slip bobber, split shot and gold hook. I have often used slip bobbers for walleye but I never ran into the very frequent hook tangled onto bobber problem that I now encounter. I used 8 pound line for the walleyes but I don't know if that explains why I never had very many bobber/hook tangles.

Is there something particular I should be doing with my rigging to eliminate or drastically reduce the problem described above?

Jack Gp

Hey Jack, were you by chance using bass pro slip bobbers with the plastic tip on them? Those are the only ones that tangle for me, and boy do they tangle! Removing that plastic tip with pliers and using a bead seems to help, as does dragging the bobber about 6" the second it hits the water.

I try and buy the thill pro series or premiums when I can catch them on sale. I usually raid any bait shops I see selling them in the lose bins if they have any red or pink ones in the small size, they are really easy to see and I rarely ever have one tangle. I use the bass pro ones for areas where I wont be able to recover a broken off float since floats are not cheap anymore!

[Don Fischer]

I've been thing about this some more and have an idea I didn't mention earlier. What's with the split shot? I use a swivel, color don't matter to me, about 12" above the jig. On top of that is a bead, don't care the color of it either and then my round cork bobber. I don't have the problem you mentioned but then as someone else said, I don't try to make long cast's with a slip bobber either. I just toss it a bit and call it good if it lands in the water. That split shot. Where is it in relation to the jig? I would thing that at some point having two different weights spread apart a bit just might cause a problem like you have. Recently I found some bobber's like I see guy's on here using but water condition's what they are here, haven't been out for crappie even one time this year. Closest crappie I know of are 70 mi and 99% of the boat ramps here are out of the water! I'm simply not driving 70 miles towing my boat to find out I can't launch it, very dry year here!

So, I might suggest losing the split shot and add a swivel. Tie the leader to the jig not more than maybe 12" from the swivel. get rid of the extra weight between the bobber and the jig. snother thing that worked for me was using the eyelet on the jig to stop the bobber. What the heck, so long as the bobber doesn't fall off and the jig pulls the line through the bobber it shouldn't matter where the bobber stops I'd think! One last though. Some time's I've had mono line with to much memory in it, lose it. Can't hardly get it off the spool without a mess. Could be the main line is to heavy and naturally has to much memory, lose the heavy line. I know a lot of guy's recommend 6# line for crappie but heaviest I use is 4# and on one UL set up 2#. I don't think there's many crappie around that are gonna beat you with 4# for sure and probably not with 2#, well, at least not around here. Set your rod up to fish for the size fish you think you'll be getting, don't be an optimist! Don't hang much in the way of extra weight between the bobber and the jig, can't see how that will help anything! The depth of your jig is determined by where you put the bobber stop, not someplace between the bobber and the jig!

[Hanr3]

I use split shot all the time. I set it about 18" above teh hook. This separation gives the minnow freedom to travel and do its job, attract fish. If it just hangs there because its not strong enough to move the weighted lure, your wasting bait. The other benefit is the fish don't feel teh weight of the jig. Less likely to spit it out because its unnaturally heavy. The split shot also makes the bobber neutrally buoyant. Slightest tug on the line and the bobber goes down.