Neutral Buoyant Bobbers ( slip )
While I prefer jigging plastic or my own ties. At 70 years of age still have enough kid in me to enjoy the plunge of a bobber.
Most fisherman use too big of a bobber to be truly deadly at it. Here is what I have come up with over the years of piscatorial pursuit. I use slip bobber with brass inserts. They hold up best. I use slip sinkers for weight. Split shot is handier but just too prone to tangle.
My main line is braided so slipknot bead and bobber plus the slip sinker go on it. A # 10 barrel swivel at end of braid. The bullet shaped weight cups over the end of the swivel. Lastly a hook with a mono leader of about 12 inches. When I snag all I lose is the hook. Since I never lose a bobber. I can use the more expensive, better ones. I prefer short stemmed ( easier to thread with braided line) the brass in the top stem. All the ones with out the brass seem to get a groove in the top of the stem. Then the line does not flow smoothly and might catch only part way down.
About 90% of my bobbers are 5/8 inch or under in diameter. Right now my favorite is the Thill Pro Series. Next big thing for me is to balance them. What I mean by that is discovering how much weight is needed to float the bobber with about 90% of it already under water.
To do this I fill a five gallon bucket of water. Tie a short piece of mono at end of swivel stick thru bobber. At bottom thread slip sinker on cup facing where the hook would go. Tie some thing like a bead to prevent slip sinker from falling off. What you are looking for is to get the body of the bobber under water. With only the top stem sticking out.
I usually pick a day at beginning of open water season. To do this usually a day that the weather is preventing something better to do. Why go to all this bother ?
Fish feel almost no resistance when bobbers are set this way. In ice fishing if you are standing close to holes being fished you can go to true neutral. Top of stem even with surface of water. For open water fishing I prefer the top stem sticking up above. Makes it easier to see if
distance involved.
Since fish feel almost no resistance more initial strikes are turned into fish.Go with the smallest size bobber you feel to get the distance you need for casting. Remember the slip sinker is going to aid the cast too.