I am not a proud man but....

[zippyFX]

Maybe it's just me but people I know still give me funny looks when I'm fishing and I whip out a selection of floats and hem and haw about what size and shape to use. I once suggested someone use a floats in a given presentation and they gafawed and said they have not used them since they were eight.

This weekend I went fishing with a buddy and he whipped out his cranks and started at it. After about an hour I was out fishing him about 5 to 1 (mostly sunfish but a good amount of Crappie were had). I kept offering some of the bobbers and tubes that I had in spades but he kept declining. About the last 45 minuted he acquiesced and started to get more bites. But alas his line was too large and his rod too heavy so though he did have more success it was marginal.

I have areas I am trying to develop, like getting the patients to work a worm for suckers and redhorses or sit and wait long enough for the carp tug at the line, but I do acknowledge there are different presentations for different targets required to increase the percentages of bite. I've seen it work.

It would seem that this hobby is heavily influenced by competitive bass and walleye fishing. Granted this is the gear that is probably selling the most and generating revenue for the companies. Everything has it's place but it seems the people I meet don't have the patience for finesse or passive fishing (be it floats or fishing slowly with live bait). They need to be casting and ripping all the time. From what I have been reading we are a generation behind in float fishing when compared to the heavily pressured European waters. I cringe when some of the people that have fished along side me the past couple of weeks for Crappie have pulled out the big red and white floats. I tried one with my son on the weekend and I concluded even he needed a better one.

So, all that being said, what has your experience been? Is it similar to mine? Are there any types of presentation that getting a bum deal?

[MuskieBait]

Yeah, sometimes I get looks when fishing with floats...or I get looks when fishing with a bottom rig with bait.

I get the looks when I'm steelheading with bait that is not roe bags as well...all these wannabes that have expensive gear who only fishes roe bags and have no clue at all about anything else that works even better...I just chuckle because I've an arsenal of bait that can get fish to bite better than roe bags.

I started fishing with bait (I think everyone does)...then went mad buying and trying out different lures. Don't get my wrong, lures do have their time and place, and getting to understand how and when to use a lure effectively means you develop a really good understand of the fish's behaviour. But then again, there are an unlimited number of lures you can buy, try and use...is it always necessary? The answer is no for me. So I started selling some of my lures and now I fish more and more with livebait. And livebait is good ole worms most of the time (or shrimp and squid in the ocean).

The worst looks I've gotten is when I go out of my way to target some small species of fish, catch it, then take out my camera to take some pictures. I've people said that that's just bait and not worth my time and definitely not worth the pictures...then I said "Yeah, but I've caught over 100, 200 or 300 fish species of fish. How about you?" They may say "Yeah, but you're just catching small fish." But I'll tell them about the story of my 120lb Yellowfin Tuna, or the 88lb Samsonfish, or the Mekong Catfish, Giant Barb or White Sturgeon...and they shut up after.

[Eli]

Quite simply: you don't need ten tackle boxes filled with over-commercialized crap to catch fish...ANY fish.
Disregard most fishing shows. Disregard most magazines. They are nothing but thinly veiled product ads, for the most part.
The best way to fish is the one that is the most fun for you...keep it legal and have fun doing it.

To answer your question, most presentations get a bum deal. This is because most anglers don't know (and don't care to know) most of the species that exist where it is they happen to be fishing.

[tweedwolfscream]

(04-30-2013 12:26 AM)zippyFX Wrote:  I cringe when some of the people that have fished along side me the past couple of weeks for Crappie have pulled out the big red and white floats. I tried one with my son on the weekend and I concluded even he needed a better one.

I'm curious what's wrong with red and white floats? (I assume you mean the round ones that clip onto the line.)

[MuskieBait]

(04-30-2013 10:51 AM)tweedwolfscream Wrote:  

(04-30-2013 12:26 AM)zippyFX Wrote:  I cringe when some of the people that have fished along side me the past couple of weeks for Crappie have pulled out the big red and white floats. I tried one with my son on the weekend and I concluded even he needed a better one.

I'm curious what's wrong with red and white floats? (I assume you mean the round ones that clip onto the line.)

I find them less sensitive.

Even if I'm not fishing for steelhead, I prefer to use floats that were designed for steelhead. The slim profile of the float makes them more sensitive than the larger round shape of the red and white bobbers.

If you are fishing for fish that are shy or very wary of line tension, round bobbers may not be the best.

On the contrary, if you are fishing a large live suckers, or if you are fishing choppy water, a wider and rounder float give you more buoyancy to keep the bait and rig afloat and visible.

[zippyFX]

(04-30-2013 12:54 PM)MuskieBait Wrote:  

(04-30-2013 10:51 AM)tweedwolfscream Wrote:  

(04-30-2013 12:26 AM)zippyFX Wrote:  I cringe when some of the people that have fished along side me the past couple of weeks for Crappie have pulled out the big red and white floats. I tried one with my son on the weekend and I concluded even he needed a better one.

I'm curious what's wrong with red and white floats? (I assume you mean the round ones that clip onto the line.)

I find them less sensitive.

Even if I'm not fishing for steelhead, I prefer to use floats that were designed for steelhead. The slim profile of the float makes them more sensitive than the larger round shape of the red and white bobbers.

If you are fishing for fish that are shy or very wary of line tension, round bobbers may not be the best.

On the contrary, if you are fishing a large live suckers, or if you are fishing choppy water, a wider and rounder float give you more buoyancy to keep the bait and rig afloat and visible.

I guess I should not be a snob... But as Ken indicated I find them less sensitive and they also provide a lot of drag/resistance when reelling in the water which could cause a slack line behind the bobber causing the fish to spit the hook (I think this may have happened to my son). If anything I would suggest the smaller red and white ones but a nice thill float is not that much more expensive.

For larger bait (like 8in suckers for Musky) thill has some larger floats that I like as well, though they tend to be sold often once Muskie season opens.

But hey, if those bobbers work for you and compliment the way you fish, more power to you. As I said, I should not be a snob about it.

[MuskieBait]

(04-30-2013 01:09 PM)zippyFX Wrote:  But hey, if those bobbers work for you and compliment the way you fish, more power to you. As I said, I should not be a snob about it.

I won't say it's being a snob to prefer other floats rather than the good ole red and white bobber.

It's about understanding the basics and refining your rig and technique to improve your fishing methods and your success rate.

If the fish are aggressive and reckless, you can catch them equally well with a $0.50 red/white bobber vs. a $4 special float.

But fish are not always aggressive and reckless...and some species are more wary than others. Those are times you need a sensitive float to signal a bite. Even a sunfish can suck and blow out your baited hook without so much as moving your bobber. Heck, they can even do that without moving your Thill Shy Bite float (those are the times you really need to sightfish).

Unfortunately, some people thinks that having the best gear will help you catch more fish. It's true to a certain sense if you know how to use that gear and that marginal difference in performance actually matters to you in a real way. Otherwise, spend less money on gear and more time on gas for time on the water...so eventually you'll understand the need for more improved (and sometimes more expensive) gear.

[tweedwolfscream]

To be clear, I didn't ask my bobber question to challenge anyone for being a "snob", I'm genuinely interested in learning what the tradeoffs are. Thank you both for sharing your views.

[OldTimer]

On a lake - For me it boils down to using a bobber of the smallest proportion while still remaining visible (to me) on the surface and minimizing the effects of wind.

ie - Big bait and big target = big bobber............etc.

I use various size red&white styles, quills, old wine corks,.................. and on more than a few occasions I've used a floating lure (popper) with a line coming off its back end for crickets and small pieces of worm (sorta like a sea trout rig).

OT

[Anil_90]

I still love my live bait over lures and grubs