Slip Bobber or Fixed Bobber

[Kdog]

Thought this may be fun. I havent used a fixed bobber in ages and did not have any. Buddy and I were fishing same depth, same hole, about 4' apart
I lost my bait, never saw bobber move. He caught fish after fish. Other than bobber everything was identical. After half a dozen rebaits, I rooted around and found a small weighted clip on bobber and re-reigged, although the bobber was a bit small, I started catching fish.

So advice needed. Whento use a slip bobber and when to use a fixed bobber

 

[Jig Man]

I use a fixed when I'm fishing shallow, less than three feet. Slip bobber when I'm fishing too deep to cast accurately with a fixed...

 

[Fatman]

X2 with Jig man - there's a grassline in one of the arms off my favorite pond and it's easier to fish with a fixed float.

 

[Youth Fisher]

Slip all the time!

 

[jackie53]

Trout Magnet floats one rod rigged fixed the second rod fixed slip for deeper fish.Easy on easy off.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I have both but use a fixed float 90% of the time. Lakes I fish are pretty shallow and I like using long rods from 7-9 feet long so I can cast a fixed float and fish it 5-7 feet deep which is plenty for these lakes.

 

[Pup]

A slip bobber is better for me whenever the depth fished exceeds my rod's length and I'm using natural baits. I use a slip bobber whenever I fish nightcrawlers or spawn sacs for coho salmon, brown trout, and steelhead. They hit hard and leave little doubt about the take. I am able to cast more accurately and with greater distance when lobbing with a slip bobber.

I do like a fixed float for working a jig among suspended fish at a given depth.

 

[BucktailJiger]

Slip Bobber

 

[NorCoMike]

Almost always fixed for me. Never seem to catch anything on a slip float even though i have tryed a bunch. Besides i cant seem to get my stop knots to work well with the nanofill or braided line.

 

[jiggerjohn]

I used to always use a slip float for 1/32 and 1/64 oz jigs on the rare occaisions when I worked the shallows for panfish. Then a great bluegill artist from Arkansas put me onto a fixed float that he made himself from porcupine quills (he tossed em with a fly rod). These were more sensitive to light bites than anything I've ever used (including some sophisticated English floats) and makes shallow 'gillin' and crappie fishing a blast!

 

[Bucko]

Fixed if it's 3 feet or less, slip for the rest here.

 

[AtticaFish]

I have gone back and forth over the years. Have settled on mainly using fixed styles (weighted preferred) for anything less than 8 feet. Use a 6' rod and figure i can reach another 2' higher with my arm straight up. Casting a fixed float set 8' deep is not accurate at all though. But it sure works great using little jigs casting out in fairly shallow water. I do use slip floats on a couple deeper lakes but have trouble getting hook sets in just about any fish but catfish.

I still prefer to cast and reel with no float when ever i can. That often requires doubling up on jigs if trying to use small ones simply for casting distance. Have been known to even use cheater floats pegged on my line (not big enough to float the jig weight) if i want to slow the fall of a jig. The technique works really well.

 

[dbeam]

Ditto Attica
I prefer to never use a float, but when it is needed a fixed float can be rigged to turn over when the bait is lifted and you can so those hits as well as when it is pulled. We do that with a jig for spotted and largemouth out here in the winter. It is hard to cast a float with 8 ft. of line out but when your covering a rip-rap bank accuracy isn't very important.

Darrell

 

[Shoemoo]

I prefer fixed floats 95% of the time. The crappie and bass around here seem to prefer a steady retrieve and if I do that with a slip float the line wants to slide up through the float and make the jig ride too high in the water. I only use slip floats when I'm dead drifting a bobber in deeper water or the shoreline is very shallow and jigs on fixed floats with longer leaders would get snagged up on the bottom.

 

[deathb4disco]

I fish fixed about 100% of the time. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I fished a slip float. However, when float fishing, I use a 12-14' rod, so I can fish pretty deep.