Difference between bobbers?

[Drop the Bass]

I occasionally use bobbers. I use the generic ones that are hollow plastic spheres that are red and white. Everyone has seen those and probably used them before. But does the kind of bobber change anything? Like the use of slip or spring bobbers versus the generic ones?

Thanks.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Slip bobbers are different then your standard round red and white ones because they slip and the slip has a few advantages over the standard ones.

With standard bobbers your line is clipped into the top and bottom loops and it does not slip.

With a slip bobbber your line actually passes through the bobber and the line slips through it.... You set the depth you want your hook to sit by adjusting the a small piece of string that attaches to your main line above the bobber. The string acts as a stop.

This does a few things... Since your line passes through the bobber your are always in direct contact with the hook so you can detect strikes better and you get a better hook set. It also helps with casting especially when you want your hook depth fairly deep. Fishing a deep set up with a standard bobber, you can only reel up to the point where the bobber comes tight to the rod eye to load up for casting. If you have the hook depth set to 5 feet you have the bobber tight to the eye and you have another 5 feet of line past the bobber making it difficult to cast. With the slip bobber, since the line slips through the bobber, you reel your bobber up to the rod eye and the hook comes along with it tight to the bobber. Since your bobber and hook are tight to one and other and the rod eye, it's much more compact and easier to cast.

[JerseyCoast]

Bobbers do make a difference. The cheap ones often fill up and sink, the extra money to get a good one if your using it often is well worth it.

This is just my 2 cents, in addition to Gerry's info. The guys who use them in the bay for some specialty fishing absolutely benefit from a better brand.

[mtman]

another type to try is the cigar shaped bobbers which lay flat on the water--less drift if it is windy and they stand up when you get a strike or if your bait gets hung up--attach them to the line the same as the round ones --good luck