In the "Roach world" pretty much everything revolves around convincing
walleyes and other fish to bite. Even when I'm not in the boat doing what I need
to do to make that happen, I just can't stop my mind from swimming around
different possibilities. It occurs to me now that I've lately been relying on
slip-float rigs (also known as slip-bobber rigs) more and more when walleyes
absolutely need to be caught, like when I'm guiding clients.
These
little buoyant stems of balsa are really so much more than bite-indicating
devices, though. Don't get me wrong, I love watching a walleye pull a cork
down-going-going-gone. Reel steadily against the bulk of a big fish, and then
drive the hook home. Just like connecting on a big league homerun. But
truthfully, the main thing with floats-and this gets continually overlooked-is
that they remain one of the finest precision live bait delivery tools in
existence. It's easy to discount corkin' because the method sometimes feels too
simple, too elementary to be taken seriously.
Nothing could be further
from the truth.
Northland's "Super-Pro"
Lite-BiteĀ® Slip Bobber burns a hole through a dark backdrop while Frabill Pro
Brian "Bro" Brosdahl admires a sacrificial shiner minnow. Like author Tony Roach
and float-fishing expert Bruce "Doc" Samson, Bro will dangle live bait beneath a
bobber to entice walleyes that have been located but won't hit passing targets
like crankbaits or jigs. Photo courtesy of Frabill (www.frabill.com).
|
A skilled float fisherman will many times fish
circles around even the best riggers and jiggers on the lake. Consider two big
tournament wins by my friend, Bruce "Doc" Samson-both on precision float
methods. On Ottertail Lake in Minnesota in 2006, Doc was the only angler in the
field using slip floats. Coupled with Northland Fishing Tackle Thumper Jigs (a
small-bladed spinner jig) and lively ribbon leeches, he walked away with the
title.
"Slip bobbers let me do things I just can't accomplish any other
way," Doc told me recently. "A properly rigged float system places a lively
leech, minnow or nightcrawler right in the sweet spot. While a jig or
slip-sinker rig presents bait with precision, these tools only keep bait in
front of the fish for as long as boat control allows. When the wind is up and
you're attempting to drift down a breakline, how often do you think your bait is
really in front of fish? In truth, it's only positioned "right" for a few
seconds at a time.
Quick side note... Realizing the significance of
presenting "lively" bait under a slip-float, I rely on Frabill's masterfully
designed bait management products, like their Bait Stations and worm care
systems to keep bait in fighting, walleye tormenting form.
Doc continues:
"Particularly early in the season, walleyes like to swim all around a bait,
inspecting it from many angles, before moving in to eat. A slip bobber keeps me
in the zone for as long as necessary. Plus, when I anchor on a structure during
a tournament, I'm better able to protect my spot from other fishermen. If I were
just drifting along with a jig or rig, I'd be unable to protect my spot. On lots
of today's crowded waters, this is sometimes a must."
From his tactical
boat-bow position, Doc pitches floats with an 8-1/2 foot medium-light steelhead
spinning rod, a large capacity Daiwa SS 1300 reel and 6-pound test mono. "Like a
lot of top pros out there, I've been experimenting with the new "Super Pro"
Northland Lite-Bite Slip Bobbers. They're just a nice sensitive float that never
fails to perform. I also like the Lite-Bite because it sports a slick little
brass grommet at the tip of the stem, which lets line pass freely through the
float. With a lot of other floats out there, line often wears a groove into the
stem tip. This can cut your line, or prevent the float from sliding properly up
and down. I also like the bright red stem with a bulb indicator at the tip. The
bright color makes it much more visible than most bobbers. Usually, I use the
non-weighted version, which tips over on its side to tell me when my jig has
touched bottom, keep me out of snags.
"Another tool that's key for my
slip bobber fishing is a LakeMaster digital map. Coupled with my GPS
chartplotter, I can measure precise distances from the boat to the edge of the
structure, so I can anticipate exactly when my bait reaches the fish zone, and
then hold it there."
As Doc has explained, corkin' is much more than just
soaking bait below a floating beach ball. It's a precision live bait system that
shines in typical walleye scenarios because it simply lets you hover bait in
front of fish with sustained accuracy.
Here's a personal example: Last
season on Minnesota's Mille Lacs, and several other lakes I fish, walleyes were
very well fed, surrounded by never-ending schools of baby perch. Fishing was
extremely tough if you insisted on showing walleyes baits or lures that sped
along in traditional fashion. Most of the fish simply let these baits pass right
on by.
It's comparable to what happens after you feast on a big
Thanksgiving dinner. When you're full, you're not likely to get up from the
table, walk all the way to the kitchen, and cut yourself a piece of pumpkin pie.
But if that same slice of pie should land fortuitously on your plate, well,
sometimes you just can't resist, right? Likewise, if you place a delectable bait
on a walleye's plate, and let it swim and struggle there for a while, good
things can happen. That's exactly how fishing played out last year on many of
these forage-rich lakes. The riggers, jiggers, and trollers struggled. But those
of us who pitched bobbers to specific areas never failed to get bit.
Certainly, you'll do well anchoring in wind and pitching float rigs to
fish on prime sections of structure, such as the inside corner of a rock reef.
And you can use floats to move baits into shallow snaggy positions where other
presentations falter. But floats aren't just for shallow water or for use over
rocks or weeds. One of the sweetest applications is something I call "power
corkin'."
It means driving over a structure, or even a mid-depth flat,
and sonar scanning for baitfish, emerging insect plumes, and larger walleye
arcs. When I spot a walleye or two on sonar, I hit neutral and immediately slide
my Lite-Bite Slip Bobber over the stern beside the transducer-bait drops right
in front of the walleye's face. I can also rewind the sonar screen, and note
fish depth, setting my bobber stop just a foot or so above them. The boat
gradually drifts away from the fish, but the float stays put as you feed it
line, holding the bait tight to the fish. Soon, the walleye's seen all she can
stand and takes a bite. Once you get the system super dialed in, you can even
watch the whole drama unfold on-screen-bait drops in front of the walleye, which
quickly rises up and eats.
Now that's precision fishing-almost like a
video game. With the right floats and live bait, you almost always
score.
--Tony Roach with Doc Samson











