Bobber fishing rod? What'cha using?

[Ronbow]

Redington Dually 10.5' #3 with Rio Switch Chucker line. Can easily handle 25' under indicator (use plumbobbers). Lotta rod for any fish under 15"
Thinking of getting Mystic M series 10'3" 4 weight for lighter, shallow stuff, SA Anadro.
Interesting occasional comments on Euro Nymph 10+'; anyone out there using these?

 

[Creatch’r]

The SA anadro line is my favorite bobber line I’ve ever tried and I’m pretty sure I’ve tried them all since nymph tapers became a thing. With that line I think any rod will easily fish a bobber on a lake. I have 2 matching 5100 echo Lagos for Stillwater bobber watching because obviously if you’re fishing two rods, they have to match. I had two different reels on them but I recently fixed that issue and I am anticipating even more bobber downs in 2024 as a result.

 

[Irafly]

I still have my original glx 10’ 4wt that I bought in the 90’s and used to fish 25’ leaders at pass lake and kamloops.
Now it’s job is swinging soft hackles for 1/2 pounders.

I wish I still had mine. I loved that rod, but I’m just a tad hard on gear and Loomis replaced it with my current stick.

 

[Irafly]

The SA anadro line is my favorite bobber line I’ve ever tried and I’m pretty sure I’ve tried them all since nymph tapers became a thing. With that line I think any rod will easily fish a bobber on a lake. I have 2 matching 5100 echo Lagos for Stillwater bobber watching because obviously if you’re fishing two rods, they have to match. I had two different reels on them but I recently fixed that issue and I am anticipating even more bobber downs in 2024 as a result.

There is something seriously important to the idea of finding a line that works for you, good call.

As for having anything that matches in my arsenal, well, let’s just say that most of the times my socks match.

 

[albula]

Easy question. Somebody else's.

 

[Dave Boyle]

I got two of these

Maxcatch Competition InTouch Nymph Fly Rod for Euro nymphing Fly Fishing​

They are 3 wt 10’6” but really a 4 weight. They’re $104 ea on Amazon. I did fish Winstons of 4, 5 and 6 but for most wa lakes I think they are too heavy. I over line with 4 wt lines and am very happy with them.

The build and cork are very good given they’re cheap rods. The are med to fast action and as longer rods, quite forgiving when playing a fish hard and close to thd boat.

Dave

 

[Wetswinger]

Any cheap old thing. Ya don't need a $1000 G Loomis to huck a bobber full of beadhead nymphs and swivels. I use a 10ft $90 Shakespeare. The main thing is finding your own usable cast...

 

[skyriver]

5' Zebco spincast and a slip bobber. After surveying all the equipment variations used for so called high falutin' chironomid fishing, I realized that going back to what many of us started out with is perhaps the most efficient bobber fishing tool of all.

Honestly...probably the easiest to cast. However, I like having the ability to strip and retrieve the fly line.

To the OP...it's not gonna matter much. Like @SurfnFish said, this ain't tournament stuff and it's not gonna be pretty. More like git er done. I use my 80s 9' IMX 5wt and an old SA XPS DT5F line. There are probably 20+ lines that would be better for slinging that crap, but again...how much better?

 

[Tom Butler]

I guess I never did answer this. I usually fish a 10' 6wt Echo Stillwater, otherwise I have a 9' 5wt clearwater rigged for this. Sometimes a 9' 6wt Classic Trout.

 

[Russell]

Any cheap old thing. Ya don't need a $1000 G Loomis to huck a bobber full of beadhead nymphs and swivels. I use a 10ft $90 Shakespeare. The main thing is finding your own usable cast...

You definitely do not need a $1000 rod for any fishing but Hucking bobbers and swivels and such does not seem fun. I'm not sure when the gear bobbers became the norm but I allways used to use a tiny tuft of polypropolene yarn or nothing at all for an indicator. A short front taper line, like a SA mastery DT, and a tiny piece of split shot if needed was easy to cast if you opened up your loops a bit. The long rod helped pull the long leaders from the depths and long casts were not all that hard. Most of the fish I caught were hooked on a crawling hand twist retrieve and no visual was needed to know you had a fish on.
The zebco defineately is the way to go if you want plastic bobbers and swivels and such.

 

[Wetswinger]

You definitely do not need a $1000 rod for any fishing but Hucking bobbers and swivels and such does not seem fun. I'm not sure when the gear bobbers became the norm but I allways used to use a tiny tuft of polypropolene yarn or nothing at all for an indicator. A short front taper line, like a SA mastery DT, and a tiny piece of split shot if needed was easy to cast if you opened up your loops a bit. The long rod helped pull the long leaders from the depths and long casts were not all that hard. Most of the fish I caught were hooked on a crawling hand twist retrieve and no visual was needed to know you had a fish on.
The zebco defineately is the way to go if you want plastic bobbers and swivels and such.

I guess we need to define the difference between a bobber and an indicator. The bobber is used to suspend your lure.

 

[Russell]

I guess we need to define the difference between a bobber and an indicator. The bobber is used to suspend your lure.

I guess we need to define the difference between a lure and a fly....

 

[Salmo_g]

I guess we need to define the difference between a lure and a fly....

Not hard. All flies are lures. Some, but not all, lures are flies.

 

[iveofione]

I prefer the longer reach of a 10' rod, it just feels easier than the shorter rods. I have ten footers in 3wt, 4wt and 5wt depending on the size of fish I expect to catch.

Last year I bought an Echo Carbon XL 6wt in a 9' to fish in a fairly shallow lake where 4-5# fish are frequently caught. I'm impressed with how accurate this rod is. I have never considered myself a particularly accurate caster but damn-the Carbon makes me look good!

 

[@Dryflyphotography]

Ok! There's a lot of great input from our local bobber watchin' community here. Brothers of the bob', thank you! I'm now happily convinced that a 10' five weight will be a fun rod to acquire, especially since I seem to fish the bobber now about 90% of my time on stillwater. I found a nice blowout sale on rod building kits from good old Hook & Hackle and will add a new rod building project to my winter to-do's. I have a couple of older Rio Grand lines that will probably work well enough, I'll try the 5 and the 6 to see which sling those 18' leaders better on that rod...probably the 6 wt. Now to improve my chironomid ties. Tight lines, Ron

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Say it ain’t so Ron…….plastic instead of bamboo?? Have you fished some of your 9’ bamboo rods with indicators? I don’t fish more than 10’-11’ under my indicator so shorter bamboo rods work for me. I’m usually between 7’-10’ max and find enough fish to make my bobber go down! But that’s just me…..if the weight of a long bamboo rod is a concern……I know we can make a lighter long Hotrod!

 

[@Dryflyphotography]

Steve, yes it’s sadly true. I’ve tried my bamboo rods with indicators many times but am ready to admit that the awesome charms of bamboo don’t translate well to bobber fishing for me. Call me a heretic, but graphite is pretty darn good for this type of fishing. I’m going over to the dark (gray) side, LOL!

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Dang Ron….I wish I could give you a “don’t like!”

 

[@Dryflyphotography]

Dang Ron….I wish I could give you a “don’t like!”

Don't worry Steve, my bamboo rod fever is still plenty hot.

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Hmmmmmm…..ok Ron, you got me thinking…..9’-10’ 4/5 wt fiberglass ferruled, graphite tip section, fighting butt lightweight indicator rod from Hotrodz of Burien! Not that I really need one but maybe fun to build.…..