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Went out to a local pond tonight to catch some dinner. I was using an ultralight rod w/ 4lbs test line and some little black poppers after a casting bubble. Can't remember the size of the hook, but I think a 12 or 14. Early on I was averaging over 1 good strike per cast. Often 3 or more. Good strikes with the popper diving under water. Still, I was only able to land 5 worth keeping (3 more that weren't and 1 that stole my popper when the knot gave way). I switched to a much smaller foam beetle and still had the same kind of luck. Lots of bites, no hooks set.
I'm just getting back into fishing this year, and still had a heck of a time, but it sure would be nice to land some more fish, especially when they were so active. I tried to be quick on setting the hook, but it just didn't want to work. Is there something I'm missing?
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That sounds fun and like a good setup. I think the bobber you are talking about is a slip bobber..Water filled? If not, I would suggest that, then a leader 3' to your popper. That way you can feel all bites. I would reel slow and always keep line tight and wait to teel the bite. Also, sometimes a bit of nightcrawler will make them take the hook in deeper allowing more hookups.
Shawn
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Make sure the hook has a nice gap between the hook point and the shaft.
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The bubble was not a slip type, it was tied on. What are the advantages with the slip type? I will work on slowly reeling the whole time and see what happens. I'll also check my hook gap and, if that fails, toss on some worm.
Thanks!
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slip type bobbers are easier to cast as you don't have the extra line hanging below the bobber. Might be more accurate also if balanced right they don't "spook" the fish so when the bite there is very little resistance, compared to trying to pull a fixed bobber down.
Another thing that is good about a slip bobber is that if the fish takes the bait and moves up towards the bobber the slip bobber lays down on its side while a regular bobber will only move in the direction it is pulled, so when a fish would be feeding up you wouldn't know it with a fixed bobber.
The best advantage is the ability to set your bait for a much deeper presentation since when casting you don't need to deal with all the line under the bobber. When you cast the weight of your bait/lure will continue to sink untill it reaches the stop that is on your line. So you have a great amount of flexibility.
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