Bobber/float Tangling

[Haris122]

Hi guys, I'm new on here (and fairly new to fishing as well), just joined yesterday and I didn't find this topic brought up yet, so I figured I ask how I can save myself from over-repeating this problem. Basically I've had several times when I got my line tangled around the bobber without realizing it, and then proceeded to cluelessly wait, for a good 20-30 or even more minutes wondering if it pulled that act on me again, or if I'm just not at the right depth, or right place.

My setup is the hook, then on average something like 15 inches of leader line (give or take another 4"), attached to a snap swivel (tied to the bottom of the snap on loop portion of it, with the release portions of the snap swivel squished in with pliers so it doesn't open up and have the line slide off somehow), and then followed by a sinker and two split shots on either side of it some 3-4" up on the main line, and finished off with the bobber (non-slip kind) maybe another 4-6" above it. Now even though it's not the best setup, I have had luck with it, so I'm a bit fond of it and would like to keep it in my limited arsenal of fishing techniques, but I can't quite figure out a method to the madness, seeing how at some configurations of leader line length, sinker/splitshot location from the swivel and bobber there are lower frequencies of tangling while at others they're quite common. Any hints/tips would be appreciated. And cool site you guys have here (I myself have been mostly on the Meramec, so I think it's cool there's a subsection by river/lake).

[JCWolfe]

I don't baitfish very much anymore. If I was bobber fishing it would be hook, split shot then bobber. Adjusting split shot and bobber as needed. If I was fishing on bottom for trout it would be hook, split shot then a slide sinker above that. Adjusting split shot up or down as needed. When you put on split shot loop it thru again before you pinch, this will help keep it from sliding. Your line will be going thru your split shot twice. Use removable split shot so it will be easier to adjust. I never had tangling problem and can't say why you are without seeing you cast. Maybe too much on your line, I don't know.

[Haris122]

That bit about the split shot sounds pretty useful. I use the removable ones, and I don't have a lot of problems on normal casts, but there are plenty of times that that happens, when my reel locks up on itself when I'm about to cast, but I'm definitely going to try that out. Maybe I should try putting all of the stuff on the main line maybe, as opposed to having the hook on the leader? Or should it be workable even with a leader? Maybe I need to put a split shot on the leader too, to keep it from flinging from the side of the main line's direction when thrown? Thanks for the help Wolfe.

[Dutch]

I fish float n fly with leaders from 3-14 feet long. I don't ever remember having the problem that you have described. What type and brand of reel are you using and how long is your rod? Are you casting side arm or overhand?

[Haris122]

The reel is a Shakespeare "Mantis" Reel, on a Shakespeare "Durango" Rod (Cheap I know, but currently what's within my means). Walmart acquired stuff basically. The rod is like 5'6", and I generally cast from behind me, from my left shoulder (I'm a lefty), so I'm guessing that's overhand.

[Dutch]

I'd say it is the short rod that is causing your problem.

[Haris122]

Well I had a 6' that originally came with the "Mantis" reel that I accidentally broke the tip off from being stored bent in my car for too long, but even with it the same things would happen. And I figure that's a regular length for a rod, that most people make work.

[Haris122]

Guys I need some more advice on this, before I go crazy.

I was out a few days ago, and tried out one of the cigar shaped bobbers, one of the ones with a weight preattached to it, on my cheap rod, and I also had an egg sinker along with 2 split shots on either side of it, close to 2 feet below, followed by a snap swivel and another foot or so of leader line, and a rooster tail. Long story short the parts below the bobber kept tangling around the top portion of the bobber with 95% of the casts. Ridiculously enough, with the round bobber, far less tangling occured even though everything else was the same.

Fast forward to today, I try it again with the cigar shaped bobber (again with roostertail), and magically somehow it works out. Practically no tangling even though it was the same setup as a few days ago. Only difference was the amount of current in the river (more of a calm backwater on the MIssissippi today, as opposed to main part of river on Meramec). So I figure, things are finally working out. I try out one of the crankbaits I also got for my birthday. Everything works smooth. I decide to change up things and put a treble hook with some cat blood stuff on it, so that this rod sits, while I keep casting the new one, and then it starts pulling the same ridiculous crap as a few days ago, with the whole whipping around itself and tangling a thousand ways around the bobber and so on.

I know some line tangling comes with the territory, but as many months as I've done this, I really would expect to see some light at the tunnel. A way to figure out how to avoid this by now, as opposed to it working fine one time, and horrible another, despite the same conditions in both cases. Bottom line, this stuff is really taking out all the enjoyment out of fishing. I keep getting paranoid each time I cast, that it pulls the same stupid act on me. Even when it does work out after some trouble, it winds up being after so many casts that I just about scares off all fish in the vicinity. And btw, I was slowing the line down with the finger, as suggested to reduce the tangling.

[Al Agnew]

Your problem is simply that you have too many points of weight on the line. In your original set-up, you had the hook, the snap swivel, the two split shot, the egg sinker, and the bobber. That's at five or six points of weight on the line, giving you five or six ways to get tangled. It's gonna happen, and you need to simplify your rigs.

For fishing live bait or catfish bait on the bottom, just use a hook on the end of your line, a small split shot about 8-12 inches above it attached like JC suggested, and a sliding sinker above that. No bobber necessary. The sliding sinker will be down against the split shot on the cast, meaning you only have two points of weight and basically no way to get tangled.

For fishing bait or jigs (such as the float and fly) off the bottom, use JC's rigging for bait, and for the float and fly, a small jig of hair or marabou on the end of your line, and a sliding bobber above it, with a swivel (not a snap swivel, more to get tangled) up the line as far as you want the bobber to be. On the cast, the bobber is down around the lure. As the lure sinks, the bobber slides up the line to the swivel.

Most other lures are not designed to be used with either bobbers or weights, except for soft plastics fished on the bottom. You can put a weight on a crankbait, about 18 inches up the line from the lure, to get it down close to the bottom in water that's deeper than the lure is designed to run. In that case, I'd try using a slip sinker or egg sinker and using a bit of toothpick shoved into the hole in the end of the weight above the lure to peg it stationary.

[Addicted to Creeks]

The less weight you are swinging around the less you are going to tangle up, for lures you actively retrieve (rooster tails, crankbaits etc.) you dont need a bobber