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Making Spring Bobbers

bobbymalone

By bobbymalone
in Rod Building & Lure Making

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bobbymalone Grand Master

bobbymalone

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I have some HT spring bobbers from a few years ago made of a single wire with an open eyelet the back end and a coil spring fastener to attach it to the rod. On the business end there is a big downturned loop to run your line through. They were called "Big Eye" spring bobbers. It seems like HT changed the recipe a couple seasons ago and I don't like the new design. I want to make some replacements.

Anybody know what I am talking about? Any idea what size and type wire I can get to make these?

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Rick G Mentor

Rick G

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I know the ones you are talking about. Good luck finding them any more. I use the st. croix ones and like them alot. I also have made some nice ones out of .020 or .023 stainless steel mig welding wire and they hold up pretty well and have a nice light action.

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harvey lee Grand Master

harvey lee

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I but the St Croix spring and then add it to my rod.

I take a guide and wrap that to the rod blank right behind the tip top. Then I find a grommet that has the hole the size of the St Croix spring and put the grommet in the guide hole. Then slide the spring in and Its as good as a St Croix spring bobber.

I think those St Croix spring bobbers are the best on the market easily.

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harvey lee Grand Master

harvey lee

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I have a few of those spring bobbers, threw them away and bought a Power noodle from Thorne Bro's. No need to buy another spring bobber.

They work very well inside a portable in a heated house.

I have one on a TB Sweetheart and when I hole hop, I have to put the little ball in my mouth all the time as it freezes and then the line won't go through. If they bored out the hole in the small ball at the end of the spring a bit more, there would be less of the freezing at the end of the spring bobber.

I am going to try and see if I can drill it out a bit more for a larger diameter. I hope the ball does not split in two.

If so, I then can place a St Croix spring boober on it and it will then work great outside.

They are a nice rod though.

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bobbymalone Grand Master

bobbymalone

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Well, I picked up some steel wire and a pair of round bend pliers and got to work. Thanks for the replies guys, especially the ones that weren't about how st. croix spring bobbers and TB power noodles are the best things since slice bread wink

I tried 0.20, 0.24, and 0.30. I settled on 0.20, I thought it gave the best action. I put a 10mm bead on the end for visibility, but found the bit of added weight gives it a little better "springy-ness" too.

I am thinking about painting the loop but haven't found a good paint that fits my liking.

PC130949.jpg

PC130950.jpg

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bobbymalone Grand Master

bobbymalone

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Well the initial investment was about $20 and about half of that was for the pair of pliers to bend the wire. Now I have materials to make a TON of them so a few extras are not a problem.

Sell them? Naw. Give out a handful for free, sure I can do that. Consider yourself pro-staff for Bobby Malone's Magic Spring Bobbers grin

Send me an email with your address to r e m y r e m r e f (at) g m a i l with no spaces and I'll drop a few in the mail for ya.

Just let me know whatcha think and if you can think of any improvements.

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bobbymalone Grand Master

bobbymalone

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tourney champ, I can do that. Send me an email to the address in my above post with your address and I'll drop a few in the mail for ya.

They should work for pretty much any rod. Some better than others, based on the eyelets on a given rod. I usually used the old HT ones that mine are based on a St. Croix premier rod. The tip-top on that rod allows me to thread the the thing through without running it through the eyelet, but I have just ran it through the eyelet on other rods. Sometimes I skip running the line through that first eyelet and go straight from the second eyelet to the one on the spring bobber.

There are two ways I attach it to rod, shown in the pics below. I prefer the method in the first pic.

I just saw a few days ago that some company named Lakco makes a spring bobber that is pretty much identical to what ones I just made only theirs appears to have a much smaller eyelet on it.

My spring bobber likely isn't something that is as sensitive as everybody's favorite St. Croix spring bobber. You know and I know that those Croix bobbers are the bees knees and they sure as shoot better be with the highway robbery they perpetrate selling them for what they do. Also, on some level I think it is like comparing a honda accord to a corvette... both of them will get you to where you want to go and how often do really need to go zero to 60 in 4 seconds and drive at 160mph? If I miss out on the lightest of light bites, so be it... that fish probably wasn't worth catching anyway.

The only thing I am trying to accomplish here is make something comparable that does the job and doesn't cost 6-7 bucks a pop when you accidentally bash it into the side of your shack. Well that and give me something to fidget with while sitting in front of the i d i o t box. I'll never sell one, but I might stop handing them out for free if the interest in them goes beyond my desire to twist the things up. I don't see that happening anytime soon though laugh The interest that is wink

I'm thinking up a way that I can attach a similar kind of rig to an eyelet on top like St. Croix does. Any suggestions? If anything, I can run the thing through the eyelet on top so it isn't on the bottom where the line is running through which is the beef I have with pretty much all spring bobbers that aren't St. Croix's. Not sure how well or even if it will work, but I'll post my results.

PC180957.jpg

PC180958.jpg

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Big Jeff Enthusiast

Big Jeff

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Bobby we must think a like I have been searching for these for the last two years and I have some that are similar but a few small difference. I will take some pictures this weakened and send them over.

I am interested in finding out how you where able to get the pieces. I don't know where to find the small coil keeper to attach it on to the rod?

I also mount mine a little different but you need the correct eyelet on the end, it needs to have an extra hole at the top. I have sought out rods to my likening with that particular eyelet because of this, but it never fowls up the line and works like a dream. I use this style of spring bopper for my walleye poles and I beat my buddies 3 to 1 almost every time out and it still jigs a larger buckshot perfect!

Would you post a picture of the pliers? And where did you find the wire and the small coils?

Thanks

Jeff

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