Bobber Talk

[coldmark]

What type of bobber configuration should I use (if any) on my jig pole and deadstick? Fishing for walleyes. Thanks.

[blkfrg]

Get yourself a Ice Buster Bobber, or three. Then all you need is a bobber knot, and, it's a jigging pole and a deadstick just by taking off the bobber. Trim bobber to the size of your jig. Throw all your other bobbers away.

[Matt Johnson]

I won't use anything other than an Ice Buster Bobber if I'm using a float. They can be cut down to match any presentation's weight and when a fish hits they feel literally no resistance. A very powerful tool to have when using a second rod for walleye fishing, or any type of ice fishing for that matter.

What I like to do is work one jigging rod, then rig up another rod with an Ice Buster and a plain hook/slip-shot rig. Or else I'll dead stick a rod in the Rod Rocker (this year I'll be using the Rod Rocker 2). You can also use both the Ice Buster and Rod Rocker 2 at the same time, doesn't hurt at all to do that. Or else you can just use one or the other, doesn't matter.

You're going to want some sort of set-up that will allow the walleye to feel as little resistance as possible, that's going to be very important when working a second rod where your focus is not always on. When the fish takes the bait you don't want it to notice anything other than the fact that it just ate a nice minnow

[SportFishin']

Ice Buster's & throw everything else away.

Buy a ton of them in different sizes.I found with my younger boys 4&8 we never have enough of them. plus we used them all summer!!!!

Later,

Chris

[Dan Thiem]

I'll also jump on this wagon. Ice Busters are my choice also.

Besides being a great balanced bobber you can put a small snap and glow stick in the top of one of these babies and have an awesome glow bobber.

[LaVoi]

I've been using ice busters for two years now and have not bought any other bobber since. They are a stroke of genius yet so simple.

[Borch]

Another vote for the icebuster bobbers. They just work so well!

I also use a few of Thill's stealth series when I run out of the icebusters. But the Icebusters are my first choice. Easy to trim to the lure you're using. Easy to clear the ice off of and the line feeds through very easily everytime!

[CrappieJohn]

Ice Busters are a phenominal tool especially when you are out in the elements. If you are inside and warm and the fish are not too fussy the stealth, as Borch has alluded to are good choices. The one situation where those stealths are simply unbeatable is when you get those upward hitting crappies and they are moving the floay up an eighth of an inch. The stealths will reliably show that hit but you might have to be watching the Buster to see it. I have had hits where the crappie hit up just high enough to put a we bit of "tip" to the float- hardly even discernable- that would not have shown on even the best balanced of other brand of float. It is not often that such delicacy is needed in a float and when things get that touchy I am doing a spring then anyway.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I'm officially on the IceBuster Bandwagon. I too have not bought any other bobber since i bought my first icebuster. I find it hard to believe someone will come up with something as simple, yet effective!

[Dave]

You may think this is a commercial but, it's not. Since I started using the Ice Busters, it the only bobber I use. Very versatile bobber. Slips on and off in a second.

[S.D. Ice Angular]

I’m sensing a little bit of a theme here…

But how do you really feel about the “Ice Buster” Bobbers??

[I'llTakeWhatiCanGet]

Quote:

---

You may think this is a commercial but, it's not.

---

I'm having a little bit of a hard time swallowing that one

I'm kidding, they're pretty nice bobbers. I usually just use a spring bobber though.

[booshy]

I have used the ice busters for years but never realized how much of an advantage they were until I was fishing with a buddy who likes to use the old style bobbers-in line- We fished out the same house and I was pulling in crappies left and right and he couldn't buy a bite. I finally gave him one of my extra ice busters and he started having better luck and catching fish. They are nice and if cut em right, have very, very little resistance allowing even the spookiest fish to run with the bait. Love em!!

[glendam]

Thill is making a nice slip bobber that you can take on and off without cutting your line. It also keeps the line and stop below the water surface so that it doesnt freeze up. They come in many sizes and shapes so its pretty easy to match them to the weight of the jig or bait that you are using.

[harvey lee]

Ice Buster Bobbers all the way-best bobber ever built-enough said

[Northlander]

Guess what I use. Ya Icebusters all the way. The new Thil talked about is also a good choice. I like the fact I can take both off my line when I want to jig my line without a bobber. If I want it back on I just pop it on. No line cutting needed.

[Steve Foss]

Ice buster is the simple and cheap and no-fail bobber. A great innovation. I have several.

Hardly ever use them because of my style of fishing.

My go-to bobber is a blue fox lighted bobber. You can get them in various sizes/shapes. I use the slimmest one they have, and the battery makes them heavy enough that it only takes a bit of jig or split shot to make them barely more than neutrally buoyant, so the fish doesn't feel them when it sucks in the minnow. I do this because I do most of my walleye fishing inside a shelter, and I like to keep the light very dim so as not to spook night-time 'eyes in clear water. The lighted bobber lets me keep NO light in the shelter, except for the glow of the flasher. When I get a fish on, I simply switch on my headlamp for enough light to land it. Rebait, switch the light off, and put 'er back down the hole.

When I'm daytime fishing, it's the ice buster all the way for a bobber.

[msm1018]

Ice buster bobbers all the way, I use em ice fishing and regular fishing, as you can see the Ice buster Bobber in the net.

this was up in Canada

[irvingdog]

Ice Busters.

[hanson]

Ice Buster all the way baby!

1 tip though- Take a scissors and cut them suckers down so the top of the bobber floats a tad above dead level with the water surface. I'm talking 1/8 of an inch or so. You do not want your Ice Buster sticking out of the water 2".

They are a little harder to see in your hole this way but soooo much easier for a little fishy to pull down.

[Matt Johnson]

hanson,

I didn't know you liked Ice Buster Bobbers? ...

I still remember that day! What a fight, and what a fish through that little hole!

[hanson]

Oh Matt... There you go.

That fish started this little catfish addiction I have.

10lb catfish is a nice fish but nowhere near my personal best 20lb open water fishing this summer. However, a 10lb cat through the ice is quite the little fight on light tackle.

What was that? People still fish for walleye in this state.

[Deitz Dittrich]

To add to Hansons tip.. Once you cut your ice buster down to the water level or 1/8th inch above.. take a toothpick and paint one end with glow paint.. stab that into the ice buster, now zap that baby with some light.. wah lah!!! you can now see the tip of the bobber!

[deeky]

I also love the icebusters, but quit using them last year in favor of spring bobbers. The ice busters are great if you are staying at one depth, but the crappies last year required a slowly rising bait, and the spring bobber had that versatility. Just wouldn't work with an icebuster. The spring bobber is now my go to, unless I'm outside and in the wind. Then you can't tell what is a bight and what is wind.

[tashit]

Hey guess what, all I use is Ice Busters too! I also save the pieces I cut off and use toothpicks to piece them back together if I have one cut too short so I can get it to sit an 1/8" or less above the water. The fish feels virtually no resistance.