Spring bobbers

[crappieseeker]

Happy New Year everyone.

I have a question about using spring bobbers. Should I only use them on a dead stick or can I use them on a jigging rod. I will be fishing for crappies on URL.

Thanks.

[Matt Johnson]

I use spring bobbers on my jigging rods, and very rarely do I use them on my deadstick rods. Spring bobbers will allow you to see the bite much better, and they will actually help the action of your jig because they absorb some of the shock while jigging which causes the jig to make more subtle movements that mimic more of what crappies and sunfish feed on. Basically what it does is cause the jig to act more "natural" in the water. An often over-looked aspect of spring bobbers but its one of the reasons why I use them when finessing pannies.

A spring bobber is an excellent choice for URL crappies when the bite turns negative...

[CrappieJohn]

To add to what Matt has said so well....

The spring bobber is the only way to "see" and upward hit without some serious eye strain while line watching or using a fixed float. Even very small jigs will "load" the spring. When you learn to watch the spring you can see an upward hit as a lifting of the spring tip. If you want to see what this looks like, drop the jig to the bottom and then lift the lure up an in and stay steady for a few seconds. Then very slowly drop your line until you see the spring tip come up. The jig is on the bottom at that point and when a fish hits uphill you will see an identical response.

If you learn to trust the spring bobber you will have entered a whole new realm in the ice fishing world. They are hard to beat.