Deadstick or Bobber

[walleyeslammer]

I was just wondering what everyone prefers:1)The traditional deadstick (Rod in rod holder or on pale with lure suspended) and watch for tip movement or 2)using a similar technique with a bobber. Questions I have is do they feel the resistance with either technique, and what are everyones favorite lure/hook setups for this style of fishing. Thanks for any input. I tend to use a bobber just for the simplicity of it, but am looking at maybe trying something new.

[L_Cappo]

when i dead stick i do not use a bobber.i let the minnow do the work.some times i'll use a dead minnow and sometimes i'll use a bobber but not very often.if the fish r biting really good,i dont think the resistance thing is a factor.when im doing both i can see both jig on my vexi in my house.so when im jigging and see the fish come up i just watch the dead stick cause i can feel if the fish hits my jig.

[PerchJerker]

I almost never use a bobber any more. It's so much quicker and so much less hassle to drop the deadstick bait down to the bottom, raise it up a few inches, and set it in a rod holder. Easy to move locations and change depths, and not have to worry about the bobber stop moving or getting iced up. Easy to jig it every so often and not have to worry about loose line from an open bail on a slip bobber rod.

I usually use a live minnow, either hooked near the dorsal fin or through the lips. For a real finnicky bite I might go with a small horizontal jig like a fat boy and just the head of a crappie minnow.

[rockman]

I go with the deadstick.Resistance is not an issue if a good deadstick rod is used.Thorne Bros. deadstick rods are what I use.The light tip with the solid backbone of their rods are perfect for deadsticking.I use the deadstick over the bobber in cold weather because messing with a bobber in a hole that is skimming over is too time consuming while I am using a jigging rod.Moving to another hole is much easier with a deadstick rod, versus pulling up a bobber and resetting it.Sometimes a neutrally bouyant bobber set up is the way to go to get fish, but most of time I go with a deadstick rod along with a jigging set up.

[FishOn!]

I lost too many rods deadstickicking without a bobber! I use a small ice buster bobber barely afloat. I leave the bale open and check it often. the bale open isnt a problem, because u dont jig a deadstick!

[Lisa Almquist]

My deadstick has produced more fish than jigging this winter! I don't use a bobber either. I just use a really sensitive rod (Scotty's deadstick) and let it do all the work with a lively minnow.

[harvey lee]

 Originally Posted By: FishOn!

I lost too many rods deadstickicking without a bobber! I use a small ice buster bobber barely afloat. I leave the bale open and check it often. the bale open isnt a problem, because u dont jig a deadstick!

I always place my deadstick in a rod holder and then one doesnt need to be concerned with loosing the rod.

It really does work well.

[HUNTFISH69]

I can't remeber the last time i used a bobber. I don't deadstick ofetn but when i do, it's in a rod holder.

[Eric Wettschreck]

My deadstick goes bobberless in a rod holder. Haven't lost a rod that was sitting in a holder yet.

I've caught prolly twice the fish on the deadstick than I have jigging. I really think the jigging draws them in, then they go for the deadstick.

[slipperybob]

The bobber takes more time but has higher hook up percentage for me. So I usually deadstick before switching over to bobber.

[SwimRunFly]

Sorry for the long wind by here's my 2 cents:

I have had good, and bad success with dead stick, bobber, jigging (jigs, small spoon, rapala’s, Swedish pimples, etc) What you need to understand is the FISH! Strange statement but true! Taking into consideration the time of the day, the weather and their feeding patterns will help catch more fish. This winter we iced a lot of walleye’s and it was not by accident. Once we found the fish (Vexilar) we still had to figure out how to get them to bite. And the Aqua –Vu camera was invaluable. The Aqua-Va allowed us to first identify that we were over walleye’s (suckers were mixed in with the walleye’s) and then helped us understand what they wanted. Prior to prime time (sunset) you could jig anything you wanted but once the fish came into view you had to stop jigging and just dead stick everything. If the fish was inches away and you twitched or jigged slightly, they spooked and were gone. If you just let it look at it for awhile it would slurp it in …or just swim away. We had some that would come in look at the minnow or jig and turn to go…if we raised and dropped the presentation, it would come back and looked again and tuned to leave….raise and drop …then back….turned to leave….raised up 6 to 10 inches and kept it there……the walleye came up to the presentation and hit it. Then during prime time you could do just about anything and they would hit, or just swim right by (prime time lasted about 45 mns). There is no “1” solution to catch walleyes. You need to be versatile in locations and not be afraid to try different baits and methods. And sometimes it just doesn’t matter what you throw at them, they just will not bite. If any body tells you different, they are either a liar (we all do that.....we fish) or their a Fishing Guides (fish are always biting)!

Moral of the story….You Will Never Completely Figure Them Out!

But have some fun trying.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I still use an Ice buster bobber. I dont really feel that purchasing a proper deadstick would help me catch any more fish.

[L_Cappo]

im with you on that.ya dont need to purchase a deadstick fishing rod.i do just fine with what i have.

[walleyeslammer]

Can a person deadstick without a bobber if they dont have a actual deadstick rod, or is that counter productive. Just looking for opinions to help me out. Thanks

[L_Cappo]

yes you can deadstick with out a actual deadstick rod.i do it all the time.and have no problems catching fish.

[fiskyknut]

Right on, a guy does'nt have to have one to catch fish, heck folks still hand over hand stick and line bobber fish and catch plenty.

However a good quality deadstick will for sure add another weapon to an anglers quiver of rods. Hard to drop that jig or hook to the bottom and back when the bobbers affixed to the line holding your presentation off bottom at a preset depth. Drop that deadsticks tip and down she goes eh. Sometimes them Walters like when you bump the bottom now and then too eh and the deadsticks make it easy to do.

I have a dozen or so trimmed Ice Busters I carry with me every trip just incase but it's a rare day I'm running a bobber. Once so far this year a bobber set bait was the ticket for me and this was a day where them fishes were just plain negative belly on the bottom and just barely grabbing the minnow by the melon and swimming away slow with it. So I have to have those spongebobs with for those days the fish are really negative.

I'm always holding/jigging 1 line and the majority of the fishes I catch do come on my held/worked jiggin rods most days. I kinda hate them slow days on the LOTW where one must double deadstick but it happens now and then and when it does I'll run that TB deadstick down 1 hole and a bobber line down the other....This also garuntees a sore neck at the end of the day from constantly looking down!!!

Tools and weapons for our angling enjoyment.....Can we ever have enough?

fiskyknut

[marine_man]

I like to use the best of both worlds - a deadstick (I use a Thorne Bro's deadstick) and a deadstick holder like a Rock N Reel, Rod Rocker 2 or the original rod rocker.

I get the super sensitive tip of the deadstick as well as no resistance with a deadstick holder like those mentioned.

Also, if you don't have a Thorne Bros deadstick or something similar, the rod holders mentioned above will keep you from loosing your rod and provide no resistance to the fish.

I absolutely love not having to mess with a bobber - I use a bobber knot to set my depth and put the bobber knot at water level... it's been a pretty effective combination.

As far as jigs go, my usual deadstick setup is 10lb test power pro, a couple of split shot and a size 8 or so gold kahle hook. That is what I have had the best luck with.

Good luck!

marine_man

[L_Cappo]

no we can not have enough tools and weapons for ice fishing lol

[fiskyknut]

Walleyeslammer I'd have to say that'd depend on the particular rod and holder set up you are using. Stiff rod tip could and probably most days would be counter productive, less so if you are setting it on a rod holder of the type Marine Man has mentioned. If you guys don't have this type of rod holder go out and get one no doubt.

I forgot who the FM'r was who kindly e'd me and then dropped off a T-bone Rock'n reel for me at the Morris Point office a few years back but I don't go fish'n without it! Thanks again for that.

fiskyknut

[slipperybob]

If you're really lazy like me, you get yourself one of those camp/locker mirrors and you string it up just so that it angles the view into the hole. I haven't had a need to this year, as somebody broke my mirror on a camping trip. Plus I've been doing a lot more jigging/deadstick style this season. And the deadstick or bobber one get's the tip up light on the rod so when it line is taken and release, light comes on. There's some hassle to setting it just right.

[SSSTaxidermy]

I fish bobberless of course in my Vexilar hole. Then with the other, I usually dead stick it with an ice buster just short enough to stay afloat on those days of the light bite. I put my 5 yr old daughter on the same set up and she tends to always do well on the dead stick. However, she is starting to develop a temper when she misses now...I wonder were she gets that from????

[muskyjim]

walleyeslammer - you can use a regular ice rod to deadstick, but like fiskynut said some days they can be counter productive. with a stiffer regular rod, on a lite bite, they sometimes feel the rod and let go or you have to really stare at the tip to detect a bite. after a day, the eyes kind of get a little sore. whereas with a true deadstick i don't think the fish can feel the rod as good and when one does take the bait the sensitive part of the rod pretty much bends in half. thats a little easier to see than a rod tip. does any of your fishn buddies have a deadstick that they could borrow you for a weekend? then maybe you could check out the differences between the regular rod and the deadstick before you make the purchase.

if you do get one some type of rod holder is a must.

[DonBo]

No matter what you use, or how you use it, is there anything cooler than watching a bobber sink down your hole?

[muskyjim]

i don't know if it's as cool as the bobber, but watching the deadstick bend in half or waking up to the sound of the rattle reels isn't bad either.

[CSP88]

No bobber for me......I use the Jason Mitchell "Meat Stick" rod placed in a T-bone's Rock-n-Reel holder. Using a rod with a sensitive tip can and usually does make a world of difference when deadsticking. With this set up I can detect when my minnow farts...just kidding....but seriously, the JM Meat Stick has a super sensitive tip which makes it a great deadsticking rod.

Chad