Systems Of Suspense Are Better Than Most Anglers Can Believe

When bass boats are buzzing around everywhere on a river or lake, smallmouths can really shut down. By taking advantage of wind or current, a float system takes your presentation out of casting range and out of the “spook zone” fish have taped off around your boat. Floats systematically cover large, shallow flats, yet hold baits and plastics stationary in key eddies behind points and emergent boulders. And floats keep you fishing longer by suspending baits over most of the snags, especially when skillfully applied.

For smallmouth fishermen, the last line of defense, the final hope, the 3-pointer at the buzzer has become the lowly bobber. Remember all those bobbers you gave to your kids? Slip into the garage right now and raid their boxes, because you’re going to want that equipment back.

Systems -- Rod, Reel & Line

A fixed float is stationary, or the opposite of a slipfloat. Fixed styles include the clip-on Plastilite Plasti-Bobs developed by Charlie Nuckols, which most anglers use for float-and-fly applications. Thill River Masters and other stem floats designed for current are also fixed floats, secured to the line with rubber or silicone sleeves. Plastic bubbles, like the Rainbow Plastics A-Just-A-Bubble, are secured by twisting surgical tubing around the line inside the float.

Those fixed styles adjust quickly to different depths. Just slide the float up or down the line. Line slides through a hole in the bottom of a waggler-style float, like the Thill TG Waggler, so it can be used as a slipfloat or held in place with two tiny split shot, one on each side of the hole in the stem. Some floats are designed to be tied to the line, fixing the distance between the float and the bait until you tie on a new leader. Fixed floats make it difficult to fish deeper than 10 feet down, and it’s almost impossible to fish deeper than 15 feet without a very long pole.

Slipfloats like Rod-N-Bobb’s work best with livebaits being presented deeper than 10 feet. Added weight required with a slipfloat to drag the line through it can hinder the presentation of plastics at times. But in the Great Lakes and many southern reservoirs, active bass spend much of their time feeding in depths of 20 to 60 feet. Livebait suspended under a larger slipfloat, using several large split shot to take it down quick, will take those fish in many situations.

The rod to use is one like the Slip Stick (the Legend Tournament TWS80MLF) from St. Croix. Designed as a slipbobber rod for walleyes, this 8-foot telescoping stick is equally right for smallmouth bass and fits in any rod locker. It can handle 10-pound line, but it protects a 4-pound leader. The added length provides far better control of the line and the float, compared to a 7-footer, making it exponentially better than a 6-footer. Most importantly, when the float goes down, a Slip Stick has the backbone to straighten the 90-degree angle that float put in your line. Lift the float out of the water, and ram the hook home.

A reel like the new Team Daiwa Tierra 2500 is the right size with an incomparable drag mechanism, and a fine drag is critical. The line is critical, too. I use 8- to 10-pound Raven or Siglon F, since these Japanese lines have a very hard outer sheath that resists absorption for at least a few hours longer than the average monofilament line. The worst line to use on the reel is fluorocarbon, because it’s dense and sinks right away, making life miserable for a float fisherman.