A slip bobber is a float with a hollow center that the line passes through — letting the bait sink to a set depth, with the bobber sliding up the line until it hits a stopper. Way more flexible than a fixed bobber: you can fish six inches deep or twelve feet deep with the same rig.
Setting it up, in order from line to hook:
- Bobber stop. Slide a small string knot or rubber stopper onto your line first. This is what sets your depth — slide it up the line for deeper, down for shallower.
- Bead. A small plastic bead next, between the stop and the bobber. Keeps the stopper from pulling through the bobber.
- Slip bobber. Thread the line through its hollow center.
- Split shot. A small split shot 8–18 inches above the hook gives the bait gravity to sink and pull line through the bobber.
- Hook and bait. A live worm, leech, minnow, or a piece of corn or PowerBait, depending on the species.
The cast flips out and the bobber lays flat at first. As the split shot pulls line through, the bobber stands upright — you know the bait has reached your set depth.
Where it shines: still water and slow pools where you want bait suspended at fish depth. A panfish on a dock pile, a trout in an eddy, a walleye over a weed edge. Adjust the bobber stop until you find the depth fish are holding at.