Warm water fish such as crappie, perch, bluegill, largemouth, and smallmouth bass all head for shallow water in the spring to spawn. Ironically, these are also the first areas of a lake or pond to thaw. Boat anglers cringe at the sight of a lake or pond as it is thawing in the spring. You know, the ones with the huge iceberg that floats in the middle and melts slower than paint dries. These partially frozen waters are a spring kayak angler’s dream. When a lake is still too frozen to put a boat in, but has enough open water for a kayak, you have a recipe for some really fun kayak fishing, which is where slip-bobbers come in.
A slip bobber is a bobber that you thread your line through. A bead and a knotted piece of line tied in a knot called a bobber knot are used to set and adjust the depth of your lure. The idea is to be able to vertically jig over shallow water as if you were ice fishing, but to do it from a distance.
Old pieces of braided line make great slip-bobber stop-knots. Slip-bobber stop-knots can be tied by first cutting 6” pieces of braided line. You can tie stop-knots one at a time by laying the bobber-stop knot line against the main line of your fishing rod. Tie a single uni-knot around the main line and pull the tag ends tight. Trim the tag ends of your bobber stop-knot leaving them ½” to 1” long so you can re-tighten your stop-knot throughout your fishing trip. If you wish to have extra stop-knots on hand you can tie several individual stop-knots around a drinking straw. Then you simply slide a pre-tied knot over the end of your line. Once you have a stop-knot in place, thread a small bead onto your line, followed by your slip-bobber. Finally, tie on your chosen jig and slide the knot up or down your line to set your depth.
Slip-bobber fishing from a kayak in early spring is a fun and effective way to fish the shallows for panfish. It offers anglers the chance to dust off the cobwebs with some relaxing, low-pressure fishing. You can begin fishing as soon as there is enough water to float your kayak. I can assure you that you’ll be the envy of many boat-owning anglers who are chomping at the bit to get out and fish.