What is the MOST SENSITIVE spring bobber design?

[FXjohn]

What is your opinion please? I use this wire kind. I still seem to miss bites.

[bigredonice]

right here, the N15 model from www.yourbobbersdown.com

It is made of a mylar type material

[cold_feet]

A lot of guys use a lighter spring and some guys buy the little coil sping bobbers. Here is what I did. I buy the flat spring bobber then get it home and sit down with a small grinder and grind the sides to make it narrower than what comes from factory. This will make it so sensitive you can not miss a hit at all. Just make sure you clean it up real good by getting all the burrs off it so it doesnt cut the line.
Cold Feet

[jigginstick]

this is the way i like it the flat steel put on with sewing thread and clear finger nail polish.

[FXjohn]

right here, the N15 model from www...com

It is made of a mylar type material

(Image removed from quote.)

Could you try that again? There's no URL, just dots   ....

The St Croix spring looks interesting too I think.

[bigredonice]

hmm... www.yourbobbersdown.co m

w w w . your bobbers down . com

[kerosenecounty17]

Does anybody know where I could get my hands on one of the Thorne Bros. spring bobber tips?  Not the whole rod.  I've got plenty of rods, I'd just like to replace the tip of one with the Thorne Bros. tip and save myself the $50 price tag on their rod.  TIA for any help.

kc17

[bubblebass8]

Ive heard great things about the Ledgend Elite Spring bobber rod. But 50 dollars is a lot for an ice rod. I think ill stick with the premires

[FXjohn]

Ive heard great things about the Ledgend Elite Spring bobber rod. But 50 dollars is a lot for an ice rod. I think ill stick with the premires

You can buy just the St Croix spring bobber itself for 4.95.
Just fasten it on with some thread and epoxy.

[bubblebass8]

You can buy just the St Croix spring bobber itself for 4.95.
Just fasten it on with some thread and epoxy.

Isnt that just a replacement for the ledgend because the rods have a little dealy on top of the rod to hold the bobber.

[FXjohn]

Isnt that just a replacement for the ledgend because the rods have a little dealy on top of the rod to hold the bobber.

Sure, but you can fasten it onto the rod anyway you want. You could buy an eye like that, or tie it on and lock it down with epoxy. Cabela's sells it separately.

[reelbigfish]

I've used them all over the years and keep coming back to the doubled thin wire
springs with the colored beads and sleeve made by K&E.  You can apply them with
thread and fingernail polish but I like a jewelers wire wrap and tie coated with JB weld
quick drying epoxy.  They extend past the rod tip so I like to bend them at a 90 to
the pole.   I can make the jig dance and see even the lightest bite with this setup.
The downside to most spring types is they bounce too much.  Most neoprene indicators pull down too evenly for my taste.  I like a highly visable wire spring so I sometimes put on neon, bright colored, or shiny beads in place of the stock ones.



Ted

[Swift]

I make my own out of fine stainless wire that can be purchased at any good hobby or craft shop. Like to make a big end loop around a Sharpie, wrap the wire twist with fl.orange fly tying thread and cut it usually longer than can be purchased. They're then attached to the top of the rod with epoxy after tying it on with the thread. Plenty sensitive, cheap and something else to do while waiting for ice. Have some over 20 years old and they still work fine. Use the big loop to ease getting the hook/lure through when I'm done for the day since they stick out way past the rod tip.

[plasticpro]

sorry to say but as a custom rod builder ummm w/o being mean or insensitive that rod is a nightmare and i can see why your having problems .. first off never ever use tape to adhere anything .. to heavy as is heat shrink .. a wire spring like that has alot of resistance as does that umm rod ...thus the fish will spit your offering every time w/o your knowledge... i would start over .... w/o going into how to build rods if you have to buy off the rack the frabill panfish popper would be a huge improvement as would genz rods and several others w/o knowing what you fish for ie conditions etc .... 

[plasticpro]

as a custom rod builder for ice fishn ie panfish i have tried every spring i can buy at one time or another... like any thing else the spring is one part of the solution and thier is no one spring as the best because every rod and every fisherman are different .. maybe you love 1/250 th oz jigs or you love to fish heavy and fast with say a genz worm .. well no one spring can be great for both of those jigs.. that being said i do for a very versatile spring that can cover most shallow water panfish situations like the st croix springs in tubes you can buy seperatley for like 5 bucks .. the same ones you see on thier rods with the spring part and extended strike indicator.. but i never use them as is.. the indicator part your line goes thru is pretty useless to me as it causes way to much line twist especially if you reel in with a spinning reel they suck.. instead  cut off the indicator ie the circle part leaving the stem and the coiled spring .. use the stem to wrap to rod tip or if you cant wrap use pliobond to adhere the stem NOT TAPE OR HEAT SHRINK .. now slowly and carefully pull the spring out extending it longer but not too much either ... this will fish anything from #16 ratfinkees to #8 tear jobs and works awesome for rockn baits etc... i prefer these on a good quality graphite blank 42" to 52" long   ... now for small tiny light lures i like the marmish or custom jigs n spins ultimate spring bobber... basically these are fiber optic and coated strike indicators and will actually almost double over your rod tip with even like a 1/100 oz jig making them easy to jig and i prefer these on my fiberglass rods 36" to 44" rods ... adhere the same way .... i hope this helps

[FXjohn]

sorry to say but as a custom rod builder ummm w/o being mean or insensitive that rod is a nightmare and i can see why your having problems .. first off never ever use tape to adhere anything .. to heavy as is heat shrink .. a wire spring like that has alot of resistance as does that umm rod ...thus the fish will spit your offering every time w/o your knowledge... i would start over .... w/o going into how to build rods if you have to buy off the rack the frabill panfish popper would be a huge improvement as would genz rods and several others w/o knowing what you fish for ie conditions etc .... 

Umm....that's OK, if you look closer...it's actually really attached with epoxy coated thread...the tape just held it in place for that and i never removed it. It's just a shakespeare combo I bought, No big * deal. I'm looking into buying a custom rod from a local builder BTW. It's Not that bad, I like it better than a coil "pen" spring. They ice up and make it hard to drop the jig.

[tunein36]

I used to use the spring bobbers all the time and have had all the problems listed in the previous replies, but since I bought a good light action noodle rod I have not had any problems in detecting a bite, nor catching the fish. I even caught a 26" pickeral yesterday while jigging a small pimple tipped with a perch eye!! It put up one heck of a fight.