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Everywhere you look these days you see writers discovering the latest and greatest "strike indicators" for fly fishermen and soft and hard styrofoam bobbers for steelhead. Someone seems to reinvent the wheel every ten years or so.
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Bobbers -- not the rotten red and white plastics Americans favor -- suited English and European fishermen ever since Walton's time. Their special wood and, lately, clear plastic floats suit a good dozen different stillwater and moving water techniques that at least double your chances at tough fish like big brown trout and steelhead.
However, those in search of the "magic bullet" won't score with bobbers without close attention to several small points. Bobber, bait, shot and hook selection are each vital. So is an appropriate rod, reel and line. Then you need to fish impoundments, streams, rivers and lakes with a reputation for big browns and decent slack water holding areas for steelhead to score. Leave anything out and you reduce your chances. I know, I have been bobbing for a long time.
In 1970 I spent most summer weekends in the Sierras with Fred Hoare, a British exchange professor. Fred used his long rod, odd baits and unusual techniques to catch, and safely release, dozens of big trout. Most were browns from the Truckee River or nearby reservoirs. Fred took large rainbows and steelhead from tough streams like the Eel and Russian River too. Fred left his special bobbers with me. In the 20 years since, I made some bobbers, bought some in England and Holland and read all the European books on the subject I could find. These days noodle rods and mini bobbers are hot in Michigan too. I suspect this is more because of the bobber than the limp rods. Of course, some systems work better than others, but bobbers and bait are productive, if properly rigged, all over the world. Now the special bobbers you need are available from Cabelas and other sources. Marsh, Stream and Upland in Vancouver (19725 Ave., Langley, BC. V3A 3C9) will send catalogs. In the U.S. write to 64 H Street, Blaine, WA 98230 or send me an Email message. It's easy to make your own floats with less than $5 worth of hard balsa and small diameter wood doweling. Add soft shot, limp line and rig properly and you can score.
