If you’ve ever watched any of the major bass tournaments on TV, or stayed awake until 2am binge watching Youtube videos of people catching monster bass, you probably haven’t seen too many of these guys and gals bass fishing with a bobber.
With the minimal visibility of bobber useage by popular bass fishermen, it might make you ask yourself if you can catch bass with a bobber?
Can You Catch Bass With a Bobber?
Yes. You can absolutely catch bass with a bobber. As a matter of fact, it’s not a bad method of fishing for bass. The reason you might not hear a lot about bass fishing with a bobber is because it’s just not a popular method of bass fishing.
Why You Don’t See a Lot of People Bobber Fishing For Bass
Catching bass with a bobber is more of a sit-and-wait style of bass fishing. And when it comes to bass fishermen, if I can take the liberty to generalize, most take a little more active approach to the sport.
For many bass anglers, bass fishing is a lot like hunting. We know where they lurk, and we actively try to lure them out of the shelter and cover they like to hide in.
Just take a stroll through the Cabella’s or Bass Pro Shop bass fishing section and note what you see. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, various jigs, Senkos and the list goes on and on. This list of bass lures are all fished actively.
Meanwhile, bobber fishing is typically considered a very passive style of fishing.
How To Catch Bass With a Worm and Bobber
Believe it or not, but one of the very first largemouth bass I ever caught was with a bobber. Those are just one of those moments you don’t ever forget. It was in a mill pond, overgrown with weeds and shorelines covered with blackberry bushes.
But the water was warm and it was loaded with bass.
All I did was dangle a large nightcrawler about 3 feet below a plastic red and white bobber, and fish on!
The setup for catching bass with a worm and bobber is really quite simple.
Simply attach the bobber between 2 to 4 feet above the hook. If your worm is lively, fresh and moving around, that will attract bass even more.
Remember that with a setup like this, you won’t need to retrieve whatsoever. Just cast out and let the bobber wade around until you see the bobber start moving or plunge underneath the surface.
How To Attach A Round Bobber To A Fishing Line
- Determine the proper depth you’d like to target fish at and pull that much line from your reel through the rod tip.
- The majority of round fishing bobbers have a plastic button on one side that you can press to lower and raise the short wire hook. Press that button on the edge to release one side’s hook and slip the fishing line under the wire hook. Then release the button, so it applies pressure to the line.
- Next, run that line down the side of the bobber and fully press the button, so the other side’s hook presents itself. Secure the line to that side of the bobber and release the button. Now the line is held in place at two points between the top and bottom of the round bobber, and you are ready to attach your hook, shot, and bait.
Tips For Catching Bass With a Bobber
When fishing with bobbers for any fish, especially bass, a typical mistake is to use a float that is too large. If the bass strikes the float and meets too much resistance, it will almost certainly release the bait.
A good rule of thumb is to use the tiniest bobber you have and float it as close to the surface as possible to maintain as much sensitivity as possible. The tiniest tug from below will be detected in your line in this manner.
