Blackened Bobber!!

[Fishin Magician]

For years I have blacked out the bottom half of my bobbers. Over the past few years I have been seeing more and more people doing the same thing. I am curious as to everyones' opinion on this technique. My personal theory has always been the less they see the bobber the better. I started doing this 10 years ago or so when chinook kept rising and taking down my bobber off the surface. Thier teeth were very hard on them. I see Thill and many other bobbers come from the factory pre-blackened. What are everyone's personal opinions???
~~~~John

[Salmonator]

I've always believed the opposite. When a fish looks up, the surface is much brighter than his surroundings. A blacker bobber will show more of a silhouette against the surface. Thats why fish are dark on top and white on bottom. Looking down at them their dark backs help them blend in with the bottom and when a bait fish is above a predator, the white belly helps them to blend in with a brighter surface. Aren't most floating fly lines bright blue or yellow? OK i'm done BS'ing all of you but it makes sense to me lol... Joe

[Fishin Magician]

Hey Joe, That does make sense......In the summer I have used a bobber with a white underside and it seemed to spook the fish, when I switched to a darker one it didn't seem to bother them nearly as much.I am thinking that it might be less intrusive to the fish. I always thought that dry fly lines were bright so you could track them better and sink tips are usually dark green or brown???? This is interesting~~John

[Fishhead]

John, I started to do that about 10 years ago and found that I got more hook ups than a guy with one fresh out of the package ( bright white on the bottom) Joes idea does make sense but you sure see alot of other guys doing it too, so there must be something to it. Just my 2 pennies worth.....Fishhead Vic

[First Bite]

John
I've seen your success with the blackened bobbers so I agree it's a good idea. My personal preference is to go with the natural look...corks. I've had fish nose right up to them in the summer and not get spooked. It looks like a piece of wood floating down the river. Also when you retrieve it, it doesn't pull underwater where a fish could see it.
Mark

[Fishin Magician]

No doubt Mark! I have seen the success you've had and I think darker tones in clearer water are less intrusive http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Fuzzybutt & Angel]

I agree with you mark, I have been using cork floats for years, and I only paint the top in about a dime sized circle, so I can see it better.

Fuzzy
www.silentapproach.com (http://www.silentapproach.com)

[Sand Shrimp]

I have been painting the bottom half of my bobbers black for about 10 years also for chinook and steelhead.In low clear water it really helps. I just started using the cork floats for my jig fishing and I just painted the top third of the float.

[Deleted User]

So that's it Mark. You told me to paint the image of a seal face on the bottom of my floats so the steelies would strike and run faster. Hmmm. So you could have most of the float hooked fish? .... jk. Actually, I have seen John and Mark hook fish in very clear water just fine with the black and natural cork floats, so those obviously work. For sliders I had been using the Thill simulated wood bottom floats with success; I paint some of the bright red on top either black or dark green and leave only a little red on top for further stealth. I also like the foam dink floats in a neutral gray color, for egg floatfishing, as I think they blend well with most sky color conditions.

RT

[Fishin Magician]

Hey Steve~ I'm beginning to wonder about you and your 'dink float'. Scary thought..... http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Remember when you traded me bobbers I still have that small thill and I used it in low,low water with a 1/32 oz jig and it worked well. Anyways I'll be plundering the lower Wilson or Trask on Friday so maybe I'll see ya. ~John