Fish Rivers with Bullet Bobbers

If you are interested in planer boards for river or stream fishing you have 2 basic choices; ones with or without directional control.

Other design features to consider; size, wieght, number of moving parts, can it kink, damage or break yuor line, can you easily adjust the depth, is it prone to tangling when casting, can you use it at night, can it be slip rigged, is it fun to use, does it increase the number of places that you can reach and fish effectively like the Bullet Bobber or Dualfin?

Did the thought of using a fishing float ever make your mind smile?
The Bullet Bobber and Dualfin are in a league of their own.

Using the right size Bullet bobber is most important for rivers and streams. The Bullet Bobber is made in 4 sizes 2", 2.5", 3" and 4" long with weight limits as shown in this table. The Dualfin is 6” long and can handle up to 2 ounces of weight.

The question is, what kind of river currents are you facing. If it is fast flowing from bank to bank with no eddies, or pools then you might need to use the DualFin. Consider that if the current is too fast that your lure may be trailing on the surface unless you add weight and increase your depth. If you need more weight you may need to use a bigger size. If there are eddies and pools it is best to slip-rig and get up against the edge of the current’s speed lane. If it gets pushed away it can slip down deeper for added coverage.

A fast lane of current can hold them at bay because there are limits to the headway they can make against the flow. Meaning, they will hold their place in the current so you can set the rod down and wait for a hit. It will continual to hold place until you get a hit , the turbulence flips them or there is a slack in the current that allows them to swing out farther.

By fine tuning the Bullet Bobber you can bias its ability to flip one way more or less easily and it often good to bias them to run away from shore. The 9 O’clock is the neutral location for your line. The 12 O’clock and the 9 O’clock positions provide the maximum amount of biasing. If you move the line to orange side it will more easily flip to the green side and visa versa.

The best way to find fish is to first get it balanced and tuned so it holds place in the current well. Then you can pop it to run side to side or hold position at different locations down stream. You can slowly let line out working it down stream or let out a lot of line and work you way back up. It is often possible to fish the far side of a fast lane. With the right weight balance it can slowly work its way across the fast lane without wiping out. It takes some trial and error but learning something by doing is easy! Once you find and catch fish you will forever be looking at the currents and eddies of rivers and streams in an entirely different fashion!