Fishing YouTuber Tom Boley packs a pile of info into his vids, so for sure worth watching ’em for yourself over on his channel…but here’s a few quickie specifics I pulled from his newest slip-bobbering videos that I feel are important to dissect. Dude’s a quick talker so did my best to keep up lol:
> Runs his Humminbird Side Imaging chart speed at 3 all the time, whether he’s sitting still or looking for fish.
> Not casting unless he sees fish…Spot-Locks the second they show up on the graph, and fires the bait out right on their face.
> Uses his rod length to help set/change the bobber-stop’s depth quickly. Ex: If a 7′ rod…then about 2 rod lengths of line = set at 14′.
> Will sometimes run the bigger sizes in the Thill Pro Series Slip Float in shallower water early in the season, but says his overall favorite float is the big 3/8-oz Thill Wobble Bobber (that 3/8 isn’t the weight of the bobber, it’s the amount of weight it’ll support without sinking). Has a grommet on both ends so the line flies through it, and says it tangles up less on the cast.
> Use nylon bobber stops — don’t want the ones that feel like twine.
> He single-hooks the leech right through its sucker.
> Sometimes runs a plain hook when fishing super shallow, but says they’re harder to cast (than a jig) and tend to tangle more often.
> Uses a 1/16-oz jig the most in 8-15′. Has to be a super-wide-gap jig (like the Fire-Ball style) for hooking and holding fish — problem with most other lighter jigs is they have a crappie-sized gap. Will bump up to 1/8-oz jig when deeper in 15-25′.
> Likes running 10-lb Sufix braid for a main line ‘cuz you’re much more likely to hook a fish even with a little slack in your line. In clear water he runs a 3’ leader of 10-lb fluorocarbon…shorter if the water’s dirty.
> Swivel at the top of the leader with an 1/8-oz egg sinker so he can cast farther and get his bait down quicker. Will bump up to a 1/4-oz egg sinker (with the 1/8-oz jig) as the summer goes on and he’s fishing that 15-25′ stuff.
> Says having a long rod is crucial for slip-bobbering — “this is not a thing you do with a 6′ rod.” Needs the extra length for picking up all the loose slack on the hookset.
> Loves the Elliott Rods 7’6″ ML fast-action — same rod he uses for super finesse-y situations like hair jigs and rigging….
> Says a “very soft tip and lot of load. When that fish takes the slip-bobber, you wanna get tight on that fish before you set…otherwise what happens is you end up setting the hook on a slack line…you don’t know how far away that fish is from ya….”
> Basically pulls the angle out of the bobber (between you and the fish) before setting the hook…otherwise you’re sorta just pulling your bobber down and not getting a good hook in the fish.
Phew, okay…I’m out of breathe and I wasn’t even the one talking lol.
Now make sure you show Tom-Bo slice some love over on his YouTube channel so he keeps kicking out the goods!
