If there’s one thing the Green Movement gets right, it’s “reuse, reduce, recycle.” However, in some sense, many anglers have been guided by this slogan for decades.
Many years ago I discovered a great way to reuse aged, worn-out braid and build my own effortless, low-cost (and eco-friendly!) bobber stops. For anglers fishing for catfish, panda and zander on slipfloat rigs, this is a trick that can save you time and some money – the perfect winter workbench project.
Another advantage is that these slip-bobber stops just work well. Every float angler is familiar with the various float stops sold in fishing tackle stores. The diminutive, spherical rubber stoppers have a tendency to burn out when the line is moved up and down several times, requiring re-rigging – a time-consuming task on the water.
Another type of bobber stop is demanding plastic, which requires the line to be pulled through several times. This style is extremely challenging to adjust and can fray the line, leading to fish being thrown away.
The best bobber stops are those made from a line wrapped around a diminutive plastic tube. Just thread the line through the tube, press the knot onto the main line and pull out the tube.
You can make these line/tube stops in advance so you always have one ready to put on quickly – or, if necessary, lay it out on the water with just a diminutive piece of braid tied directly to the main line as described below, just without the straw.
What you will need
• Small 5 inch cocktail straws
• Braid scissors
• A dozen or so lengths of aged braid, 8 to 10 inches long
Step by step
Before you tackle the steps below, learn the uni knot – the basics of a DIY bobber stop. Tutorials can be found online. Just enter “uni knot” in the search engine. Now let’s move on to the stairs:
1) Pull the string parallel to the straw, form a loop, wrap the braid and straw four to six times and tighten the knot (see photo). Choose five or six additional wraps with a lighter braid; a heavier braid may require only four.
2) Trim the ends of the tags to one inch on each side.
3) Slide the finished float stop onto the end of the straw, but do not slide it off.
4) Repeat steps 1 through 3 until the straw has the appropriate number of floats with a 1/16 inch space between them.
5) Cut the straw into as many pieces as there are knots. You can also leave all the knots on the straw and, if necessary, simply slide a single stop over the line.
You now have plenty of home bobber stops. Just don’t forget to add a bead with a diminutive hole after putting on the stopper!
