The Trolling Bobber a Brief History

A battery powered self-propelled fishing bobber that you do not have to cast. Have we become so lazy that we cannot even throw a line out to catch a fish? However, upon further review, the Trolling Bobber is a product that makes a lot of sense. 

Rather than cast your line in the traditional manner, you simply place the bobber in the water and let the battery powered motor take your line out as far as you want. You can steer the bobber by whipping your pole in the opposite direction that you want the bobber to turn. To stop the bobber when it gets to the spot you want to fish, just crank your line in a little and it will stop. Because you do not cast the line, you can fish from just about any spot you want without having to worry about your line ending up someplace other than in the water. 

A better and safer way to fish was Mark Jacobson’s inspiration for creating the Trolling Bobber. Somewhat of a tinkerer, Mark was in Florida on a family vacation when they went fishing. On this particular day, one of Marks’s sons caught him right on the ear while casting with his fishing pole. This made Mark think that there had to be a safer way to fish. Thus the idea for the Trolling Bobber was born. 

You can use most any weight of line or bait with the trolling bobber. You just need to make sure that the fishing line will support the kind of fish you want to catch. As for the bait, use whatever you think will attract the fish that you want to catch on that day. Shark bait is not recommended, however.

Using one AA battery, (Heavy Duty Bobber uses two), it is easy to attach the bobber to your line. Just attach the line from your pole to the swivel on top of the bobber and snap it into the rudder slot. Attach your bait to the bottom leader, turn the motor on and, drop your line in the water and away you go.

This is a very good product for kids and other people that have a hard time casting a fishing line. Why? If you are spending less time getting your line out of the trees or other people’s ears you are spending more time catching fish, which makes the day more fun for everyone involved.

One last thing, the son that hooked his father’s ear was Erik Jacobson who now manages the company.

Fly Fishing:  Getting Started

Fly fishing can be a challenging sport. It certainly is more complicated than simply putting a worm on the hook, casting it out and waiting for the gentle nudge of the fishing line. When fly-fishing, you attach an artificial fly that is cast out to lay on the surface of the water. If everything goes right, the fish will then see the fly and bite. The challenge is in reading the water and other conditions to place the proper fly on the end of the line. 

When first starting out the question is; do you buy new or used fly fishing gear. Many of us have gone the used gear route. This way we can reduce some expense until we are sure that fly fishing is the sport for us. Used fly fishing gear is a great way to get into the sport without spending a great deal of money.   Used fly fishing gear can generally be found locally. It can definitely be found online. 

Your rod is also different from regular rods. Fly rods are thinner and taller and each one is an assured weight. A four or five weight rod is used to catch pan size fish and trout. When choosing your fly fishing rod you need to examine the quality of the rod which is based on the material that is used to make the rod. Graphite rods typically work best for however; some fly fishers have had good luck with fiberglass. Whichever material is most comfortable to you will work.

Used gear will work for either dry fly fishing or nymph fly fishing. Essentially with dry fly fishing, the artificial fly is on top of the water when the fish bites. With nymph fishing the artificial eggs are made to resemble laid eggs that have come to the water surface to hatch into a fly. This type of fly-fishing can be a little more challenging because the fisherman (woman) cannot see what is happening below the surface of the water.

There are some artificial flies that have combined the surface fly with a nymph that trails just below the surface. The fish sees the combination of the adult fly and the nymph fly, giving it a choice of which fly to bite. Typically the nymph is tied 12-18 inches below the adult fly that floats on top of the water. These combinations have been constructed so that you only have to tie one knot rather than four knots, thereby reducing your time away from the water.

Fly-fishing is a great sport! It is challenging because it requires patience and the skill of timing, it also helps with eye-hand coordination. Like anything rewarding in life, fly-fishing does take practice to become good at it. You need to understand how to read the water, telling you where the fish are and sometimes more importantly, where they are not on that day. However, once you get it, you will be on your way to many rewarding days fishing.