Slip Bobber Question, In-hut non-jigging strategies

[Fishberg]

Just 3 more sleeps 'til our 3rd annual Nip Trip!

During instances where I leave my rod unattended for lengthy periods of time - cooking, cleaning, etc... in lieu of the standard live-minnow split shot deadstick, is there a benefit to using a slip bobber? If so, are there any that seem to work better than others? Any general tips on using them?

Edit: We are staying in an 8 man hut.

Thank you in advance for any advice!

[pier4fisher]

“leaving your rod unattended for lengthy periods of time” is a good way to lose a rod, gut hook a fish or catch a fine or on nipissing a mud puppy 😂 I get that you are in the bungalow and steps from the line in this case but it’s a slippery slope.....is sleeping with lines down ok? what about stepping out of the bungalow for the same length of time??

as for a slip bobber. I think a clip on bell would be more helpful in alerting you of a strike.

[Fishberg]

By unattended I meant not physically sitting rod in hand jigging a lure but still in the immediate vicinity, the rod being fixed with no chance of going down the hole (no different than a tip-up?) was thinking the bobber may provide a better visual indicator of action over having to focus on the tip of a rod and was curious if anyone uses them or perhaps alternate methods, such as your recommendation of a bell which I’ve never heard/thought of before... so thanks for that... and only that. I’ll get ahold of one and try it out. Always learning.

[rayray89]

Definitely throw on a slip bobber when your busy doing stuff. I'll be doing it when I'm up there next week . good luck

[kingphoenix]

Highly recommend a jaw jacker with some bells. I find alot of fish will spit the minnow before you can get over there to set the hook, jawjacker sets that hook right into the top of the mouth as soon as it grabs the minnow.

[Northhunter]

This will be too late to help you on this trip, but get yourself 1 or 2 of those foldable rod stands (I think made by HT ?). I use those, you can deadstick a minnow and balance the rod so a pinhead kicking 30ft down will show up on the rod tip. If a hit pulls the rod down enough it tips forward and stays down.Worried about the rod? Get a rubber grommet or o-ring that will fit the blank snugly near the handle. Cut it to slip it on and use that to hold the line in place. Now you can open the bail on the reel or set it to freespool and that little grommet will hold the weight of the bait and have enough tension for the rod ro dip forward but let line out if anything takes a run. When you grab the line for a hookset you just lift the rod up, close the bail and you're golden. Sometimes the grommet will pop off under a sharp hookset, but you'll never lose a rod... and those fish that we lose because we couldn't get to the rod in time? They don't feel anything. We always have an empty bunk, but use all the holes. I used this set up last year on the rod that wasn't next to anybody and it worked wonders. The year before my buddy lost a rod down a hole that was hooked into a bucket... that he was standing beside One moment it was there, the next it wasn't...