I was a 'closet bobber dogger' for a long time 'cause a lot of my so-called fishing friends (you know who you are Bill ) would not have fished with me had they known what I was up to. Let's just say that 'bobbers' were not in vogue at the time. But there were some other guys doing it back then in the early 80's too. I picked it up from the guy that owned the store down on the Cow near Blue Cr. Forget his name right now. Somebody will remember. Always wondered if he might have learned it from CFM though.

But since I fished alot with my kids and their little friends in my driftboat, I found it was the most productive and trouble-free way to teach them to cast and fish while I was manning the oars. Basically it kept me from having to unsnag and rig them up all the time, but it also consistently produced fish and allowed me to make some minor adjustments with the boat to maximize their drift. Plus the kids would always get bored if I wasn't moving along, so covering alot of water kept them interested and the bobber doggin' worked out great. The biggest hassles were usually overhanging tree branches, underwater snags and keeping the slack out of the line going to the bobber. Braids sure make it a lot easier to control the line. Our basic set up back then was regular drift gear (usually bait) off a sliding bobber so they could cast more easily and safely. Now it's jigs and worms. Spincasters make it easier to cast but they also make it harder to control the line. Baitcasters are definately preferred. I was always amazed at how effective this method was for steelhead and yet how uncritical the depth or position of the offering had to be at times. We'd catch fish dragging bait down low or floating jigs up high. And with all the refinements in bobber (sorry, I meant, float) tackle, this method continues to be a favored boat technique for us, not just for the passle of kids I still yard out, but also for my neophytes friends who just aren't good casters or just seem to have trouble getting the hang of the 'drift thing'. Bobber doggin' can be a great way to see more river and catch more fish too.