Thanks Dave,
Going to have to give the bobbers a try this winter.
Does it work in "the open", or only in the heated enclosures ?
Typically, we sit in a heated ice hut, eating & drinking & the holes are drilled outside in an appropriate sized area for the amount of fisherpersons. Once somebody sees a flag drop, or rod go down, then it's much like a football game to see who can get there first.
Hey there 99, I don't think I answered your question. Just saw it now.
Yes, slip bobbers work out in the open but any outside fishing needs constant effort in clearing ice out of the fishing hole and melting ice off the line.
The old Thill style slip bobber are my fav because they are so classy (as far as a fishing bobber goes). But they require extra effort when outside fishing because the fishing line threads all the way through the bobber from top to bottom. a little ice bead will form at the top of the bobber and through it's center which can freeze your line inside the bobber. When this happens, you no longer have a slip bobber, it's locked onto the line. then it becomes a hand over hand line because you cant reel it in once the bobber hits the first eyelet on the fishing rod.
another kind of slip bobber that works better than others outside fishing is one like this:
![[Linked Image]](http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e364/northerndave/fishing%20stuff/IMG_7806.jpg)
See, that's a clip on style, it just glides and slides on the line. You keep your bobber stop above the bobber at the depth you wish to fish. These are made of open cell foam that is inserted into a little plastic clip end. They really are nice because you can trim the foam float length with a pocket knife or even just pinch it off with your fingers. I like to do that so I have a float that barely floats my jig and bait. the fish feel way less resistance that way when they bite.
The reason these work nice outside is because the slip slot stays under water while you fish, this greatly reduces line freeze to the float. also when ice does build up on the float itself you just give it a squeeze with your fingers and the ice crumbles off because the float is soft.
Yes that is a weeny dog wearing an orange cape. Don't try to pretend you've never seen this sort of thing before.
