South Carolina Bobber Tubing

I was out in my tube recently, fly-fishing for "brim" (bluegill) and generally enjoying life. But, I had a family commitment later that day, so made a late morning departure.

As I was stowing my gear at shore-side, I chatted with a lady who was bank fishing. After a bit, she asked if I could identify the fish she'd caught.

"Sure," I said, "there aren't but a half dozen types it might be, so let's see what'cha got."

She lifted the cover off her bucket to reveal a massive red-ear. It was no Havasu record breaker, but it was all of 2 pounds and filled the bucket.
A nice fish, certainly.

"Holy S***!" I exclaimed. "Ooops, sorry, 'bout my language.
You caught that?"

"Yes, and my son got a couple more. We got 'em on worms, right out there," and she pointed to the cove where I had been fly fishing. In other words, while I was flailing away with my fairy stick, they were hauling in these beasts right from under my feet!

Carole was her name and we talked for awhile, but I kept pondering the idea that I was floating above, while fish like these were swimming 8 feet below.

Later, I was still thinking on this.

"There I was, like a big bobber - and missing fish."

Which is when the light went on.

"Hey, what if I WAS a big bobber, but with a line below??"

That's when I remembered I had some of those watch spring, "automatic" fishing reels somewhere in my stash. If you don't know what these contraptions are, here's what they look like:
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So my idea is the hang one or two of these off the D-rings on my tube, drop-shot fashion. I'll put snagless weights on the lines, bait 'em with worms, and unwind the reels until they touch bottom. Then while I fly and spin fish the shore cover above, these can keep a bait down below.
It's a Two-fer, fer sure!

In fact, I recall Leo (TheAsianGuy) doing something like this, by trolling spinners off his tube. So, I reckon it's not unheard of.

I haven't tried it yet, as my fishing times have been kept short, lately. But I reckon its worth a shot

Thats a great idea i look forward to hearing how it worked for you. Thanks for sharing i am going to look into those reels.

jeffcpr wrote:... i am going to look into those reels.

They are often called "automatic reels," "survival reels," and sometimes "yo-yo reels."

Generally, they are considered tools for catfishing.
You tie them to an overhanging branch, in fairly deep water. Then you attach a baited, snelled hook to the snap swivel, and pull out enough line so the bait is within a few feet of the surface.

When a fish takes the bait, the latch is triggered and the spring pulls the line. This sets the hook, brings the fish to the surface, and keeps the fish there under tension.

But any fish that will take a live bait is fair game. You can attach the reels to docks, posts, boats, etc.
I've messed with 'em for years.

I like to use them when bank fishing, as unattended "rodless" reels.
I tie them to a branch, or hang 'em from a nail poked in a tree. I make up a hand line with a slip weight, and whirl it out. Then I pull out the reel line and clip on the bait line. When a fish takes the bait, it swims off and trips the reel. It won't pull the fish in, but it keeps the fish under tension while standing out from the tree... a visual tip-off that a fish is on!

Meanwhile, I can do other things like fish down the bank, do camp chores, etc.

Get 'em on eBay; don't pay more than 3-4 bucks apiece.

Sweet thanks a lot sir