Wobblers: how to choose and catch correctly?

Wobblers, my notes

It’s not for nothing that they say that the ability to choose the right bait for given conditions is 50% of success in fishing.

About 20-30 years ago, when the assortment in fishing stores was not so great, there were no problems with choice. Most fishermen of that time bought what they had and what they didn’t, they made themselves. It was an interesting time, so many different homemade products could be purchased on the market... Now the situation has changed radically: you can buy everything, but will it all be caught? And the most interesting thing is that a huge assortment of fishing gear creates the opposite effect: many fishermen simply get confused in all this abundance and purchase gear that is not always suitable for certain conditions. This is the situation with wobblers, of which there are now hundreds and thousands. An inexperienced fisherman will not really understand what kind of wobbler he needs, how it will behave when fishing, what kind of water it was created for, and how to fish in general. I will try to very briefly give the basic rules that will make the difficult path of choosing a wobbler a little easier, which means that the chance of catching the coveted fish will increase.

Design

In the description of wobblers, it is necessary to note their design features. Wobblers are made from wood, foam or soft plastic. The most reliable designs include wobblers made of plastic; their body is cast simultaneously with the blade, which allows their reusable use. The blade, unlike glued ones, will never fall off, and the body itself, regardless of damage and bites by predators, can serve for quite a long time.

Wobblers with glued parts and a blade are less reliable; they often fail due to the fragility of the glued parts. During operation, especially when driving at the bottom, the blade often hits the bottom and scoops up soil and stones. As a result, the glued parts become loose and eventually fall off.

Often, wobbler designs use body reinforcement (mainly for lures made of wood or foam). The wire axis running inside the body of the wobbler serves to secure the hooks more firmly. The technology used for attaching hooks to plastic baits is no less durable. In them, fastenings in the form of loops are securely pressed into plastic, which can withstand fairly heavy loads.

Wooden wobblers are less durable due to the natural properties of wood; after almost every bite, bites from the teeth of predators remain on the body of the bait, through which water penetrates. The swollen wooden body simply cracks upon subsequent drying, rendering the wobbler unusable. Therefore, after each bite, the bait should be dried and damaged areas should be varnished.

Variety of wobblers

Foam wobblers are even less durable. They are quickly cut by the fish's teeth and if they are not sealed with varnish after each damage, then very soon you will have to purchase new ones.

All designs of wobblers, according to their sound accompaniment, are noisy, low-noisy and non-noisy. Of particular interest are wobblers with a system of balls, which create a certain sound when inserted. Rolling inside the body, they change the center of gravity of the bait, which significantly affects the casting distance. Since when casting they shift to the tail part of the product, and already in this state the thrown bait has a smooth flight path with the least resistance. By changing the number of balls, it is also possible to repurpose a sinking wobbler, making it floating.

In some reservoirs, where fishermen are frequent guests, the fish become more cautious and prefer less noisy wobblers, which create noises similar to the natural noises of fish when fishing. Wooden and foam wobblers are best suited for these reservoirs; they are practically silent and create noise only by overcoming the resistance of the water and jingling at the hook connections.

In hot weather, when the fish are not active, segmented wobblers provide indispensable help. They consist of two or several parts, which, when pulled quite quietly, create a game that is quite interesting for the fish, thereby forcing it to take active action. The best version of a composite wobbler has neutral buoyancy and is classified as a suspender.

The coloring of the wobbler also has a certain meaning, especially for less active baits. Bright baits that do not match the natural colors cause a kind of aggression in the fish and provoke it to attack. But they are best used in cloudy weather or in cloudy water, since in sunny weather in clear water they can create the opposite deterrent effect. In clear weather and clear water, it is best to use wobblers that are colored in accordance with the colors of the inhabitants of the reservoir.

For active baits, coloring has no role; the fish primarily reacts to the play of the wobbler. When using artificial baits, it is necessary to regularly monitor the condition of the hooks; it is best to use high-quality hooks with a high degree of sharpening. This will help avoid frequent fish runs. If the hooks nevertheless become dull, then they must be sharpened with a diamond needle file. The caught fish should be unhooked from the bait in compliance with safety precautions; never grasp the wobbler itself, but only the detachable hook, since there is a possibility of serious injury from the second free hook when the fish jerks. In this case, damage and breakage of the wobbler itself is also possible.

Wobblers consist of:

• body (body),
• blades for deepening and more intense vibrations (“games”),
• one, two, three, very rarely four hooks (three hooks are mostly used, but for less snagging on vegetation, “double” or single hooks can be used),
• loops (ears) for attaching fishing line,
• wobbler loads.

I'll start from afar

There are three types of wobblers on the market: sinking, floating, and neutrally buoyant. In my practice, I use only floating types of wobblers and sinking ones. Please note that in a fast current the wobbler will always be carried to the surface, which is why I made my choice on sinking baits. I use floating ones in slow currents with shallow depths, when guiding near the edge of vegetation. Although, fishing with wobblers with neutral buoyancy is also interesting, when it becomes possible to “freeze” the bait in the water column and play along with it slightly. This greatly excites the predator. This type of bait works great in standing water in windows of vegetation. You can fish, as you understand, both from a boat and from the shore.

Wobbler blade material

Now a few words about the material and method of fastening the blade. As we already know, Lauri Rapala made his first blade for a wobbler from tin. However, later it turned out that the opaque “additive” gives the bait an unnatural appearance and clearly alarms the fish.

That’s why an almost invisible plexiglass blade appeared in the water. And now almost all wobblers made of wood or polystyrene foam are equipped with a transparent blade that is glued into a special groove. Metal blades remain only on the most powerful “magnums”, where the entire bait must withstand extreme loads, and on some single models.

However, the plexiglass blade is not very strong and sometimes pops out or breaks if handled carelessly. In this case, you have to glue it back or look for a replacement. It’s easier with a metal blade: as a rule, it is attached not only with glue, but also with self-tapping screws.

With the advent of plastic wobblers, the problem resolved itself. The blade of the required strength is molded integrally with the plastic body, then the body is painted, and the blade is left transparent. Such a blade can only be broken on purpose.

Shape of the wobbler blade, its inclination and location

Everything here is simple and complex at the same time. A narrow and short blade located at the nose of the bait gives the wobbler a trembling game, a longer blade increases the spread of the game, and the width of the blade affects the vibration and immersion of the wobbler. In diving wobblers, the blade is wide, the ring is built into the blade, in floating (surface) wobblers, the ring is located either in the blade or in the body of the wobbler. By the way, if you wish, if you play with weight (additional weights, hooks), you can make a wobbler with neutral buoyancy from a floating wobbler, i.e. a potentially floating wobbler combines, as it were, two baits.

Step-by-step guide on how to make a wobbler with your own hands

Every angler will be able to make wobblers for casting pike. The working horizon is from one to one and a half meters, the optimal length is about seven centimeters. So how to make a wobbler with your own hands? So let's get started:

1. The profile of the future catchable bait is drawn on paper.

2. 
   The template is cut out. The shape of the bait can be adopted from the Khamsin bait from the manufacturer ZipBaits or Kosadaka. Pike are great on such wobblers. They have a fairly simple shape, which will make your work easier.

3. On the Internet, the picture of the bait is copied and changed to the required size and printed on a printer. An alternative is to trace the picture on a transparent piece of paper directly on the monitor with a gel pen. In this case, the template will be more accurate.
4. The outline is transferred to plastic. At this stage, you already need to know the thickness of the body of the future bait. This is necessary in order to understand how many plates will have to be glued together, and where in the bait the equipment and fittings will be located. Khamsin can hardly be called a fat man; his body width is slightly more than a centimeter. In our case, we will need three plates. The thickness of one of them is six millimeters, and the remaining two are four millimeters each.
5. PVC is cut. This is done with an ordinary stationery knife and on a hard surface. The more careful you are at this stage, the less you will have to trim the workpieces with the same knife or file. Two plates with a smaller thickness are set aside, and work continues with the central, thicker one, intended for hinges and loading.

6. 
   Three loops are twisted. The loop can be called correct if it holds well and sits firmly in the body of the bait. Ideally, it should sit straight and straight. In our case, a special loop is twisted, which has a twist along its main length, and at the end there is a small wire hook, and near the ring there is an untwisted section, which is intended for even mounting it into the body of the wobbler. The finished loops are set aside.

7. The plates are connected using glue and processed to the planned shape.
8. A stationery knife is used to cut off the bulk of the excess plastic, and the remainder is removed with a file or needle file and sandpaper.

9. 
   Loading is being done. There are different ways to calculate the amount of lead required. The simplest and fastest involves the use of precise electronic scales and a container of water. You can’t do without a Cheburashka weight with a wide eye, through the eye of which a piece of thin fishing line is passed and tied to one of the loops of the wobbler. This is followed by hanging rings and tees on the workpiece, which is necessary for a more accurate calculation of the load. Then, using tape, the end of the fishing line is glued to the electronic scales. The Cheburashka is thrown into a suitable container (a plastic bottle will do) and water is poured in. In order to measure the amount of lead required to immerse the bait, the scales are turned upside down and the wobbler is drowned in the container. The scales will show the exact load, only with a minus prefix.

10. After determining the required quantity, the halves are separated and you can begin loading. To more accurately hit the thickness of the plastic, lead buckshot can be riveted a little. You will need 3 g of lead. Buckshot of 8.5 mm diameter weighs the same. Buckshot is shaped into a flattened barrel using a small hammer. In this form, it fits perfectly into a 6 mm PVC plate.
11. The future bait is leveled, primed and painted. You can refuse to paint the wobbler, and limit yourself to applying stripes and fins with waterproof markers.

Useful Tricks

Despite all the advantages of PVC, when catching large pikes, our wobbler will suffer from the teeth of a predator and will soon fail. To extend the life of the bait, you can apply a couple of layers of epoxy resin and sand it. Be aware that you won’t get a perfectly flat surface, since when the epoxy hardens, bumps and sagging will form. A homemade wobbler becomes not only more durable, but also very aesthetic.

Epoxy resin can be refined with some kind of varnish for exterior use, for example, a composition of the Odilak brand. The coating does not become harder immediately, but over time it becomes stronger - this is a very good feature of the so-called yacht varnishes. At the same time, the varnish does not react with paints or other varnishes.

If you cover the bait with several layers of epoxy resin, and after sanding, apply a couple of layers of yacht varnish, the bait will receive both the necessary protection from the teeth of a predator and an attractive appearance.

Composite wobblers

There are fishermen who fish only with compound baits, I have a couple of such wobblers in my stock, because... They play quite interestingly, which is pleasing to the eye. Composite wobblers are easier to start when retrieving, and perch respect them very much. The main thing is that the place where the two parts are attached is solid, so that when fishing for large fish it does not bend (I had such a case)

Wobblers design

The shape copies water bodies that are prey for predators: insects, amphibians, fish. The design includes:

• body (or body);
• blade: a flat element located at the front of the wobbler; serves to increase the intensity of vibrations, to deepen;
• hooks: according to their number there are 1...4 pcs.; as a rule, tees, less often doubles, singles;
• eye (or loop) for attaching to fishing line;
• loading

Wobbler body

At first, only wooden models were produced. The hulls were and continue to be made from a variety of woods. There are products made from oak, hazel, pine, and balsa on the market.

Later, plastics were added to the materials from which the wobbler was made. Like wooden ones, they can be solid (from polystyrene foam, other foamed plastics), or hollow inside (from polycarbonate, polystyrene, ABC plastic). Some people use foam products, which they often make themselves. In this case, hard grades of material are used, although this does not prevent rapid destruction. Among the latest innovations, the appearance of silicone cases should be noted. It is believed that they are better than wooden and plastic ones in many respects.

The bodies are decorated fantasy-like or imitating real-life fish, amphibians and other aquatic inhabitants. A holographic coating is applied to the surface, which increases the reflective characteristics of the nozzles.

On sale you can find wobblers with transparent, lightly colored bodies. Their internal cavity can be filled with oil, for example, with glitter. The latter, according to the manufacturers, imitate falling scales.

The length of the body is often solid. There are multi-component models, divided along the length into 2…3 parts. To increase efficiency, hollow bodies are equipped with internal rattles. They contain balls made of different materials (plastic, metal, glass) that produce sounds of different frequencies.

Blade

The blade (aka tongue) is the main working part of the bait. It makes the nozzle go deeper and oscillate when retrieving. Attached to the head of the wobbler, it can be integral with it or inserted into it. Metal and plastic are used for manufacturing. Aluminum and titanium are used in large nozzles where significant loads exist. For the rest, transparent plastic is used, which practically does not irritate or alarm the prey. On some models, the position of the blades can be adjusted.

The main characteristics of the blades: length, slope, area, shape. The longer the tongue is, the deeper it can go. Area affects the game. Form affects the intensity and stability of the game.

Rattlins do not have blades. This type is called a bladeless crank.

Hooks

Usually tee hooks are installed. Their number is 1…3, depending on the size of the wobbler. The overall weight of the hooks affects the bait's ability to float or sink.

Some manufacturers have wobblers equipped with doubles. Miniature models may have single hooks, and ultralight versions may even have no barbs. The latter are used by those fishermen who advocate releasing the prey after fishing.

Wobbler attachment

The connection with the main fishing line occurs through an eye mounted on the nose of the wobbler or on the blade. The mounting location affects the stability of the nozzle and the depth of its insertion. There are models that have several ears in their design.

The product should be attached directly to the fishing line. The use of swivels and carbines distorts the game.

Loading

Loading is done with tungsten balls. It allows the product to take the correct position in the water, complements the game, creates additional noise, and provides the declared buoyancy.

Magnet

There are models of unusual designs on sale. For example, transparent Zipbaits are equipped with an internal longitudinal channel in which an iron ball moves. In the middle part the hole is covered with a magnet.

In a quiet position, the ball is in the area of ​​the magnet. When casting, it moves towards the tail of the wobbler and promotes long casting.

Wobbler shape (narrow, cigar-shaped, unusual shapes)

Surface wobblers are characterized (most often) by the shape of an elongated fish. This bait is convenient for twitching. Sinking wobblers can have either an elongated shape or a slightly hunched, slightly wider shape. There is a type of bait that has a narrow body, the ring is located on the back, without a blade. Such wobblers sink quickly, have a wide range of play, and can even be used for vertical fishing. If we consider poppers (they create noise and a gurgling effect on the surface), then most such wobblers have a nose cut off in front and sometimes a recess to capture an air bubble.

Blade parameters and wobbler depth

The blade of a wobbler has four main parameters: slope, length, area and configuration. Of course, their influence on the bait must be assessed comprehensively, but this topic is worthy of a separate book. Therefore, to begin with, let’s conduct a simplified comparative analysis and consider three blades of floating wobblers with different depths (Fig. 1).

The inclination of the blade determines the rate of descent. The smaller the angle between the blade and the horizontal axis of the wobbler, the steeper and faster the bait goes down.

The inclination of the blade partially affects the immersion depth of the wobbler. The most obvious example here is the floating model ABU GARCIA Hi-Lo (Fig. 2).

Fig.2. Blade with variable inclination.

The blade of this bait is fixed in one of 6 positions, thanks to which the wobbler goes to a new depth every time. The maximum depth is achieved when the blade is in the upper position, and the lower we lower it, the shallower the depth becomes. With the blade perpendicular to the wobbler's axis, the bait can no longer go deep, and with further deflection of the blade back, the wobbler begins to be carried to the surface.

The configuration of the blade determines various subtleties of the behavior of the wobbler. This is a rather complex and voluminous issue, which we will touch upon only as necessary. To begin with, let's remember just a few basic points:

For better interaction with the oncoming water flow, the front surface of the blade is made either slightly concave or with a slight depression.

Conclusions

In general, wobblers are an interesting bait. Following from what was described above, to begin with, I recommend stocking up on 4-6 wobblers: 1-2 poppers, 1-2 surface narrow wobblers, 1-2 sinking medium-sized ones (it is advisable to take all wobblers with balls). In the future, you will understand which baits you need. So, there are wobblers 1-2 cm in length for catching chub, ide, asp..., but this is a topic for another review.