What is a booby or boobies?
Its name comes from "boobs" in English which means breasts.
Indeed, the eyes are made of foam, which can be bought in cylinders of different diameters and colors, or sold in small packages of polystyrene balls of different sizes.
In fishing action, what does it look like?
The booby floats thanks to its eyes. It is mainly used with a very plunging line (S3 to S7). Once the line is placed on the bottom, when you pull on it, the fly goes down to the bottom, then goes up again at each pause. We therefore vary the animations and the pause times to trigger the strokes. The bigger the eyes, the faster the fly(s) will rise. However, it is possible to animate the flies quickly at the bottom.
The marabou or rabbit tail is very mobile even during slow animation, which triggers the attack of the trout.
A winter fishing techniqueâeuros¦
In the middle of winter, and sometimes in late fall, the water temperature drops considerably and makes the trout lethargic. They are stuck to the bottom and their metabolism is slowed down. There is no more or very little hatching of aquatic larvae and the fish enter a phase where their activity is close to zero.
Sometimes a temperature rise of 1 or 2 degrees can be enough to bring them back into activity, especially during the hottest part of the day.
Streamer fishing even with a sinking line brings little or no results, because the flies swim too fast and the fish do not have the desire or the strength to chase them.
Bottom fishing for boobies is therefore essential, when it is authorized * .
It is a very tactile fishing and finally much more subtle than it seems. You need the right equipment to detect the bites instantly and to hook the fish correctly.
It is important to use low-stretch lines (without elasticity), a fluorocarbon or hard fluoro leader that allows you to feel the slightest anomaly and small touch to ensure a quick strike without the trout having had time to engorge.
We generally use between 1 to 3 boobies on a very short leader that is attached directly to the end of the line. The distance between the boobies depends on many factors, but they are generally quite close between 40 to 80 cm for a leader of about 1 to 2 m maximum.
The interest of putting several flies is to find the color, the size, but also, what is very important, the height of water in which the trout are active.
A technique to use in summer too
Booby fishing is also used in the summer, when the trout are at the bottom to find cooler water during hot weather.
Boobies can also be used on lighter lines as an intermediate to fish faster between two waters. Some people also use it successfully on the surface, to create a small wave on the skin of the water, which attracts the attention of the trout.
They can also be used for washing-line or clothesline fishing. The booby serves as a float and holds 1 or 2 flies, nymphs or chiro, which are mounted between the line and the tip fly on a stem.
Practicing the booby technique well
This type of fishing is often denigrated because it is poorly practiced and can lead to mortality. The fish can get hooked on the fly(s) and thus hurt themselves. To avoid this as much as possible, it is strongly advised to have the appropriate equipment (described above) and to limit the breaks. By staying in contact with the fly line and the flies, the slightest touch is immediately felt. Nevertheless, it happens that the trout take by coming back to us, and in this case, it is impossible to feel the pull and the fly is often well engammed.
It remains a very tactile fishing, where you have to vary the animations, size and colors of fly to find the solution of the moment. Touches can be very subtle and sometimes real gunshots! In any case, the sensations are very nice.
* Some reservoirs prohibit it due to mortality.
