Bobby Cork Rig

Bobby corks come in a selection of sizes however they are generally of the same shape, wider at the top than the bottom and made of foam, timber, or clear plastic. They have a hole that goes through the centre of the bobby cork, from the top to the bottom, through which your fishing line is threaded.

There are so many ways that you can use a bobby cork, taking a very long article to explain all the techniques in detail. Instead, I am only going to focus on the three main techniques that I use.

Technique 1

Many anglers will use bobby corks during the night, to suspend a bait up off the bottom for kingfish, salmon, bonito, mulloway, and sharks. This is ideal for keeping the bait away from the pickers. To help illuminate the bobby cork you could drill a small hole in the top and then insert a fluorescent light stick into the hole, making it much easier to see at night.

You could also try using the larger A-Just-A Bubble Float and insert a small fluorescent light stick inside the plastic float. These light sticks do last a fair amount of time and if you put them in the freezer when you get home it will stop the chemical reaction and you will be able to get a few more hours out of it the next time you go fishing.

Technique 2

Try rigging a live poddy mullet underneath a small bobby cork and allow it to float over a weed bed. The bobby cork needs to be large enough to stop the live bait from getting down into the weeds, so a running float with a stopper above it would be the best as you can adjust the depth as needed.

This technique is great when targeting dusky flathead that live in the small patches of sand that are found in large expanses of weed beds. You could also try using this rig over rock bars for bream, trevally, cod, mangrove jack and more.

Technique 3

If you are targeting squid and using a bobby cork, then you could suspend either a squid jig or a squid spike that has been pinned through the middle of a baitfish.

This would be best used when the float is not fixed and is allowed to run freely with a stopper knot and bead above. This will allow you to vary the depth that you can have the squid jig or baited squid spike suspended at. It also allows the rig to become very aerodynamically shaped, so that it is easy to cast it out a long way from the shore.

If I am using an A-Just-A Bubble float (fixed position) I will select my depth before I cast. You can add a bit of water inside for that extra casting distance. If using it a night you can add a small light stick inside.

If I am using a bobby cork I will use a running rig where the use of a plastic stopper is a must.

Bobby cork rigs are effective on a wide range of species, including gar, mullet, luderick and drummer.

Suggested Combos:

Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-702NT, X-Light, 7'0" Nibble Tip, 2-4kg rod matched with an Okuma JAW Spin JAW-30 reel and spooled with 10lb Platypus Pulse Mono for either out of a boat or off the shore in the estuary.

Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-1162NT, Med/Light, 11'6" Nibble Tip, 2-6kg rod matched with an Okuma Rockaway RA-6000, with its 12kg drag, for either off the rock breakwall or ocean rocks. Ideal for chasing squid, tailor, and salmon.

Okuma Surf-XT - SFXT-S-1202SFM, 8-10kg rod matched with a Rockaway RA-6000, with its 12kg drag, for either off the rock breakwall or ocean rocks. Ideal for chasing mulloway and the likes off the rocks and breakwalls.