I use those red/white foam type slip bobbers that you get in a package of 5 at Wal-mart in the fishing section.

I took some clear finger nail polish and brushed some onto the top and bottom holes to harden them up. This works and it won't add very little extra weight to the foam float. I have all my lead head jigs a certain weight to make the float sit in the water just right. If a fish take the jig in it's mouth it lessens the weight on the float and the float will lift up out of the water a little or a lot and tip over on it's side indicating that I've got a bite. That is if the crappie just swims up slowly to the jig and inhales it and doesn't move away.

I got the Clear Fingernail Polish when I was mounting asbestos testing filters on a microscopic glass slide. The clear nail polish attaches the cover slips onto the glass slide so it won't fall or and makes the slide mount permanent. (NIOSH 7400 Method) National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. It's a laboratory method for the sampling and analysis of asbestos fibers in the air. I use to be an analysis for an Environmental Laboratory that did sampling and analysis for the Asbestos Abatement Industry. So that's where I got the idea of using Clear Fingernail Polish.

I also used my microscope to look at the fish scale's growth rings to determine the age of the fish I caught. By looking at the growth rings one can tell about the growth rate also. Like the rings on a tree's cross section you can see that the wider growth rings indicated good moisture content and adequate growth conditions when the rings were laid down. Rings that are very tight and close together indicate that the conditions for growth were poor.

Scientists can look at the growth ring pattern of ancient trees an determine when the Earth's Climate in the area where the tree grew was good or poor. Warm or cold. Warm times equal faster growth and wider rings where as cold dry times equals tighter or closer rings and poor growth conditions.



Quote Originally Posted by walleyemaniac View Post
I too use slips for anything deeper than 4'. I've never used the metal grommeted ones. I do use a plastic bead between the bobber and the stop though, and never have any issues with cutting in. I almost exclusively use braid so it cuts pretty easy without that bead.

I see a company called Bentley that makes some with metal sleeves on the entry hole. They almost look like brass inserts for compression fittings, only smaller than the ones you'd find say on a refrigerator ice maker line. Check this link out.

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/plum.../0000000095127

I don't know what sizes and diameters are available, but maybe something like that????