Manufacturer: BulletBobber
Website: http://www.bulletbobber.com
Contact: Paul Lieb
E-mail: plieb@neo.rr.com
Phone: 330-825-0479 after 5:00 EST or weekends
Bullet Bobbers are the only manufacturer of Planing Floats with Lateral Direction Control. They plane to the side when you reel them, are trolling or if there is a current. A little tug will make them back flip and reverse the direction they are planing and the color you see.
BulletBobber Enterprises is a family owned business, and is currently looking for Canadian Distributors for their product.
Overall score based on experience with the product and other comments received for those we send out to be tried out. Examples, where applicable, of areas we are looking at include, but are not limited to...
> Look & Feel
> Versatility
> Portability
> Strength & Durability
> Material Components
> Colors
> Sizes
> Effectivness (End Result)
FishinBuddy Ratings:
> 1 - Not a good product at all
> 2 - Disappointing
> 3 - Not Bad, but requires a few tweaks
> 4 - Fish-Hawk Proven Product
> 5 - Exceeds Expectation
The Review:
Bullet Bobbers have got to be the most unique concept bobbers I have ever seen. Bullet Bobbers are designed to act as regular bobbers, withthe exception that you can control where they go....either left or right. It is possible to also use them while trolling to keep them out away from the boat, just like planner boards, however I have found you need to go really really slow, and it must be very very calm. They don't work well in choppy water from my experience.
Just like any other bobber, you can store these in your tackle or plano boxes. The only problem I've had with these however is that you "need to keep the pins" with them. They are basically useless unless you have the pins that hold your line in place, unless you are a McGiver who can gerry rig something in case you misplace or lose them....which I have done.
Bullet Bobbers are made of plastic in what I can tell to be 2 pieces glued together. While I believe they would be easy to destroy...if hit with a hammer...they are bobbers that you don't usually put through a lot of rigour which would cause them to break. They also come with a set of pins that are required to secure the line. Having these pins separate from the bobbers, and needing these pins to make them work leaves a little to be desired and can put you in a position of wanting to use them, but not being able to. This is really more a problem with someone who misplaces the pins, but with them the components are OK.
Fromw what I can see, they come in one color only, which is all that's really required in my opinion. By one color, I mean one color combination.....Green and Orange. This combination allows you to see which way the bobbers are supposed to plane.
Multiple sizes are available that you can use depending on the weights you like to attach at the end of the line and the buoyancy required in order to achieve effective "planing". This is the trick.
While the concept is a good one, there are a couple of things which concern me about this product, and I have yet to be successful in catching a fish while using them. That being said, I think this product has a lot to offer, but I'm fearful the learning curve to use it effectively may be too much for the average angler.
I have tested this product out in 2008 and continue to look for best uses for a planing float. I like the style and concept, however I'm having a bit of a problem making them work as they are documented. I see this float as one I'd use for Crappy, Catfish and even Walleye and Bass in areas of current when I'd like to utilize the bi-directional control of the float to put my bait where I think the fish will be, but i just can't seem to work it the way I think it supposed to work. Some point of concern...1) Getting the hang of "snapping" the line to get the bobber to change direction, takes some practise. 2) The requirement of "pins" separate from the bobbers has left me in a position where I really wanted to use them, but could not just because I could not find the pins. 3) Using the "right weight" for maximum planing performance can be a challenge. 4) It does not plane well in choppy water.
For now, I cannot call the BulletBobber a "Proven Product", however it is a product with a lot of potential and I will continue to work it and see if I can master the "planing" aspect of it. Who knows, it may just very well be the operator who's at fault here
, so anyone who may be interested in trying them out for themselves, please get in touch with Paul. > Overall Rating:
<img src="http://www.fish-hawk.net/hawk-pic/produ ... /3hawk.gif">
With a rating of 3 Stars, I cannot at this time consider Bullet Bobbers to be a Fish-Hawk "Proven Product", however I'll keep using them to see if I can find an application where they really work well.