Pebbling—A Unique Technique That Helps You Catch Fish of All Species

 by Gary Nelson

 After an outing of spin-fishing, I walked back along the stream bank with a pair of trout I’d kept to eat. Another angler approached me and asked what I’d caught the rainbows on. I pointed to the small streamer still attached to my monofilament. He noticed there was no casting bubble nor a lead sinker attached to the line. Puzzled, he asked how in the world I was able to cast out that almost weightless fly with a spinning outfit. I quickly answered, “Pebbling.”

I explained that, in a nutshell, the “pebbling” method simply involved placing a pebble in a slip loop in your fishing line several inches above your fly or other artificial lure or bait. You cast it out and when the pebble hits the water, the little rock will fall out of the slip loop. Even if you are fishing with just a featherweight fly or a mini jig, the pebble can carry it out a very long distance. As I left, the intrigued angler said he was sure going to give it try.

Casting with the use of a pebble is a trick any fisherman can use. It doesn’t matter what species is pursued. It can certainly help increase an angler’s catch of both gamefish and panfish. You can reach your bait or lure out to water you never could have before. You can retrieve the lure through a fishy zone for a much longer distance. And during the retrieve, the lightest of lures can be fished with an extremely slow retrieve if desired. You don’t need to use a bobber, which can many times make fish shy.

The pebbling tactic I use is a later variation of a trick I learn to use when I was a kid. I would place a wad of clay or muck in a slip loop on my line. I’d use this to cast out a worm to catch small catfish or bluegill. The clay or mud would disperse in the water, creating a small area of murkiness, which I figured might attract curious fish. It was a way too to keep from spending my hard-earned pennies on lead sinkers.

Later, it occurred to me that a pebble would stay in the slip loop better than a chunk of muck, and a good-sized pebble could be cast “a mile.”

The first step is to gather a can full of pebbles for use on your outing. Sometimes you can find the right kind at your fishing site, but it’s best to pre-gather some ideal ones. Maybe you have a gravel pile you can get them from. And a stream shore is often a good place. A stream will have more rounded pebbles than many other sites. The best pebbles have fairly smooth edges and are somewhat egg-shaped. You of course don’t want to use sharp-edged stones, which would damage the fishing line. You’ll want to collect an assortment of sizes, from less than an ounce to several ounces, so you always have something to cast at the different fishing situations you’ll encounter.

Once at the fishing site, you make a simple slip loop in the line anywhere from 6 to 24 inches above your lure or bait. There are two types of loops you can use:

SINGLE SLIP LOOP. Grab the line with two fingers and turn it to make a circle of about an inch or two in diameter. Then take the adjoining line above the circle and pass it through the circle to create a loop. Place the pebble in this loop and snug the line to the pebble.

DOUBLE SLIP LOOP. Another way is to make the one- to two-inch circle, then take both adjoining lines (from above and below the circle) and pass them through the circle to create a double line loop. Place the pebble in this double loop and tighten it.

The second type generally holds onto the pebble a little better. However, if the type of stones you have don’t want to release easily after they hit the water, try the first type of loop.

The pebbling method works well with fishing line of four-pound test and heavier. Lighter line has too much stretch; bites are harder to detect and you get too spongy of a hook-set when you have a lot of line out. A fairly long rod, something six feet or longer, works well.

To cast, carefully position the pebble-loaded line behind you, then gradually increase speed as you swing it over you to complete  the cast. A cast that’s too abrupt will cause the pebble to jerk out of the line loop.

Ideally, the pebble should release from the loop when it splashes into the water. If the pebble doesn’t release then, you can try jerking the rod tip a few times to release it. If that doesn’t work, just do a rapid retrieve and try another cast. (Or, if the pebble is not real heavy and is 18 to 24 inches above your lure, you might try fishing it back this way to try for bottom-holding fish.)

The tactic of long-casting with pebbles lets you keep your boat a good distance away from easily-spooked fish. And of course it’s an ideal tactic for shore fishing. You can reach out to where you weren’t able to before. It’s great for fishing lightweight floating lures over an expansive flat. You’ll have your floater in that fish zone for a longer time. When fishing for panfish feeding at the surface, you can even use a pebble to long-cast a more-or-less weightless floating jig. Tip it with a little soft plastic body and you have a great topwater bait.

Pebbling is not only for lightweight artificials. It can be used in conjunction with a live bait, with or without a float. And it can even be used with medium-weight or heavy lures, to give your cast extra yards when needed in certain situations.

Not all casts with a pebble will be successful, but with a little practice an angler will get better at it. If a pebble happens to fly off before it gets your offering way out there, no problem. All you’ve lost is a little rock.

Of course this method can’t be used when casting towards other anglers or towards things like houseboats with windows. A “pebbler” has to treat his gear like a loaded gun.

In most instances, though, an angler shouldn’t have any problem, and it will lessen the age-old obstacle of not being able to cast far enough. A pebble can carry a light lure a long distance, and you can fish the lure through a fishy zone for a longer period. An added bonus is that you’ll use fewer lead sinkers. Yes, pebbling saves you a little money, and helps the environment, besides helping you catch both gamefish and panfish.