Saltwater Balloon Fishing: How To Effectively Fish Live Or Dead Bait With Balloons [VIDEO]

Ever gone balloon fishing before?

From the feedback we have heard from fellow anglers in our Private Salt Strong Fishing Tribe Facebook Group (click here to get permission to join), there appear to be more saltwater anglers using traditional bobbers, corks, and kites than fishing with balloons.

So I’m glad we are doing this balloon fishing tip, because fishing with balloons can be a great and fairly simple way to have complete control on the depth of your bait, and it can help provide hook-ups with more fish pretty much anywhere (and with a vast array of saltwater fish species).

And fishing with balloons is incredibly similar to bobber fishing, fishing with a cork, or kite fishing… but as you will see in the special “How To” video from our friend Josh Jorgensen of BlacktipH, balloon fishing has a few distinct advantages over those methods.

Let’s first review why you might want to try saltwater balloon fishing:

Important Note: ONLY use Biodegradable balloons when balloon fishing.

WHY You Might Want To Try Balloon Fishing:

• Balloon fishing is great for controlling the depth of your live or dead bait
• You can get a bait with a balloon out really far compared to a bobber (some anglers use balloons to move their bait hundreds of yards of the beach or jetties)
• It can create a better hook set due to the balloon having so much more surface area (thus creates more resistance when pulled down) than a cork or a traditional bobber.
• In windy fishing scenarios, or when you are trying to drift a live bait in a current, the balloon’s large surface area moves across the water faster than a bobber, creating a lifelike movement of the bait fish.
• Bright colored balloons stand out and give you better visibility than a traditional bobber.
• Ideal when fishing rocky bottoms or areas where you need your bait at a perfect depth to avoid getting snagged on the bottom
• When using balloons from a boat with a slight wind, you can angle the balloon to take the bait away from the boat much quicker than you could a bobber
• Using a balloon for fishing is also ideal at night time as it is easy to stick a glow stick in or on a balloon to make it shine from really far away (also they make glow in the dark balloons).
• Compared to kite fishing, balloons are much cheaper and require a whole lot less equipment and attention

Saltwater Balloon Fishing Tips

• Always use bright colored balloons
  • Do NOT use blue, purple or white as they tend to blend in with the water (white blends in with white caps)
• When using live bait, make sure the balloon is just large enough to prevent the live bait from pulling it under the water
• Once again, ALWAYS use biodegradable balloons when fishing. Turtles and other marine animals have been known to eat balloons, not to mention it is bad for the environment
• When tying the balloon to your line, you have a few options:
  • Use a rubber band
  • Tie it using a “slip-knot” (like the video at the very bottom of this post)
  • Use a nifty balloon-to-line tool like the Balloon FisherKing’s clip that BlacktipH references in the video.

How To Fish With Balloons

(Video Tutorial With BlacktipH)

How To Tie A Balloon To Your Fishing Line

(Bonus Technique If You Don’t Have A Balloon Tying Tool)

Conclusion

Just like there is never one fishing lure that is always best for every scenario, using a balloon to suspend your live or dead bait won’t always be better than freelining, using a bobber, cork, or using a kite.

But in the following live or dead bait fishing scenarios, balloon fishing can be highly effective:

• When you need your bait to be a precise depth down and want it drifting more natural than with a bobber
• When you are trying to drift a live (or dead) bait in a current at a specific depth and don’t want it to get hung on structure
• At night or any other time that you need better visibility of your “bobber” as a bright balloon can be seen from very far away compared to a traditional cork or bobber

Where to buy biodegradable fishing balloons and other balloon fishing gear? If you want to buy online, try out Balloon FisherKing (and use the promo code “blacktiph” to get 15% off any Pro Pack). Otherwise, most tackle stores have an assortment of fishing balloons and gear in stock.

Hope you got something out of this and I hope to hear some stories from you in regards to balloon fishing.

Don’t hesitate to leave any comments with additional tips, thoughts, or questions.

P.S. – If you think your friends or network would like this post, please Tag them or Share this with them. It would mean a lot to me.

Fish On!