Bottom bouncing rigs for walleye

Bottom Bouncer walleyes is often a slam dunk for summertime walleyes. We reached out to Tony Roach, one of the best walleye guides out there, and asked him a few questions about how he approaches bottom bouncing throughout the summer months.

Bottom bouncers have become a staple of the walleye fishing industry. The reason they are so popular is because they are easy to run, versatile, and just downright catch fish. This setup is so simple, yet it can have so many alterations for differing styles of fishing. I like to use a stouter rod when bottom bouncing. This is because I like to run bigger bottom bouncers and have a firm backbone when I set the hook. I favor a 6''0 medium-heavy rod with a fast- or moderate-action. The reason I favor these setups is because I still have a good feel for what is happening with my line, but I also have a firm backbone for setting the hook and fighting a fish.

Bottom bouncing rigs for walleye

There are so many ways to fish bottom bouncers, making it one of the most versatile tactics for walleyes and other species. The 3 simple reasons I use bottom bouncers for walleyes are:. I mean, all you have to do really is hook up a bait rig to the bottom bouncer and go. But is it really that simple??? Not really. I will explain. This may cause your lines to tangle, which can be very time-consuming and annoying. This keeps my bait at a degree angle, and away from rods at the back of the boat. Keeping this in mind keeps my line out of my buddies on MOST occasions. Lastly, forget the TINY bottom bouncers. I get it, you may want your back rods to bounce way back in very shallow water…but I only do this in dirty water anyway. In my opinion, those are the only sizes you need. There are 2 main components of a bottom bouncer besides the weight.

This may cause your lines to tangle, which can be very time-consuming and annoying. Feeling a hard strike on a bottom bouncer and setting the hook is right up with catching a fish on a jig.

Many years ago when some friends and I were fishing on the Saskatchewan River, we followed the advice of the guy who rented us our boat: troll spinner rigs behind bottom bouncers. We had planned to anchor and vertically jig or float the river while dragging jigs, but decided to give this unfamiliar to us presentation a try instead. Pulling bouncers let us cover more water, enjoy the river scenery and catch a lot of fish. After that weekend adventure, I was completely sold on bouncer rigs, and I now regularly use them throughout the open-water season, and on all kinds of water. First is the technical aspect of fishing these rigs, which are somewhat awkward and prone to tangling. The second part is understanding the many spinner options you can troll behind bouncers.

Fishing a bottom bouncer correctly means coordinating boat speed, lake depth and setting the rig accordingly. Photo by Ron Sinfelt. One of the most important abilities any walleye angler can possess is the ability to present all available presentations to walleyes as conditions dictate. In May and early June, live bait presentations start to play a larger role in angler success. Utilizing crawler harnesses with bottom bouncers is certainly in the top five of all productive presentations of any experienced walleye angler. However, many who have never run them might not know all that bottom bouncers have to offer.

Bottom bouncing rigs for walleye

My 3-way swivel method is great for fishing for deep walleyes that are over 20 feet deep and it's good for covering ground when the Walleyes are spread out. Sometimes because of sunlight or air pressure the Walleyes slow right down and go deeper in the 15 to foot range. Deeper water tends to be where plant material settles and there is no wave action to clean the rocks so the bottom can be mucky. Because there is a lot less sunlight the weeds may only be a few inches high and in the case the Walleyes are not hiding in weeds but are hugging the tops and looking for bugs and stuff on the bottom. In this type of scenario jigging with regular jigs is not that effective because your jig gets covered with muck and weeds really fast. Also the Walleyes are less aggressive and tend go after slow moving or stationary baits.

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Bottom bouncers can also help you really learn what you are fishing. This is because I like to run bigger bottom bouncers and have a firm backbone when I set the hook. But now I realize a big bottom bouncer blowing by and kicking up silt activates them. There is often no need to drop the rod back or feed line, simply drag the fish and let them choke up on the bait. My side-by-side testing has shown that they usually outperform every other sinker style. This makes it attractive, but doesn't steal the show. A tip that still holds water today? Next Top 6 Smallmouth Bass Baits. Often, we simply catch more fish with bottom bouncers by simply speeding up to cover water to find active fish and triggering fish. Bottom Bouncer with Crankbaits — Another method for fishing bottom bouncers is to use a long leader and a crankbait behind it. An foot setback is my minimum. Cart subtotal. You can speed up to cover the water at over two miles per hour with a bottom bouncer. The no-stretch characteristic of braid helps to minimize that problem.

A bottom bouncer rig for walleye is one of the most effective tools for catching walleye with trolling, and it can also be very effective when used from shore. Due to these key advantages, you can use bottom bouncers for walleye to cover a lot of ground while presenting your bait at exactly the right depth to entice walleye to bite.

There, I like to use flashy, jumbo spinners and twin treble hooks. I normally tie on my slow death hook with 4 beads and a blade. Bottom Bouncer walleyes is often a slam dunk for summertime walleyes. This makes it attractive, but doesn't steal the show. There are times when I go faster, and you can learn why at our walleye trolling guide. Enjoying What You're Reading? Also, because it's easy to see, you can always tell the angle that your bait is running. March 1, Small Colorado blades, for example, are popular because they can turn at slow speeds. Editor in Chief Doug Stange talks about jigging raps for big northern pike. All these options enable the angler to fish slow or fast, with subtle or vibration with flash. I store my harnesses by winding them on foam pool noodles cut to fit inside clear, plastic shoe boxes, which you can buy at department stores.