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:.

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.

Bottom bouncing rigs for walleye

One of the most consistent walleye presentations is a spinner-crawler rig spinner-crawler harness on a bottom-bouncer. Mainly a trolling or drifting tactic, many walleye anglers have used this technique before, but few have perfected it. For many years, bottom-bouncer fishing has been my primary method in my busy charter fishing business that operates mainly on Saginaw Bay and Lake Erie. Last year I pulled body-baits during early spring, but after the water temperature nudged into the high 40s, we fished bottom bouncers almost exclusively and caught limits on most trips. When all other programs were failing on other boats, we consistently caught walleyes, even during the toughest fishing conditions. My side-by-side testing has shown that they usually outperform every other sinker style. When walleyes are holding tight to bottom and are inactive, a bottom bouncer ticking along the bottom seems to wake them up and elicit strikes. If I see suspended fish on sonar, I quickly shorten the setbacks to bring bouncers up to the fish and they produce results there, too. A heavier weight kicks up more debris and makes more noise. The commotion attracts walleyes and catch-rates increase. When fish are aggressive, heavier weights also allow faster trolling while keeping lures in the strike zone.

Fly Fisherman Subscribe. Keep hooks sharp.

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. I tend to use a lot of nightcrawler, minnows, leeches, however, there are times when I actually prefer plastics. They work great when the walleyes are scattered through secondary breaklines, humps, deep weed edges, etc. They allow you to go from fish-to-fish-to-fish and really cover water quickly. Croix Eyecon rod Bounce-N-Troll. This setup does a great job of hooking fish by itself while sitting in a rod holder.

For the business end of a bottom bouncer, the most versatile and commonly used bait is a spinner rig also sometimes called a worm harness , consisting of a few beads, a rotating blade and one or more hooks. The beauty of these rigs is how they can be adapted to many situations by varying the length of line used, the number of hooks, the size, quantity and colour of beads and the colour, style and size of blades. As an added bonus, spinner rigs are well suited for using live bait, frozen minnows and artificials. When fishing with leeches or minnows, a rig with one octopus-style hook is the norm I often tie on a second hook close to the first one as a stinger. When fishing with nightcrawlers or soft-plastic imitations, the harnesses usually have two or three octopus hooks, spaced about three or four inches apart, to accommodate the length of the bait. Some anglers also replace the back octopus hook with a tiny treblehook to increase hook-ups. Short spinner rigs ranging from 30 to 36 inches work on aggressive fish, because as the bottom bouncer moves along, it stirs up sediment and makes noise. If the walleye are inactive, I switch to longer rigs, measuring from 40 inches in length all the way up to six feet.

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???

Seven letter word with the letters

In vegetation, I always fish suspended at least a few feet off bottom. Bottom bouncers and spinner harnesses can be run with no live bait as well which can be extremely deadly at times. In stained water, I also use flashy blades but also loud colors such as pinks, yellows, and orange. These blade options are more subtle than a traditional metal spinner blade and turn at much slower speeds which is deadly whenever you must turn the boat a lot to stay on the structure. Snell length can really vary. This works! Minneapolis Fishing Report: He enjoys guiding and loves to teach everything from the basics of fishing to the subtle adjustments anglers can make to put more fish in the boat. When he's fishing shallow, he runs a 2 oz. I increased speed to avoid undesirables but the lures came up off bottom the walleyes quit biting. Tight lines and take a kid fishing!

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.

Bottom bouncers are an incredibly effective tool for catching walleye on a wide variety of natural lakes and reservoirs come midsummer. I increased speed to avoid undesirables but the lures came up off bottom the walleyes quit biting. Most days, though, both are equally effective. Cart subtotal. Minneapolis Fishing Report: As you change depths, you can always let out more line or pick up line. From the basic simple snell that has a single hook, you can experiment by adding a single bead or a handful of beads and a float. I mean, all you have to do really is hook up a bait rig to the bottom bouncer and go. It catches fish! Share on pinterest. Spinner-crawler rigs were the only presentation working there, but we were catching lots of undesirable fish and only an occasional walleye.