Bottom bouncing rigs for walleye

In both North and South Dakota, bottom bouncer rigs have been catching walleye on the Missouri River reservoirs for an awfully long time. The popularity of bottom bouncers however has expanded far and wide, bottom bouncing rigs for walleye. Come mid-summer, bottom bouncers are probably my go-to presentation to catch walleyes day in and day out on many different fisheries.

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.

Bottom bouncing rigs for walleye

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. Reading Bottom-bouncing for walleye: Your complete guide to this classic technique. Share Tweet. Bottom-bouncing for walleye: Your complete guide to this classic technique. Vertical thinking New to bottom-bouncing for walleye, or just looking to up your game? These tips have you covered.

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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.

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.

Bottom bouncing rigs for walleye

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.

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Bottom bouncers can also help you really learn what you are fishing. 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. I really like the Smile Blade 0. As a rule of thumb, we recommend an ounce of weight for every ten feet of water. Late season and fall walleye bottom bouncing setup Towards the fall, I begin the transition to size 3 and 5 Colorado blades. Chris Hustad May 23, 4 Comments. Bottom bouncers can also be stored in them, too. I find no reason to use a light mainline, and harness leaders need to be heavy-duty. You can trigger fish with speed and harnesses or go with more subtle hybrid rigs like Butterfly Blades and cover a lot of water on the other end of the spectrum. The commotion attracts walleyes and catch-rates increase. I personally like to lean heavily on spinner harnesses whenever the water is dirty or stained either from wind, watercolor, or algae blooms. I use 3- to 4-ounce bottom bouncers for most of my walleye trolling. The heavy, stiff leader material also seems to help the lure to roll when pulled through the water, which seems to activate bites. For holding the rod, nothing beats a good baitcasting reel with a flipping switch which are getting harder to find. As you change depths, you can always let out more line or pick up line.

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.

Bottom Bouncer walleyes is often a slam dunk for summertime walleyes. If walleyes show a preference, I switch all rods over to that rig. Follow us on social media! To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow. Subscribe Now No, thanks. You can buy from a HUGE assortment of spinner rigs available online , or you can make your own. When he's fishing shallow, he runs a 2 oz. I love fishing these blades at very slow speeds, but they are also extremely versatile in that they also work great at faster speeds. A tip that still holds water today? When fish are aggressive, heavier weights also allow faster trolling while keeping lures in the strike zone. You can also slow down at a mile per hour or less. This system allows him to fish the same weight, depending on the depth, but still avoid tangling.