A bottom bouncer is one of those "big ugly" things you probably wouldn't buy unless you knew it was an essential part of a tremendous presentation for walleyes. But don't take our word for it, try a bottom bouncer in front of a spinner or plain bait presentation in an area with walleyes. Chances are, you'll become a true believer.
Bottom bouncers, a piece of lead molded around a piece of thin, stiff wire, provide the most efficient way to put bait in front of a walleye. Bottom bouncers are a simple rig developed by guides in South Dakota who fished the snaggy Oahe Reservoir. While they're the most versatile structure fishing walleye technique around, they're probably the least understood -- and the least utilized by the fishing public.
If we were going on a trip and could only take one type of presentation, it would be a bottom bouncer and snells to go with it. The reason is simple. Walleyes often hug the bottom, scattered across loosely defined areas. A bottom bouncer allows you to cover those areas quickly, dragging live bait almost right on the bottom while avoiding snags.
The bottom bouncer wire is either straight and rigged on the main line to slip; or it's bent sort of like an upside down "L". The latter is best for a reason that's not too apparent until you watch one in action. When an "L-shaped" bouncer's lower wire runs into a rock or other obstruction, the trailing arm cams forward, making your bait dart forward in a way that often triggers a walleye into striking. Get a bouncer with an "R" bend at the corner, like the bend found on Northland's Rock Runner. The "R" bend is open, while the alternative, which twists the wire into an eyelet or crimps the wire into a loop, provides a place for your fishing line to get caught and cut. The "R" bend allows you to tie your line directly to it, which increases your sense of feel while holding the rod. The twisted or crimped eyelets necessitates a snap swivel on your main line to avoid the line getting caught and possibly breaking.
A lot of people ask us what their bottom bouncer should weigh. The answer is to use the right weight for the right situation. We use Rock Runners in depths from seven to 35 feet deep -- sometimes deeper. A line like 10-pound Fire Line has little water resistance and allows us to use a lighter weight. We want to use just enough weight to keep the bottom bouncer at a 45-degree angle while moving the boat forward. The bottom wire should be scraping the bottom almost constantly, but don't slow down so much that the bottom bouncer falls on its side. If the fish are inactive and try using a snell with just bait and no spinner, move quite slowly with the bowmount trolling motor, and use a weight as little as 1/8 ounce. If the fish are active, move faster and use a heavier weight to keep the bouncer on the bottom. Some conditions dictate as much as two ounces, but as a general rule, try to use light weights - usually in the 3/4 to 1 and 1/2 ounce size.
As mentioned, we most frequently use the bowmount trolling motor when fishing bottom bouncers. This allows us to follow submerged contours very precisely -- often, especially in the Western reservoirs, the fish will be at a very precise depth along a contour of long points and inside turns. The bowmount allows us to turn very sharply, staying right over the correct depth by watching our front depth finder and maneuvering a foot-controlled Minn Kota trolling motor. Digital depth readout to a tenth of a foot, like those found on most Lowrance and Eagle fish finders are also a tremendous aid in following a walleye holding contour.
Whenever the fish allow it, move quickly, pulling a spinner in front of the bait. Most of the time sizes 00 to No. 2, Northland Finesse Spinners, small, Colorado-shaped blades that don't need a lot of speed to keep them spinning are plenty big to attract walleyes. Hammered silver, hammered gold, green and chartreuse are top colors, while white, blue and orange occasionally have their days.
As for leaders, when tying two-hook snells for nightcrawlers, or a single hook for leeches, use the new Mustad Finesse Hooks (size 2), which are really classic Aberdeen hooks with a shorter shank and lighter wire. The lighter wire allows the bait to swim more freely while being less detectable by the walleye. On two hook crawler harnesses, remember to leave about six inches between the hooks to allow the crawler to run straight. A real time saver are pre-tied Mustad Pro Select Snells -- which feature even lighter spade end hooks in No. 2 and smaller No. 4 sizes. These one or two hook pre-tied snells come in some great packaging which keeps the 7 foot snells tangle free until you wind them off the card.
Although bottom bouncer fishing is simple (it's a great method to use when fishing with kids), to optimize your catch, it's best to use a good, sensitive rod. We like a high modulas, graphite rod like the Daiwa Light and Tough Bottom Bouncer Rod, which is 6 feet, 6 inches long with lots of backbone, but a very forgiving tip -- the tip gives enough so the fish doesn't detect it and drop the bait before the hookset. We pair this rod with an inexpensive Daiwa Samurai baitcasting reel, which has a flippin' feature that lets you push the thumb bar to let out line, then immediately engages the reel when you release the thumb bar.
This season, give those "big ugly" bottom bouncers a try. We think you'll find they're the simplest, most effective way to catch a lot of walleyes.