bottom bouncers

[Bud]

I don't have much experience with bottom bouncers. When I attach a bottom bouncer to my main line should I tie it directly to the line, use a snap, or should I use a swivel/snap? Also if I'm fishing a spinner rig, what is the best length rig to use?

[odx4]

Attach it with a swivel, you'll get less line twist. Plus you can change to a hevier or lighter boucer depending on the depth you ffind the fish.I use little joes' right out of the package,the lenght seems to work just fine

[goody]

I always use a snap swivel. As previously posted, makes changing a breeze and eliminates the line twist associated with spinners.

goody

[Bob Jensen]

I prefer to tie directly to the bottom bouncer. The ones that I use aren't twisted at the line-tie. If attached with a snap, the snap can slide all the way down to the weight.

I use mostly one of the versions of the Rainbow Spinners which are about 60 inches in length. There are times when you might want to go shorter or longer, but 60 inches does a good job most of the time.

That's the great thing about fishing, everyone has different ways of doing things: There are no right or wrong ways most of the time.

Will look forward to hearing more ideas on spinners and bottom bouncers.

Best Fishes,

Bob Jensen

[BabeLinder]

The bouncers I use have swivels on them already so I tie directly to bouncer. I have tried using snap swivels but ended up with problems and since tieing direct have had much better success. The weight is a big factor. I carry 1/2, 3/4, 1, 1 1/2, and 2 oz bouncers. The speed and depth are the 2 main conditions to adjust with. Also, fish "shyness" is a concern. On unpressured lakes you can fish closer to the boat but on Missouri impoundments I have to get WAY back there to get bites. If you are fishing 40 ft of water though its not that big of a concern. Why I carry so many different sizes is because I like to use 2 poles. I put different weights on each. This way I have the tips close together but the baits are far apart. With the tips close it is easier to watch them both and still eat( don`t forget what really important). The length of leader is much a matter of personal choice. One thing i`ve noticed is that the longer the rod that the person uses, the longer the leader they choose is. I use 7' rods and like 60" or better. I have a buddy that uses 5'6" rods and he likes 36". I right now have a bunch of 42' spinners that I got for a very important reason. They were on sale. They caught fish every time I`ve used them. Spinners are not the only way to use a bouncer. I hang a flouro leader and a plain hook with half a crawler, minnow or a leech. Just buy some bouncers and have at them. Good Luck.

[tom d]

I use the bottom bouncers that come with sturdy black clevises. I think they are called Lite Bites, but I don't remember for sure. I put the black clevis on the main line followed by a bead and then I follow the bead with a snap swivel.

The bottom bouncer goes into the black clevis at the front end of all this. The clevis allows me to change weight of bottom bouncer for varying conditions -- like speed and depth -- or remove it entirely if I want to throw a crank bait for a while.

I connect the snell harness to the snap swivel. I use a small white clevis on the snell for the blade so I can change blade styles, sizes, and colors. The snap swivel allows me to remove the snell when I want to switch to a crank bait or a different style of snell.

The clevises and snap swivel are the key to all this flexibility.

[Trophy]

The good thing about bottom bouncer/harness combo's is you can drift, or troll them with the same success. My personal preference is to use the Pro snell harnesses sold by Jann's netcraft. They come pre-rigged with 2 hooks, beads, and interchangeable clevise's. They are tied on a 48" leader to which I attach a Sampo ball bearing barrel swivel to help in eliminating line twist, and I trust it better than the loop that is tied at the end of the leader. As for the Bottom Bouncer I use different weights to fit the depth the fish are at. If your trolling at 2.0 m.p.h. you will want a heavier bouncer than if your trolling at 1.5 m.p.h. if you want to keep a bait at the same depth. I hope this helped you some.

[perchjerker]

I make my own bouncers and troll Erie. I use mainly 2 to 4 oz. I use a snap or a snap swivel to the bouncer. I dont run into line twist problem from the main line since the harness off the arm keeps it from spinning.

Why a 4 oz bouncer? A lot of guys think Im crazy to use something that heavy. I'll tell you why. I can run a crawler harness off a 4 oz bouncer and use a crankbait on another line and troll as fast as I need to to get the proper action from the crank and still maintain a 45-60 degree angle with my bouncer in 20-25 fow. I run it right off the back of the boat. To keep the harness from getting all twisted up at this higher speed, I use 17# xt for my harnesses.