Question For Bottom Bouncer Walleye Fisherman

[Sportdog]

I seem to catch a vast majority of my walleyes using this technique but feel that I miss too many strikes. My question in general is what do you do when you first detect a strike? Do you drop the rod back very quickly and then set the hook? Do you ease the rod back and then set the hook? Do you not drop the rod back at all and wait for a full fledged strike? I usually drop the rod back quickly and then give about a "two count" and then use a sweeping hook set. I should add that I am normally using a two hook spinner harness with a nightcrawler. How do you guys usually do it? :confused: Thank you!

[went522]

Not sure what style rod your using but that will make a big difference on percentage hooked. My boat loses very few fish on bouncers and most rods are in the rod holder, clicker on. Of course there are the days when I lose fish, it happens, either I'm off o the fish are...I blame the fish!! I like a rod that is 8' to 9' and has fast-mod fast action. The power all depends on the style blank. This extra give with the mentioned action allows them to grab the bait with out feeling as much resistence, once they load up the rod it's like they hook themselves. I no longer use my xfast or + rods, lost to many fish. To fast action and to heavy power are bad combo's for bouncing.

When holding the rod and detecting a bite, I don't drop the rod back fast, that'll cause the weight to shoot for the bottom, the fish may drop it. I slowly drop the rod tip back, keeping tension on the fish and a nice, light sweeping hook set gets them most of the time.

BIRDDOG

[jeff woodruff]

Put the rod in a holder and dont touch it till it bends twice. I bet it will help you alot.

[freespoolin]

I do not use mechanical rod holders, I have a rod holder on the end of my arm.
I like feeling the bite or pick-up. When I feel it, I slowly move the rod tip back towards the fish, let it sit there for a second or two, slowly inch it forward to see that it's still there. Then, I use a sweep set. Few fish are missed.
I fish with an open bail on a baitcaster, if they're biting light I may let the line freespool back to the fish.

[jdino]

Ditto to what Freespoolin said.

[LundAnglerMJ]

I think....I KNOW- if you're dropping the rod back, when you feel the fish strike-you change what the rig is doing. Keep it going, and don't change what the rigs spinner is doing and wait until you feel him. I don't drop back myself. I keep the same momentum with the bait, and maybe like the others say-put it in a rod holder. Same thing. Troll and control your drift, and when the strike comes, keep moving and he'll hook himself. Especially when you have a harness type rig.Also, use a long med-lite rod. You need the long limber rod to let the fish take the bait-and NOT FEEL RESISTANCE- and send the sweep set home. And with bait rigs DON'T use Fire Line. When you feel him- He feels YOU. Mono only. Fire up the grill!!!

[walleyekid_22]

sportdog,

My question is where are you fishing? What depth? what size bouncer? Rocks or sand bottom? trolling? drifting? I fish LOW at least 75 days in the summer "guide" and 30 of them are using bouncers on rock reefs. I use 1-1.5 OZ most of the time due to 25ft plus depths and strong winds on the big pond. Back trolling is the technique i use 90% of the time. I mainly use MED 7ft St Croix avid baitcasting rods with a High quality reel and FIRELINE or any super line. Heres a little secret get yourself some slip style bottom bouncers and fish them like a lindy rig. When you feel the bite let your line freespool and the fish take the bait no more then 15sec or you will have a deep hooked fish and a bloody mess. I have found that fireline is the key because of its sensitivity. If you are fishing over 20ft i wouldn't use mono it tooooo hard to tell the bites from the rocks everything just kinda pulls back. Fireline is hard to get used to fishing with if you have fished mono your whole life, but once you get used to it you will catch way more fish per bite. Good luck this is what I do and it works for me.

[mworley]

Leave the rod in the rod holder till the fish is hooked, don't touch the rod till it bends and stays back. I think mono is the best for bottom bounchers. And a rod that has a parbolic action pretty much all the way from the handle to the tip. When the rod is in the holder we only touch the reel to adjust the line out for contact with the bottom.

[Sportdog]

>sportdog,
>
>My question is where are you fishing? What depth? what size
>bouncer? Rocks or sand bottom? trolling? drifting?
> I am usually fishing in 8-12 foot with 3/4/to 1 1/2 OZ bouncers or 3-6 foot weed flats (no weight). We slow troll and the bottom in the 8-12 foot areas are sand with weed patches. When we fish the shallow weed flats we have very little line out, maybe 30-40 feet I'm guessing. We just start letting out line until we contact weeds and then reel up a little so we are just ticking the tops of the weeds. The fish bite tends to be the same at both depths. It starts out a slight tap, tap, tap. (Does that make sense?)

[Burr]

If they are not hooking themselves with the bouncer, they're just small ones. Find bigger fish! LOL.

Well, that's what I've always said to make myself feel better. Bouncing to me is an aggressive presentation, keep the pressure on the fish, make them compete for the meal they want - the fish will be more aggressive if your more aggressive - most of the time.

Dropping the rod back quickly usually results in the fish dropping the bait for me.

[shoal angler]

I am curious about mono or braid when fishing bouncers and leaving the rods in holders?

[Burr]

I always use a braid to the bouncer. Then a mono or floro leader/rig.

[went522]

I also have transitioned to braid for pulling bouncers. Braid with the proper rod and a properly tuned drag has been much better for me than the mono. The fish will really hook themselves.

In all honesty, the hook up percentage, at least in my boat, has been much better by leaving the rod in the holder and letting the fish hook itself. Even when holding the rod myself, which isn't often when your the "captain" and have other priorities to deal with, I'll let the fish bend the rod over before sweeping the rod. If trying to hook the fish after a couple "taps", the fish is generally lost, and one tends to go through alot of crawlers this way as well. Letting them hook themselves has been working great for me and my boat.


BIRDDOG