Using a Bottom Bouncer For Walleye: Tips, Rigging, Bait


Every fisherman has fallen for a gimmick at some time in their lives. When I first saw bottom bouncers, back in the early 90’s, I thought there’s no way they would work.

After a long day of trolling deep diving crankbaits without much success my buddy finally convinced me to give bottom bouncing a try. After 30 minutes I was hooked and they’ve remained a staple in my tackle box ever since.

How to Fish a Bottom Bouncer For Walleye

So What is a Bottom Bouncer?

Bottom bouncers have taken on many names throughout the years. Bottom cruisers, bottom walkers and many others, but the rigs success lies in the beginning of its name.

Bottom bouncers are an absolutely foolproof way to keep your lure/bait down in a walleyes target zone. Without any work it keeps the bait about a foot away from the bottom.

Keeping the bait that close to the bottom is often one of the biggest problems walleye fisherman have. They might not be the most exciting way to fish, but even a complete beginner can successfully fish with a bottom bouncer.

Used with a nightcrawler or leech bottom bouncers are going to be hard to beat. Don’t be fooled, you can still get outstanding action out of your lures too. It’s one of the best ways to get a shallow diving lure down to walleye depths.

Bottom Bouncing isn’t Just For Beginners

Bottom bouncing might be really popular among beginners, but experienced anglers shouldn’t ignore them. They’ve definitely earned their place in my tackle box.

They work especially well in really choppy water. Whenever the water gets rough I’m quick to use these Eagle Claw Bottom Bouncers. For a few bucks they’re definitely worth throwing in your tackle box. I know for a fact my bait is going to stay right by the bottom.

How to Fish a Bottom Bouncer

Fishing a bottom bouncer really isn’t all that difficult. Beginners and veterans alike will use the same basic technique to keep their lure tight on the bottom.

Unlike most other walleye techniques bottom bouncers can be fished affectively at a variety of speeds. Personally I like to use them to cover a lot of water fast and effectively.

They just work, it doesn’t matter where you’re at. Use them in natural lakes, reservoirs, and rivers to catch feeding walleye.

Fish Them Vertically

Unlike most other baits and lures bottom bouncers are best fished vertically below the boat. You should pretty much be able to tell exactly where your bait is being fished. Try working the weed lines following the edge of a weed bed.

Make sure you use your electronics so you can visualize the bottom. Assuming the bottom bouncer is directly below your rod tip you can back troll and delicately follow the edge of a weed bed. You should be able to keep your bait within a foot or two of where the walleye are holding.

Take Note of What’s Working

When looking at your electronics try to take not of where you’re getting bites. Maybe your zigzagging from shallow to deep water when a walleye hammers your night crawler.

Take a quick look at your fish finder to pinpoint exactly where you got a bite. You’ll most likely be able to backtrack and catch a few more fish in that same spot. At the very least you’ll have a good idea at what depth most of the walleye are holding.

Choosing Your Setup

Bottom Bouncers can be fished with just about any piece of equipment. That’s the real beauty of this type of setup.

Given a choice most walleye fisherman are going to choose a 10-12 pound line, with light-medium action rod. Strikes are normally pretty light and heavier rods won’t bend enough. Easily spooked walleye tend to feel the heavier rod and spit out the bait.

The way you fish the rig is much more important than what it’s tied to. The bouncer needs to make continued contact with the bottom to be successful.

Most people can feel when their bait isn’t on the bottom. A bait that’s suspended off the bottom usually feels unusually heavy. Almost like the currents pulling it away. A rig that’s laying on it’s side is easily tangled and ineffective.

There is a fine line between suspended, upright and lying down. That being said it’s usually pretty easy to tell when your bottom bouncer is upright and moving across the bottom. You can usually feel every move that little wire makes. It’s actually pretty sensitive.

Altering Your Bottom Bouncer

Even though this is one of the simplest ways to fish for walleye you can still vary it up a bit. The main way to alter them is by changing up your bait or presentation.

There have been more walleye caught on night crawlers and leeches than any other presentation. That doesn’t mean you won’t have success pairing it up with a lure.

So Should I Use a Night Crawler or Leech?

It’s basically just going to come down to trial and error. You just need to figure out what the fish want.

If the fish are hitting both crawlers and leeches I’ll typically go with a leech. You won’t get all those pesky perch and bluegill bites when fishing with a leech. Not that I’m against perch and bluegill fishing, but sometimes I’m just going after walleye.

Rigging a Bottom Bouncer

Both leeches and night crawlers are going to be rigged basically the same way. You can’t really release line to a running walleye, so you’ll probably want to tie a traditional night crawler harness.

I like to rig up a two hook system with about a 40 inch leader. When fishing around rocks it’ll typically be shorter(20 inches) and around weed beds longer(up to 8 ft).

If you’re fishing with either leeches or minnows you’re going to want to use a single hook rig. Two hook harnesses are mostly used with spinner rigs and nightcrawler.

Know When to Use a Spinner Blade

Using a spinner blade on a harness will either make or break your fishing trip. Most of the time I prefer to use red, silver, gold and chartreuse blades.

On especially busy weekends you might want to go bladeless. When fish aren’t overly aggressive flashy blades could scare them off. When fishing pressure is up I’ll rarely use a blade.

When choosing a spinner most anglers choose either size 3 or 4 Colorado blades. Orange and Yellow seems to work the best. In clearer water you’ll probably want to use a smaller blade(size 1 or 2) in a silver color scheme. In darker dingy water you might want to go with a larger blade and brighter color scheme.

Try Using Shallow Diving Lures

The versatility of bottom bouncers goes well beyond just live rigs. It’s an excellent way to get shallow diving lures down to deep-water walleye.

Lures tend to attract the bigger walleye, plus it adds a little more versatility. You can catch just about anything dragging a lure along a weed line, walleye, bass, whatever.

It’s really all about experimentation, I’ve had a lot of luck using these Rapala Floaters. Just put it on a 5-8 foot leader drag it both up and down current.

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