Gary Parsons

Bottom Bouncer Live Bait Rigging is a great tactic to use when walleyes are relating tight to deep structure and are considered to be in a neutral or negative feeding mood.

The weight of bouncer you choose will depend on the depth you’re marking fish at, but a typical range would be 1.5 to 2.5 ounces. A six-foot snell tipped with a crawler or leech will trigger bites, but large minnows often are more productive especially on western reservoirs. This is a slow and methodical technique for targeting walleyes that are tight to specific structural elements such as deep breaks, cups and points. This is not a search technique, but rather a tactic used once you’ve located a tight concentration of fish on deep structure.

Use your electronics to scan likely points, cups and deep structure. Working from the bow and using the bowmount trolling motor to position the boat, lower the bottom bouncer rig when you locate fish, making sure you let out just enough line so that the bouncer’s leg just touches bottom.

As you slowly work the immediate area, make sure you’re keeping the bouncer as vertical as possible. This will give you much better control and help allow you to feel even light bites. Often, when using large minnows, particularly large Creek Chubs, you’ll be able to feel the bait get very active when a predator walleye is close. The bite may feel like nothing more than the rig getting heavy, or you may feel a “tug”. At that point, drop the rod tip slowly toward the fish, giving it time to take the bait and turn its head. When you feel the fish has the bait and the line is tight, set the hook with an upward sweeping motion and fight the fish in.

Make no mistake, this is a finesse technique, demanding precise boat control and a sensitive touch. A good quality set-up for bottom bouncer rigging would include a 6’6″ to 7′ medium action baitcast rod and reel combo spooled with 10 pound test Berkley FireLine tied to a bouncer rigged with a 6 foot leader of 8 pound test Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon and a super sharp live bait hook. The rod coupled with the no-stretch FireLine give you excellent feel of what’s going on below, and the Vanish Fluorocarbon makes the leader virtually invisible to the fish.

It’s a deadly technique for those situations where walleyes are tough to catch by most any other method.

Now that a February that felt like March is over we are looking at a March that is feeling a lot like February.  Oh well, just hang in there I tell myself as we have a lot to look forward to in the next few months.   After being able to get the boat out on open water in each of the past 3 months I have been feeling quite fortunate. I thought I would be able to avoid that nervous twitchy feeling that always seems to come with the wait for the always to slow to arrive spring. But it becoming more apparent by the day that this is not going to be the case.

 Now as I am savoring the soon to be warm and green days of spring I am struck with a bit of fear and trepidation.  Although not yet here it seems that it will be over all too soon and there is still so much to do.  There are still Panfish and  Mille Lacs  jumbo Perch to be pursued on the ice, all the while  trying to get as many days as possible on the river in search of pre-spawn Walleyes.  This year looks like the Mississippi River will be in great shape early in the season rather than the blowout we dealt with last spring.  Hopefully I will have a couple hundred Walleyes under my belt before the statewide opener arrives  to take the pressure off.  Few things are as satisfying as not have to worry about battling the crowds on the opener becuase your Walleye itch has been scratched real good.  As if that was not enough there are still the April Crappies and Stream Trout to deal with.  Ok, I guess I can handle that I tell my self until that nagging little voice (not in my head mind you) says “what about the boat?”

 The boat does need to be cleaned, waxed, carpet cleaned, trailer bearings greased and have the motor and gear oil changed.  Reels cleaned and fresh line put on.  Tackle sorted and a couple trips to mega tackle world to fill in the blanks in the tackle boxes.  And the Northwest Sport Show starts in a few short weeks.  No problem, I can git er done.  Pssst!, says that damn voice again.  What about the Morels?  You can’t forget about them and they wait for no man.   

 Feeling a bit smug I tell myself and that pesky little voice, no problem, I can make time to find some Morels and still get in a camping trip in May.  As I am about to heartily congratulate myself in advance for getting everything done in such a highly efficient manner over the coming months.  I come to the dreadful realization that my better half has committed us to attend 2 out of town May weddings, on top of her unreasonable expectation that I help her with the spring yard work after I did all of the snow shoveling this past winter.

 Its starting to feel like its over before it has begun!