Trolling bottom a great way to locate fish

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This article was published 24/08/2019 (2241 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Late summer can be a tough time to locate certain species of fish, especially walleye. These fish tend to scatter in many of the lakes, moving in and out of shallow water at certain times of the day.

One of the best ways to contact fish is by trolling with a bottom bouncer, spinner rig. You can cover a ton of water, locating pods of walleye. There are a ton of different ways to fish these baits, but one of the keys is by being versatile in your presentation.

For example, if you have three anglers in the boat, make sure you have different colour blades on and different sizes and different styles. One could have a small Colorado, the other a Willow Leaf, the other a Butterfly Rig. Different hook styles could also make a difference. If using a crawler, it pays to have tandem hooks, a bit smaller in size. Some guys even go with three small hooks on their crawler rig.

I sometimes use the two-hook setup when I have smaller leeches. I will add one to each hook for a bigger profile. I will do that with minnows, as well.

If you think the fish are a bit off the bottom, make sure you have a floater on your rig. Speed is also critical. Water temperatures are still warm, so fast is better than slow. This also gives the walleye less time to decide whether to bite. This will usually get a lot more reaction hook-ups.

Over the past few years, many of the hardcore walleye tournament anglers have switched over to slow-death hooks on their spinner rigs. These are a uniquely shaped hook that allows the bait to spin. Make sure you look up some video on these rigs, because they will become an important part of your fishing arsenal.

I have two complete boxes of different spinner rigs, so I am not always tying on the water. I also have a component box with beads, hooks, floats, swivels and a myriad of blades in case I don’t have the hot rig.

I have spent thousands of hours over the past 37 years fishing a bottom bouncer and spinner rig. Rarely have I been disappointed in their performance. There is a skill set that must be learned when using them, though. Try and keep your bottom bouncer at a 45-degree angle behind the boat. You don’t want it lying on its side. It can be off the bottom a bit, but make sure to contact bottom occasionally to maintain control. It really helps to be able to see a depthfinder when using them. Why? It allows you to adjust quicker in changes of depth, which can be critical when fish are holding tight to the bottom.

Weed walleye

When the fish are right in the weed beds, you need to adjust your rig. I then switch over to a light, bullet-style sinker which allows you to slide through most weeds. I also downsize my blade to a No. 3 Colorado. Most times, the best success is letting out as much line to just occasionally tick the top of the weeds. Walleye and other species will feed up, so they will be able to see the bait over their heads. This will also help eliminate weed hang ups. Overcast and wind are your friends when the fish are in this location.

Now you have the speed right and your lure is in the fish zone. You can feel a walleye load up on your bait. How do you set the hook? This is really a critical part of the equation.

I use an eight-foot rod and level-wind reel with a line counter. The top of the rod should be soft, so a walleye can load up on the bait without feeling much resistance. Usually, what happens is the fish will bite the bait and turn with it. It is then that you want to sweep-set the hook, almost always catching the fish in the corner of the mouth. A long rod goes a long way in supplying all the necessary ingredients. While the tip of the rod should be soft, you still need a good backbone with a long handle. The line-counter reel also lets you get your line back out to the depth you were at after you unhook a fish.

When fishing right in the weeds with a bullet sinker, I will switch over to the long, soft-action spinning rod.

Using a bottom bouncer and spinner rig is a fun way to fish. Not only that, it’s a really effective presentation for many different level of anglers. Give it chance over the next month and you won’t be disappointed.

Angler’s notes

My friends Jeff (Gussy) Gustafson of Keewatin, Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Ont., and his brother, Cory, have been making a name for themselves this year on the Bassmaster Elite Circuit. Chris finished second in the previous event on the St. Lawrence River and Gussy was 12th.

All three Canadians are set to qualify for the biggest bass tournament in the world, the Bassmaster Classic. This is the first year for the group fishing this circuit after moving over from the FLW. Chris Johnston is also in the running for the angler of the year.

There are three tournaments left, but no matter what happens, these three anglers have proven they belong on the biggest bass tournament stage in the world.

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