If I'm out with a couple people running BB's, I usually run one set back like you're saying. At times I'll run 6 rods with 3 different sizes of BB. Linecounters are awesome for this application. Last year a leech/spinner got the biggest fish in my boat, my buddy was joking about how far back his bait was before he snagged up.


It's pretty easy to get them dialed in to within 1' at 100', usually pretty spot on past 180'. The best way is to spool your backer outside with 100' staked out exactly. You leave the spool attached and check your backer before cutting and spooling your 'trolling' line; if your backer is anywhere around 98-100' at 100' any line after that should be dead on.

They can set the hook themselves pretty well in a holder. Running speed varies and is somewhat dependent on what kind of spinner used. You want the spinner to, well, spin! I primarily use Colorado blades which have a nice thump in the water and run anywhere from 1-1.5 mph, but usually around the 1.2 mph speed. Get the spinner thumping and then let the fish tell you what they want. If they're striking the last hook or if you're getting a lot of misses it might be worth slowing down a tad, but in July/Aug when spinners shine the fish will be fairly aggressive anyway.

I usually use a spinning reel/rod but a baitcast setup is probably a better match for bottom bouncing...especially with a reel that has a flipping switch to let out line easily when changing depths. A medium rod seems to work better especially in snaggy areas where you can give the rod a flip and break free from the snag a lot of times. Running a bigger blade will create more drag and a stiffer backbone helps here as well.

I went out today and determined that cranks weren't working so I put on a 3/8ths oz bouncer with a chart/org blade and got walleye in the same spots I had just been pulling cranks through. They decided that they wanted the juicy crawler today! First time with the BB's this summer and it was nice to get back into the swing of things again.

Here's a picture of my spinner making box. Kind of a mess but it's getting full.

I should also mention that the bottom bouncer was developed in Bismarck, ND by Bob Meter who was a buddy of one of my uncles that used to take me fishing up to Sakakawea where we used, you guessed it, bottom bouncers!

Pulling cranks really wasn't "the thing" back then and other than jigs and lindys, the only way to really fish at a faster clip was to use bottom bouncers. I think that's why I use them more as a trolling thing with lighter weights and more line out as that's how we seemed to run them in ND. 3/8 and 1/2 oz were all I ever, and still now, use. I realize that letting excess line out flies in the face of the reason why you use bouncers and that's to avoid snags, but it's hard to argue with what works.

? for you guys-

I don't pull spinners very often, if fishing an area that isn't snag prone or rocky, do you still opt to go with the bottom bouncers or do you change it up to 3-ways or slip sinkers?

Thanks.

I use them everywhere, not just where it's snaggy. They get the bait off the bottom and lets the blade thump along to call them in.

The key to having your line counters read the same is to use the same kind of reels with the same exact line on them, and to have them filled to capacity with the same amount of line on each reel. If you have different brands or even sizes of reels, you'll likely get a bit of a difference. Having different diameter lines on the reels or having differing amounts of line on each reel will for sure give you differences.

I check my line counters a few times each year. With my boat in my garage and my rods in the rod holders my mailbox is 120 feet away from my boat. All my reels --- even different size reels and with different lines on them --- read 118 to 122 when I pull them to my mailbox, which is close enough for me. I think a lot of guys worry too much about small differences in the number of feet out --- you can easily adjust your amount of line out on each reel to offset for the small differences.

In your situation where 1 line was doing better than the other, the first thing I would do is try tuning the non-performing bait to make sure it's running right. After that I'd try more or less line out on that rod, or try a different bait on that rod, or even try changing the 2 baits between the 2 rods.

I use them more often in "no-snag" areas due to their triggering effects and keeping spinner in the strike zone than to prevent snags. They get a lot of use in sand and gravel.

Thanks for the responce Borch and LMITOUT, I think I'll be giving them a whirl later this week.

Do bottom bouncers work better when fishing big rock/boulder type bottoms that will snag the lindy slip sinkers to no end? I'd like to find a better approach for these types of lakes. One missed bounce with a small slip sinker and you're snagged beyond retrieve.

Love this thread ... Excellent job to everyone I am learning a lot.

Hit

FYI,

One more use that I don't think anyone else has mentioned. I use these a lot in sparsely weeded flats or outside weedbeds. The bouncer catches most weeds before they get to you spinner and keeps you in the water longer. Have been hitting them pretty good with this pattern/approach the last week or so.

anybody ever use one while trying to shore fish?

No it defeats the purpose of a bottom bouncer. Use a no roll or lindy style sinker from shore.

Sort of... I was in a boat anchored in the Mississippi down by the dam at Red Wing. I tied on a bottom bouncer to stay out of the rocks with a floater & a minnow on a 4-6' leader. I cast that down stream & just tight lined it back to the boat moving it once a while. It was pretty deadly, but hard to cast without twisting it all up. You had to just kind of lob cast it.