Bottom-bouncing for walleye: Your complete guide to this classic technique

Many years ago when some friends and I were fishing on the Saskatchewan River, we followed the advice of the guy who rented us our boat: troll spinner rigs behind bottom bouncers. We had planned to anchor and vertically jig or float the river while dragging jigs, but decided to give this unfamiliar (to us) presentation a try instead. I’m glad we did. Pulling bouncers let us cover more water, enjoy the river scenery and catch a lot of fish.

After that weekend adventure, I was completely sold on bouncer rigs, and I now regularly use them throughout the open-water season, and on all kinds of water. Over the years as I’ve refined my tactics, I’ve learned there are two key parts to becoming proficient with bottom bouncers.

First is the technical aspect of fishing these rigs, which are somewhat awkward and prone to tangling. It isn’t difficult to master them, but it’s a lot easier if you know a few tricks. The second part is understanding the many spinner options you can troll behind bouncers. Here are the key things I’ve learned.