The Noble Art Of Bottom Bouncing

Finished Bottom Bouncer and tools used to make it

I first became aware of Bottom Bouncers in 1988 through the ‘In-Fisherman’ magazine. Yes it is American and it is the cuttingest-edged cutting edge mag on the planet – in my opinion. It is mostly through this magazine, a lot of videos and, more importantly, shed loads of practical experience that I now reckon that I have learnt enough to pass on a few wrinkles to you.

What is a Bottom Bouncer?

Simply put, it is an inverted ‘L’ shaped piece of wire with a weight on the long leg. It has two eyes for attaching reel line and trace. It is usually made from stainless spring steel wire. There is another design which utilises a ‘Zip’ type slider in place of the short arm of the ‘L’ on the wire. The photos and diagrams will make all this clear.

What does it do?

Exactly what it says on the tin. A Bottom Bouncer bounces over the lake or riverbed keeping your bait or lure within the ‘strike’ zone but clear of the bottom snags and muck. I can’t think of another piece of equipment that does this as well, given a water depth of say 6ft plus. There are better ways of fishing the bottom in shallow water but in my opinion none better given any amount of depth.

One thing I should say here is that a Bottom Bouncer is at its best when you’re trolling or drifting from a boat, although it can be used when casting there is usually a more efficient (easier) option.

We’ll return to how and when to use a Bottom Bouncer after the next section on how to make one.

How to make a Bottom Bouncer

The first question you should ask is “Why would you would want to make one?” When you can buy them from more enlightened tackle shops.

The reason is that all wire (not the ‘Zip’ slider type) commercial Bouncers I have seen are what we in the UK call tether rigs or unsafe rigs from a fish’s point of view. Apart from that they will cost only pennies if you do-it-yourself and you can vary the proportions of the rig to get a bouncer that works best for you on your waters.

Materials For A Wire Bouncer

Spring steel wire – I use the stuff sold for making grip wires on beach leads
Weights – Inlines are good, so are barrels
Rubber float stop or power gum or pole elastic.

No special tools are required, just pliers, something to form an eye around, and a ruler or tape measure.

Step By Step

• Measure off between 12 and 18 inches of wire for the long leg of the bouncer. Do not cut the wire to length, if you do you’ll make the job a lot harder. (See picture at top of a finished Bouncer and tools used to make it)

• Form a closed eye in top end of the wire

  Form a closed eye in top end of the wire leaving the surplus wire at a right angle to the eye.

  Form the second eye

• Now measure off between 6 and 12 inches of wire and at the end of this, making sure it is in the same plane as the eye already formed. Bend this eye through 90 degrees so it is lined up with the first eye.
• Thread a suitable weight (inline leads or barrels are good for this) onto the long leg of the ‘L’.
• Thread a float stop or tie a stop knot with the power gum below the weight to hold it in place. I usually bend a slight backward facing kink in the last inch or so of the wire – I find this helps the tackle ‘walk’ over any snags you may encounter.

Making A Zip Slider Bouncer

Form a 12 to 18 inch length of wire with an eye at one end. – clip it to the snap on the zip slider – job done

How And When To Use A Bottom Bouncer

I should say at the outset that to use a Bottom Bouncer to greatest effect you should be trolling in a boat. That said, you could use these to bounce bait over the bottom when drifting with wind or current.

Simply put, it is the best way, in most circumstances, to present a bait close to the bottom without continually hanging up given the previously outlined set of circumstances. I wouldn’t say don’t cast with one but there are usually easier ways to do things – they just don’t cast well.

Rigging The Bottom Bouncer

I’ll tell you how I rig a Bottom Bouncer for fishing and you can adapt the rig as necessary to suit your circumstances and the species pursued.

Thread the Bottom Bouncer (rigged with the appropriate weight for what you’re doing) onto your mainline, then a couple of rubber beads to act as a buffer for the knot and tie a swivel onto the end of your reel/main line.

Tie a length of clear mono or, better still, fluorocarbon, onto the other eye of the swivel. Now tie on an appropriate trace and attach the lure or bait and you are ready to go. The length of mono varies with the fish’s mood and how close you want the bait to the bottom when you’re moving along.

You can either hold the rod, which is best, for the amount of ‘feel’ you get is amazing, or place it in a holder. If you place it in a holder use a longer rod with a softer top than you might usually use for lure fishing. I can’t tell you why for sure but it just works better. I think it is something to do with the extra time it gives as it is folding over.

I find takes are very positive, with the rod either jumping around or just folding over. The hook should be pretty well set by this time and all you need do is pull into the fish.

Lure Choice

My lure choice is usually a flipper style jerk bait; any soft plastic or very shallow running floating plug. And try a surface plug it really works (a Charlie Bettell idea that). Spinners, spoons, especially the thin, light ‘flutter’ spoons. I reckon flies might be worth a go too.

I rarely baitfish, but my limited experience with baits and much greater experience with soft large plastics (which I rig the same) leads me to believe that no floats, drop backs or feeding line to a taking fish is necessary – just pull into it when you get a take.

A few tips on usage

The distance a bait or lure runs above bottom is governed by the angle of the line to the rod tip – the closer to 90 degrees this is (not the length of the long arm) the further off the bottom the bait runs. Also, it works best when the line is directly under the rod top. The length of the long leg does of course have a bearing but that line angle is far more significant.

The further up the stem the weight is the greater the feel you have at the rod, and the better it is at walking over snags. The trade-off is that it becomes more unstable at slower speeds. Some commercial Bouncers have a float on the short arm to hold it up, but I have found that in practice this not very effective.

Weight is a friend here – this is not a rig of finesse. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t tweak the rig on the water to get the best out of it but don’t go overboard or you’ll be wasting fishing time.

Use the wire Bouncers for heavier weights and when moving faster. Keep the zip slider Bouncers for lighter work. Try a zip slider Bouncer for fishing lobworms with a spinner blade in front of the worms for perch and eels. Very good fun.

Oh yeah, almost forgot the best tip of all, ‘work’ the rod forwards and backwards horizontally while going along. If you would rather a ‘sink and draw’ style lose the mono link or keep it veryshort and jig away. You can work a rod in a holder too by pulling line in and out from between (say) the first and second rings, but keep an eye out for potential tangles.

Last tip is that braid really excels for this kind of fishing, although mono does a pretty good job too.

I hope I’ve managed to pass on how easy and effective this method can be. Give it a go, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Happy Bottom Bouncing!