The beauty of bottom bouncing is that it is a fantastic way to be attractive and appeal to many fish throughout a day. The mobility helps cover water and the blades, beads and other attractors draw attention to your lines. This becomes especially critical during the summer months when there is an abundance of forage in the system and it becomes even more important to stand out to the fish. In this instance the more neutral rigs that we have used during the early season are not going to be near as productive as larger, flashy and gaudy presentations. Throughout years of experimenting and tinkering by multiple anglers, a variety of fish attracting devices have been brought to the market.
Why Does It Matter?
Reservoirs like Lake Francis Case and Lake Sharpe often present two main challenges. The first is that come late-June, July and August there is an abundance of gizzard shad, emerald shiners, mayflys and all other types of forage for walleye. When the buffet table is set it is often very difficult to tempt walleye to take a traditional offering and fishing drastically slows down.
The second challenge is these are some of the highest pressured waterbodies in the state, if not region. This means it is important to have your presentation dialed in to stand out amongst other boats and not just be another vessel on the water.
Add Some Bling
Contrary to the more natural, passive presentations that excel early in the season, summer requires a lot more attraction on the business end of your bait as well. The first thing I will do is bump up my blade size to #3-5s. Generally I favor the #3s but sometimes the larger blade can be best especially later in the season. Tandem blades on back-back clevises can also be a good option as they double the amount of flash you are putting out.
I prefer those more metallic colors in this situation. If I’m ever not sure what to do, I go with a gold or silver blade. Whether I’m fishing a new body of water, struggling to find fish or just need to go to a confidence lure I always go with one of these baits. There are a couple reasons I favor this.
The first reason is the metallic colors are going to produce a great deal of flash. This is what draws those fish in from a distance. Whether we’re talking shad, shiners, smelt, alewive or whatever bait there is in the system, those metallic blades are going to draw the attention of fish.
The second reason is because it’s literally worked everywhere. Gold spinners were my number one bait bottom bouncing Lake of the Woods, silver was number two. On Devils Lake in North Dakota silver has been great to me. On Leech Lake in Minnesota gold was my top producer. Every body of water that holds walleye I’ve had success with these baits.
Slow Death Rigs
Slow Death rigs have taken the walleye industry by storm. Every time I am at a boat launch in summer I hear the words “slow” and “death” muttered by my fellow anglers. Born out of creativity, the Slow Death rig has been tinkered with and modified more than probably any rig I know!
A Slow Death rig involves a kinked Aberdeen hook that creates an erratic roll from the nightcrawler. This rolling action makes the bait even more attractive and helps trigger aggressive summer walleye. Adding blades, beads and floats can make these baits even more attractive to fish.
If you read 50 articles about these rigs, you might see 50 different ways to rig it. My advice to you is play with it! Whether you’re buying hooks already for this application or you’ve got a pair of pliers in your hand, make it your own! In the summer time, it’s all about getting attention and trying new things. Have fun doing it!
Walleye Love Hot Wings
Another tactic for drawing attention to your bait is to put the attractant right on your line. The Mack’s Lure Hot Wings are over-sized blades that can be tied right in-front of your lure and provide attention to your rig as a whole. This could give the illusion of a school of forage and your bait would be the struggling fish trying to keep up. It may just draw attention to the line and then the bait is the most attractive component presented. However the fish rationalizes it, the main purpose is accomplished.
I like to tie this onto a longer snell. I prefer to use a 5-6ft snell when using these blades and I’ll put the blade itself about 12-18 inches above the actual presentation. I haven’t really noticed a difference in if I need to match the blades on the bait to the blades on the line. Once again, experiment and have fun!
Regardless what is used for attraction the key is to really stand out amongst the rest of the bait balls in the water. Fish do not have to look far for food, so making sure that your presentation is the most attractive thing in the area is key for success in the dog days of summer. Good fishing!
More Information
Mason Propst discusses how he makes sure those attractive presentations are doing their job!
Nick Harrington discusses the difference between the various types of blades anglers have to pick from when out bottom bouncing. He discusses the staples and also some of the more unique options on the market.
Bottom bouncing allows you to completely customize your rigs. When the need is to be attractive and creative, the door is wide open for anglers to have fun with their own rigs. Learn about tying your own rigs in Advanced Snell Tying!
Related Readings
Bottom bouncing is a staple of the walleye fishing industry. The past few weeks’ we’ve talked a lot about bottom bouncing. Whether you’re a new angler or a seasoned pro, I hope you found this series beneficial and insightful. If you missed any of the past articles, you can find them below!
In the first article, we discussed the basics of bottom bouncing. We discuss what you need to know and how rig the set up. Learn everything you need here in Bottom Bouncing Basics.
In the second installment, we discuss the importance of boat control in a successful presentation. Find out everything you need to know about boat control in Bottom Bouncing II: Speed and Boat Control.
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