During the winter months, bottom bouncing large flats may be the last thing on an angler’s mind. But as we often hear in the sports world, “it’s the off-season prep that results in championships.” The same can be said for anglers. Taking advantage of a cold, snowy day during the winter or even stormy days throughout the open water season can have you ready when it is time to hit the water.
The best way to prepare yourself for success is tying the snells you will use the next time you hit the water. Bottom bouncing is one of the most versatile and successful presentations a walleye angler can use and today, we’ll take a look at the various types of snells we use for success and how we tie them.
Line Selection and Length
The first step is getting the right type of line for your snell. Monofilament (mono) and flourocarbon (fluoro) are the best two types of lines to use when tying snells. Look for lines in the 10-12 pound variety, 12 pound Berkley Trilene and Berkley Vanish are my favorite options.
Experiment with various options to find the type of line you prefer. It is important to note the differences between the two types. Mono will float, while fluoro will sink. Mono also has a significant amount of stretch when compared to fluoro. You will also encounter significantly more memory when using mono when compared to fluoro. The “twirls” in the line are caused by this memory. Fluoro will also have a greater resistance to abrasion when compared to mono.
Taking all of this into account, I like 12 pound Trilene (mono) because of that stretch it gives me. I feel this stretch acts as a shock absorber when I’m trolling at a higher speed and get hit hard by a walleye. However, if I’m going to be fishing an area that has an abundance of pike or I’ll be frequently bouncing my line off of rocks, rip rap or even areas that feature zebra mussels I opt to go with the 12 pound Vanish (fluoro) for that abrasion resistance.
Once you have your spool picked out, tie a double surgeon’s loop at the end of the line. This gives you the loop you can slide into a snap swivel on the bouncer itself. This will also get you set up to store your snell on your snell holder, which there are several versions of available on the market.
Once you have your loop tied, it is time to determine how long to make this snell. Overall, the best snell lengths are going to be 30-40 inches. Both myself and Propst Professional Anglers favor that length when fishing on the Missouri River reservoirs in South Dakota. However, I have encountered situations on certain lakes in Ontario that fish were favoring only 60-65 inch snells.
If you’re going to be fishing areas of ultra clear water or fish that frequently sit several feet off bottom, you are going to be wanting longer snells. Look for snell lengths in the 60-75 inch category, but some anglers in these areas prefer as long as 10 feet (120 inches)!
If you’re fishing dirty water or lakes that fish will concentrate tight to bottom, those shorter, 30-40 inch lengths, are the best options. As stated above, this seems to be the best length on the Missouri River reservoirs and also has proven to be best on stained waters like Lake of the Woods.
Business End: The Hook
Now it’s time to take a look at the business end of the rig. Once again, hook selection can vary based on angler preference, but there are some standard guidelines to follow.
When live bait fishing, a good rule of thumb is #6 hooks for nightcrawlers or leeches and #4 hooks for minnows. I like to follow this rule when I am slipbobbering or Lindy rigging, but for bottom bouncing I bump all of these sizes up.
The most common hook I use is that #4 size whether I am using nightcrawlers or minnows. Through trial and error, I have found there are some other tweaks you can make to your presentation to maximize your hook ups.
Octopus hooks are my favorite type of hooks overall, especially when I am bottom bouncing with minnows. Rarely will I pull minnows on anything except an Octopus hook. The #4 size is a great option, but I have been having more and more success bumping those hook sizes up to #2.
I also have found varying your colors up on your hooks can also result in success while others struggle. Rarely do I feel hook color matters, but on those days it is difficult it does seem those fine details can change the tide from a “rough” day to a “decent” day. This seems to be especially true when pulling single hook/bead rigs or Smile Blade rigs, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
I will do about 50% of my nightcrawler fishing on these same Octopus hooks as well. I like using #4 hooks and half a crawler, so there is only an inch or so of nightcrawler behind the hook point. Threading the nightcrawler through the hook and over the hook point also seems to be a huge factor in coming back clean or connecting with the fish.
In the times I’m not pulling crawlers on Octopus hooks, I like a #4 or #2 Aberdeen hook. I like these hooks because the longer shank allows me to thread more crawler onto the hook and give a larger presentation, while still being able only have an inch or so of crawler trailing behind. This seems most effective when I’m looking for maximum flash and size during the summer months and I’m pulling the crawlers behind larger spinner blades.
The other option I like to use is a Slow Death hook. Tinkering by anglers has resulted in a now widely popular option in the walleye fishing world. Though I do not use this presentation often, it is a good tool to have in your toolbox!
Beads, Beads and More Beads
The attractor beads are the next component of the rig. I love 5mm beads in a variety of colors, but silver, white, gold, pink, chartreuse and red are my favorite colors. The number of beads you need will depend on the type of rig you are going to use. Now that we’ve covered the materials, let’s have some fun and talk about the various snell types I tie!
Snell 1: Single Bead Set Ups
This is my most basic, but most common snell set up. This rig features a single 5mm bead and a #4 or #2 Octopus hook, because I almost exclusively use minnows when pulling this. This rig excels both early and late in the season, when the water temperatures are cool. Regardless when in the season if you are faced with fish in a negative mood, this simple set up can often be just enough to make them bite.
As mentioned above, this is when I feel hook color and bead color are most important. Remember, this rig is as natural as you can get, but adding just a slight amount of color in the form of the bead and/or hook can be what makes fish seal the deal.
Snell 2: Mack’s Lure Smile Blades
The beautiful thing about these first two set ups is the versatility they offer. By simply sliding a Mack’s Lure Smile Blade onto this plain bead set up, you add additional color, flash and most importantly vibration to your rig. This is best when fish are more active or you are faced with dirtier water conditions and need to help draw more attention to your bait.
What I often do is begin the day with half the rods running plain hooks and a bead and half the rods running Smile Blades. As the day goes on, if the plain hooks are what are coaxing bites I can easily slide the Smile Blades off. However, if the Smile Blades are producing I can slide a Smile Blade onto the plain hook presentation and further experiment with the color of blade they are preferring, further patterning what the fish want.
Smile Blades are my favorite presentation and you can learn more about them in Fishing the Mack’s Lure Smile Blade. I’ll have a link at the end of this article, so let’s keep rolling.
Snell 3: Size 0 Blades
If the Smile Blades are what the fish are keying on, I then begin experimenting with my third snell. Much like the Smile Blade set up, this rig produces both flash and vibration, but doesn’t steal the show away from the bait.
For this bait, I sandwich a clevis and a size 0 Colorado or Indiana blade between two 5mm beads. Silver and gold are top options for blade color. If the fish do favor the Smile Blades, I will then start dropping one or two of these rigs over as well to see if there is any preference given to the vibration and flash fish are preferring.
Snell 4: Helicopter Blades
I am a firm believer that the various blades we drop down can produce different vibrations and this is why I have several set ups that at their core are very similar. This fourth snell taps into walleye history, helicopter blades have produced fish for decades and the fish haven’t show that they will stop liking them any time soon.
If Smile Blades are producing bites, it is worth the effort to try a helicopter blade. This produces just a slightly different vibration and flash and could be the key to getting additional bites. Once again, drop one down and see if the fish are showing any preference.
Snell 5: Size 2 Blades
Early and late in the season, the first four options are what I prefer. This is because forage availability is decreased and I want to match the fish’s natural meal. The added attraction in the form of beads and small blades gives just enough attraction to make my bait stand out to the fish.
However, as summer rolls on and more forage options enter the system, it becomes important to stand out among the rest of the options. This is when I start to favor larger blades that produce more flash, vibration and offer a larger size profile.
This rig is very similar to Snell 3, the only difference I make is I add an extra bead and bump up from a size 0 blade to a size 2. I switch to this rig roughly about the same time I begin switching from minnows to nightcrawlers, but I often will keep about a 50-50 split between minnows and crawlers on this set up.
Snell 6: Size 3 or Larger Blades
During the summer when the food web is at full power, this is when I switch to larger Colorado or Indiana blades. When I say larger, I mean any blade larger than a size 3.
You’ll notice my hook preference changes to an Aberdeen hook here, this is because I am almost exclusively pulling nightcrawlers at this point in the year. As mentioned above, I like to thread a larger chunk of crawler onto the hook, then I’ll slide the crawler over the knot on hook and be ready to fish!
Tying snells is the perfect way to spend a day hiding from nasty weather outside, yet still be able to help yourself put more fish in the boat once it’s time to hit the water. I spend a great deal of time bottom bouncing, but I rarely stray away from these 6 snell options. The beauty of tying your own snells is it is your creation! Experiment with what works best for you personally and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from catching fish on something you created! Good fishing!
Related Articles
Once you’ve learned the basics of tying your own snells, the sky is the limit when it comes to creating your own rigs. Find out some of Nick’s favorite snells in Advanced Snell Tying.
The Mack’s Lure Smile Blade is one of the most versatile blades in the fishing industry. A favorite of anglers from across the walleye belt, learn how to properly deploy this bait in Fishing the Mack’s Lure Smile Blade.
If you’re looking to take your bottom bouncing to the next level, we’ve got you covered! Lip Ripper Tackle features custom tied snells by Nick Harrington, the exact same rigs that he uses in his boat. If you are interested in these custom snells, get in touch with Nick Harrington so he can visit with you about your options and help you catch more fish!
