bottom bouncers for zander

[Phone]

All,

 

An effective walleye (zander) technique that I don’t see discussed on AN is the “bottom bouncer”. The first thing you will have to do is search “ http://www.cabelas.com/bottom-bouncers-walking-sinkers.shtml ” since I am not an accomplished computer guy. For that matter, I am not an accomplished walleye guy either. I walleye fish under the direction of a top rated and successful guide twice a year.

 

Very simple in design, a bottom-bouncer is made of stiff wire shaped like a "7" with a weight formed onto the vertical leg about halfway up. The leg is normally 12ish inches long, which keeps a casted rig 6 to 12 inches off the bottom. Shorter or longer is for discussion but rarely longer. Amount of weight often varies also. The leader for the rig or lure attaches to a swivel at the tip of the "7." This is a cast and retrieve rig, not a stationary rig. Although I don’t see why you couldn’t fish live bait stationary from a bottom bouncer if you wanted to. I would, or could, get pretty twisted but for sure you can control the depth near the bottom.

 

The rod and reel combination I can suggest is a 7 foot medium rod that has plenty of backbone for handling snags and up to four ounces of weight, and a fast tip for finesse hook sets and for fighting large fish. I spool with new 12 lb line before going. I’m not sure if your casting rods are built like your carp rods but slow tip rods would be a tough combination (it seems to me). Ohh, I use size, #6,#4, and #2 octopus style hooks, with #4 most often because that’s what I’m told to use.

 

For bait I almost always use lob worms (they're "best"). A lure or spinner is equally acceptable. In fact, a couple years ago I used a top water lure pinned to the bottom bouncer with about a 4 ft. leader to fish mid water in 20 ft. of water (make sense?). When using lobs the “hooklength has 5 or six tiny beads and a spinner blade. I looked in my stuff. Sorry, I can’t find one to tell you exactly. A most important omission but I don’t seem to have any to “break down”. I remember they are not, not, very long. Also, the spinner is for NOISE. At least that is what I am lead to believe and I do not know better.

 

Well, good luck lads, I’m off carp fishing. Any questions I’ll try. Remember, I am NOT a zander expert.

 

Phone

[Dales]

Nice one Phone, I think I understand the method and have used it with a guide before. Cheers

[Anderoo]

Interesting - thanks for that

[Dick Dastardly]

Was used a lot (or maybe I should say "promoted" a lot) for trout reservoir piking in this country Phone but I allways thought that there were better tactics for the same situation.

 

Zander wise in the UK we have only started lure fishing for them in very recent years.Prior to that it was allways bait fishing and folklore that they couldn't be caught on lures! Also only recently anglers in the UK have started going afloat for them.Most taking the lead of European anglers who have been doing so for some time.

 

Having zero experience of Walleye (despite reading a lot about them in In -Fisherman, which I have a life times free subscription) and so knowing very little about them I just don't know how similar in habits they are to their cousin the Zander. I ere on the side of caution though as its far to easy to assume that because they look the same they will behave the same!

 

I think also that the different habitat they are in and the fact that UK and US styles of fishing are so different is why we in the UK have been so slow to lean from our US friends Walleye fishing and try it for our Zander. Jeeze look how long it took us to understand lure fishing for Pike properly!

[Phone]

BUDGIE,

 

I know very little about the ethology of Walleye Sander vitreus and even less about their "cousins" - Zander Sander lucioperca. I saw once you make mention they weren't the "exact" same fish (in the same manner I just did). Until then I thought that Zander and Walleye were indeed the same fish.

 

As you say, it won't matter that much if the environment is different.

 

I did read a bit (mostly to get a "laymans" feel for the "differences" rather than the similarities).

 

This is a thread I started for which I can't contribute very much. At least you "course fishermen" are familiar with Zander. I am "0" and "0" really.

 

Ask me about carp.

 

Phone

(I know enough to tell Dales to use lobs and bottom bouncers though)