Friday, December 18, 2009

How About A Little Bottom Bouncing?

Whenever you wet a line in a river in an attempt to catch any fish, whether it's a trout, a small mouth, a walleye, or whatever kind of fish you're attempting to catch, the bottom is your friend. This fact is often overlooked by anglers, and it shouldn't be. My mentor used to say, "If you're not getting snagged, you're not fishing in the right place." I have found this point to be true in almost all river fishing situations. When I say river fishing situations, I'm referring to wading in a river attempting to fool a fish into biting your offering. I'm not referring to sitting in a boat trolling, although that fact was probably self explanatory.
When you are wading in a river doing what I described above, the goal is to have your bait bounce off of the bottom as it flows naturally downstream. And too accomplish this; the angler must adjust the amount of weight that is used. Too much weight and the offering will get snagged on the bottom. Too little weight and the offering will simply float over the bottom as it flows downstream, and look anything but natural. In the second case the angler never gets snagged, but catches very few fish as well. This is the reason that my mentor would say, "If you're not getting snagged, you're not fishing in the right place."
This is exactly why I say the bottom is your friend. Although in reality, the bottom is not only your friend, but also your worst enemy. Because when you go through those stretches when you've gotten snagged and had to break off and retie six times in a row, the bottom seems like anything but your friend.
The important thing to remember is that like most things in life, nothing remedies getting snagged like practice. The more 'bottom bouncing' you do the better you will get at it. And the better you get at it, you will not only get snagged less, but you will also catch more fish. Once you figure out the little nuances of 'bottom bouncing' you wont believe how effective the technique really is.
Bouncing the bait off of the bottom in a river or stream fishing situation is as good a technique as I've ever seen. If you really sit and think about it, it's as natural a presentation as there is. I've been using this technique for years and it flat out works!
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country... Montana!
Gang Hooks Tied & Ready To Fish: http://www.jrwfishing.com/gang_hooks.asp
Get Fishing Tips & Techniques Twice A Month For FREE - http://www.jrwfishing.com/signup.html

No comments:

Post a Comment