Fishing

Most Walleye enthusiasts are well aware of Bottom Bouncers and a Spinner or Plain Snell coupled with Livebait, as a staple presentation. As effective they are, there has always been a gap between the two.

Particularly, from later summer into fall: When our thoughts turn to attracting and catching large Walleyes. I’d like you to take a leap of faith and throw out all of your preconceived notions of subtleties. What I am going to outline is definitely not a “Match the Hatch” or finesse presentation option.

What I normally write about and try to convey concerning fishing is typically educational in nature. I attempt to pass along what I have learned from others, personal observation, and most significantly from trying about every darn thing imaginable in order to get the confounding creatures to bite…consistently.

Here in the Dakota’s most species of fish have recovered from the rigors of spawning and are ready to tie on a serious feed bag. What this means is that they will generally be easy to catch using a wide variety of presentations. To some degree, all of us get stuck in a rut with pet methods for extracting our favorite fish. Now is the time to broaden your horizons and live a little on the wild side, at least as far as techniques are concerned.

Here in the Dakota’s (birthplace of the Bottom Bouncer) the vast majority of Walleye Angling is based on a Bouncer and livebait setup. Most folks turn to a Spinner Rig or Plain Snell/Bead or Float Combination. This is as easy as it gets and has taken an uncountable number of fish throughout the years.

As we progress into summer with the resulting warmer air and water temps, our previously quite predictable walleye’d friends become increasingly difficult to pattern. This is due to the fact that they have completed their spawning rituals and have gobbled up most everything edible in the nearby areas…and are now on the move to greener pastures.