The following was included in another post by jaximus. I removed it and started this new topic for discussion.

anyone have a suggestion for a good crank to pull behind a bottom bouncer. i would assume a shallow diving model, but i dont really have much expertise when it comes to those. i have a fair selection of original floaters, husky jerks, and shallow x-raps, but would another model be better?

another random question, would it be worth while to stick a small spinner blade on a bottom bouncer, maybe a 2 or 3 colorado, 4 indiana, or a 5 willow? cranks are pulled faster than crawler harnesses, so i would lean toward willow, but what do you think? a little extra vibration to draw them into say an original floater.
(jaximus)

In Furtman's BWCA/QUETICO fishing book, he recommends floaters behind a bottom bouncer. I use that set-up with a keel weight. Take the front treble off and your lure will almost never snag up. Plenty of action in that downward facing floater at trolling speed.

ST's advice is solid. If you remove the front hook (I upgrade the rear hook 1 size larger) you can bang bottom all day long with very few hang ups.

My first trip into the Q I didn't have a depth finder either. This was the strategy I employed for the 12 days I trolled. I think I lost 1 or 2 lures to snags and I ran a line pretty much all the time. I didn't have any problem hooking fish and when it came time to release them it was much easier and safer for the fish as well as myself.

I like your choice of lure. A shallow shad rap seems ideal but to keep it in the strike zone and not be afraid of losing it will be key. The removal of that front hook will give you the confidence to do that. I highly suggest upsizing the rear hook however (just one size, wide gap preferred).

The flat rap would be another likely choice. I watched a promo video of the fellas from infisherman fishing the flat rap behind a bottom bouncer. Of course they were doing quite nicely with it (imagine that ). Not surprisingly I ordered one the next day..........I really like them, my biggest smally last year came on one. I think you should get one Jax, maybe a brook trout colored one .

You could also just run a snap-weight a few feet up the line from a shallow diver if you want it to run deeper.

Personally I have no interest in fooling with all the rigging a bottom bouncer setup or 3-way rig entails.  If I want to bang bottom, then a deep running crank will do it.  If it's deeper than I can reach with a crank, I'll just have to jig.

Snow_Dog wrote on Jun 1^st, 2011 at 1:07am:


I'm kinda with SD on this one. One of the problems you are going to encounter is the physics it takes to set the hook..........follow me on this one.

With the description you gave in relation to the area you are going to fish it sounds to me that you want to maintain contact with a constantly changing bottom without the advantage of a depth finder and a nice chunk of lead might just do it. The disadvantage you will have is being able to keep enough forward momentum while you are adjusting your depth all the time. That forward speed is crucial if the hooks are going to sink in should a fish decide to strike.

The only time I would consider a bottom bouncer is if I was fishing a large flat where the depth stays fairly constant.

My advice, especially without a depth finder is to get a deep deep diver with a beefy bill, remove the front hook, upsize the rear and stop worrying about wether your lure is ticking the rocks. If it does get hung give it some slack and more often than not it will float out of trouble. Bouncing around on the rocks isn't going to hurt your rod one bit. It might stress your line a bit though and I would certainly be keeping a close eye on that.

If you are intent on giving it a try I prefer something in-line. The snap weight suggestion is solid as is an in line weight. I think I ran a tip of the month with an in line weight which I am very high on.

good luck