How To: Troll for bottom-dwellers with the bottom bouncer rig

When it comes to both simplicity and efficiency, the bottom bouncer rig is one of the best fishing rigs you can use. It's great for crappie fishing, along with catfish, white bass, black bass, and other panfish and bottom-dwelling sportfish. Wade Bourne of MyOutdoorTV shows you how to fish a bottom bouncer rig.

A bottom bouncer is a trolling rig designed to present live bait at a controlled depth just above a lake or river's bottom. It consists of an L-shaped piece of wire with a weight molded around the longer wire arm. A worm harness, live bait rig or spinner rig is attached to the non-weighted (shorter) arm of the wire. Used primarily to catch walleye, the bottom bouncer rig is highly productive on crappie, catfish, white bass, black bass and other pan- and sportfish that dwell near bottom. Here is how to tie a bottom bouncer rig.

- Tie main line from rod to the loop in the L-bend of bottom bouncer.

- Attach or tie pre-assembled worm harness, live bait rig or spinner rig to upper (non-weighted) arm of bottom bouncer.

- Add live bait as desired.