[twaskom]

I finally was able to get away and make my first trip this year to the Ohio River.

I started by trying to catch some skipjack for fresh bait. That didn’t work. But while casting my curly tail jigs for the allusive skip, I foul hooked an Asian carp. That was quite the tussle and I was careful to adjust the drag light because with no skip, Asian carp would be my next choice for a good bloody fresh bait. Got him in the boat so I had fresh bait for the day.

I have been wanting to try my new “The Stalker” Rippin Lips bottom bouncing rod. Today was the day. I took 6 rods with me, a medium action skipjack rod, The Stalker bouncing rod and two Rippin Lips med. Heavy rods and two TWC Extreme rods. I used the skip rod for about the first 30 minutes and used the bouncing rod the rest of the day.
Here is what made it into the boat.

First hit on the bouncing rod caught me daydreaming. (Missed it by that much).

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Weather was great. Sunny but not too hot. I am going to have to do this more often.

tight lines

 

[ramon06]

That's an excellent trip during the spawn. Glad you got out good looking cats by the way

 

[Jesus Saves]

Awesome Tom I’m glad you got out and had a blessed day of it!
Looks like you got the back bouncing figured out - time for you to each us younguns… haha

 

[Jbuck]

I am impressed, going to have to try bouncing. Thanks for posting the pictures, I enjoyed them.

 

[Glass lord]

Tom I don’t know how you do it but I’m gonna figure it out one day.
Got some of those Gypsy tears don’t yu? Haha

 

[eastforker]

Way to get out of the house and on them Tom!

 

[SteveMcK]

Nice trip. U gonna have to do that more often and give us reports.

 

[twaskom]

Tom I don’t know how you do it but I’m gonna figure it out one day.
Got some of those Gypsy tears don’t yu? Haha

They are everywhere in the Evansville area. No wonder the locals had them.

That back bouncing is fun but I sure see why you want a light setup. Your arm starts to feel it after a few hours in current.

 

[twaskom]

Only one cat had signs of being on the spawn. One of the blues had a raw spot about the size of a quarter on the top of his head.

 

[Herbhome]

Excellant report, Tom! Sounds like a great day. I've been wondering how that bouncing rig was working for you.

 

[typer181]

Looks like you had a great day Tom! Good way to get broke in on bouncing, cause in a couple of weeks the big ones will try their best to yank that rod out of your hand 😀

 

[twaskom]

I stole a couple of my wife’s one pound (I want to be an athlete) weights and will be exercising every day from now on. But I did notice how similar a one pound dumb bell weight and one of those 16 ounce (large) beer cans feel. I did notice that one never seems to change while the other seems to get all of its energy drained out, if you work at it. Haha, I am really lucky I had decided at my age to only do ONE exercise a night.

Confusius say:
“Tight lines
are especially important when back bouncing.”

 

[twaskom]

Awesome Tom I’m glad you got out and had a blessed day of it!
Looks like you got the back bouncing figured out - time for you to each us younguns… haha

Dan, if you want some info about back bouncing, I will pass on what I figured out after 8 hours of doing it.

What gear you use will make a difference.

I have read that there are a couple of variations in how the typical rig will be set up. Sinkers are not all the same. I made my sinkers in different weights and in the shape of a work horse hoof. As a kid, I remember the sound their hooves made when they went down the road. That sound made me think of feel as it hit the bottom. Seems to work but I have not tried ball sinkers.

Controlling your boat speed is not as easy as it would seem. You have to have current so below a dam, even if a mile or two seems to be the better spot. The river ebbs and flows. After a while you start to notice how the water speed is continually changing. And then a barge comes by, there is often a big change.

it seemed that the very best rod position for feeling the sinker as it hit bottom was to raise the tip to high noon and then lower it to about 2. The rod seemed to transmit the feel best in that area. Of course, stiff rod using braided line works best for adding feel.

Your constantly changing your technique as the environment changes. The river is swift and then it eases up. The wind May gust and change your boat speed, a barge may be passing making a major change. All of these things seem to happen continually. You have to make adjustments as these changes occurs.

As you are back bouncing, there will come a time, actually, a lot of times when you no longer feel the sinker hit bottom. Either your rig is hung and the current is just dragging your line into a huge bow, or the current has picked up your rig and keeping it off the bottom. You need to figure it out quick. If it is the latter, you may need a heavier sinker to stay in touch with the bottom. If your line has a huge bow under the water, you are dragging your rig on the bottom. That is the best way to locate every snag down there. So figure out what the problem is quick and correct it, or reel in and start over.

Note to newbies, me included. Start learning using a heavier sinker. Then lighten it up as you learn. A heavier sinker will help you keep in touch with the bottom. But since the current has more trouble moving it, your rig will not go as far behind the boat. While your feeling the bottom so well, you will have the time to focus on boat speed in the constantly changing environmen.

That will get you started. But you really learn by getting out there and screwing it up. Like in life, you learn twice as much from what you do wrong as you do from what you do right. That is why I have learned so much, I was always great at screwing thing up.

tight lines

 

[Jesus Saves]

Thanks Tom - we need to work on an in person lesson haha
I spent the week in TN with no fishing gear (intentionally for family time) but I’m ready to get out there!
I almost bought the TWC bumping rod at the conference and didn’t so I guess I’ll pay shipping now… oh well probably should add a couple whisper whips to make it worth it haha
Got any reel suggestions?

 

[twaskom]

Well I do have a new ABU low profile reel but it already had a piece fall off. You would think in a 20 foot long 8 foot wide boat I could at least get a falling part to land in the boat,,,,,,,but no, it went into the beep six. Lol

it was not an important part. The knob on the crank is held to the crank lever by a Phillips screw. The hole in the knob the screw goes into is also threaded and has some type of a decorative screw in cap to cover the hole. Well mine works fine without the cap.

Anyway, there is that ABU reel and Penn has one that is likely a little better but cost twice as much.

Just a regular ABU6500 reel would work but if your trying to palm it, it is a little big. Still would work fine for learning.

I do like the rod I got for bouncing but any heavy action, light weight (carbon fiber or composite) rod would work.

I did leave the most important part out for catching fish while back bouncing. You still have to lower the bait down in a location where there are fish and it is a big benefit if they are hungry.

 

[twaskom]

It is much like any kind of fishing for cats. They like the top or bottom of drop offs, a current seam, a flat where they feed or just something to block current that they can ambush from. If you take these locations and add the bouncing technique you will have an enjoyable day.

 

[twaskom]

Here is another little tidbit I read that made sense to me. It is good to pre-tie your bouncing rigs.

Now a bouncing rig has two leads. One for the hook and one for the sinker. The longer the sinker lead is the higher up in the water column the bait will be held. The longer the hook lead is, the better, more natural action the bait will have in the water But a longer lead is subject to more snags.

The article I read said that the cats sometimes fed close to the bottom where shorter leads would be better and sometimes they fed higher in the water column where longer leads gave the advantage.

It boiled down to having two rigs pre-made.

1. A rig with a hook lead 3 feet long and a sinker lead 2 feet long.

2. A rig with a hook lead 4 to 5 feet long and a sinker lead 4 feet long.

The arrival said to try one rig and if it wasn’t working, try the other.

either type of three way swivel will work but casting these can lead to tangles. Just lower the bait into the current and let the current take it down street. The sinker will be next to go in and the current will help keep them separated. Lower the rig a little at a time until you feel the sinker hit bottom. A rock bottom is easier to feel than a mud bottom.

I make my leader for the sinker a little weaker than my hook leader. 50 lb for the hook and 30 to 40 lb for the sinker. If the sinker gets hung up, I can break it off and save the hook and bait. Just a thought

 

[Jesus Saves]

Are you still useing 65lb suffix for the main line?

 

[twaskom]

Yes, the same line I bought several years ago.

 

[Jbuck]

Well, there are guys who can read about something and with just a little experimentation have it figured out (Tom) then there are guys who just have to be shown in person (me). Not wanting all your secrets but three questions, #1 what type of sinker worked for you, I have read cannon balls give one a better feel of the bottom due to increased area but in the videos I have watched they are using all types as you said changing the weight as current dictated. #2 Did you use a float to assist in keeping your bait up or just allow the current to lift it? #3 When you taking me?