Livebait Rigs -- Hook, Line and Sinker

Bias #3 is that three-ways work only within 2 or 3 feet of bottom. Definitely wrong. Tie the dropper as long as you wish, anywhere from a typical 1 to 3 feet (keep it short—12 to 15 inches— for rivers), up to 10 feet or more to position baits way off bottom. How to net fish with such a long dropper? Just leave the sinker dangling in the water while you net the fish.

The ultimate in versatility comes from an adjustable three-way that doesn’t even require a three-way swivel. Instead, tie a standard barrel swivel between your main line and leader. Next, thread a long dropper line up through one of the loops of the swivel, and clamp a split shot somewhere on the dropper line opposite the sinker and swivel. The split shot functions as a bobber stop. It sets the distance your swivel rides above bottom, and thus the depth at which your lure or bait runs. To adjust the off-bottom depth, simply slide the split shot up or down the dropper—an easy variable for experimentation. And should you snag, a firm pull will slide the split shot off your dropper line, once again losing only the drop sinker.

Want the ability to feed even more line with a three-way? Tie a double barreled rig. First, tie a standard dropper line and weight to one loop of a barrel swivel. Next, thread your main line through the opposite loop of the swivel, then tie it to a second swivel connected to your leader. Bingo—a slipsinker three-way rig. Feed a fussy biter as much line as you wish. Substitute a bobber stop and bead for the second swivel, and you can easily adjust leader length as well.

And for the coup de grace, combine all aspects of adjustability to make an adjustable-snell-length variable-dropper-length rig. Rather than trying to explain, check the art labeled Super Rig.

Three-way rigs and bottom bouncers work best with about a 6- or 61⁄2-foot casting rod, a flippin’ reel, and 10-pound-test mono. Hit the thumb bar to release line, and drop the rig to the bottom. Then lift you thumb to automatically re-engage the reel. No need to take your other hand off the motor to turn the reel handle to reengage the reel.

Bottom Bouncer Rigs

Bottom bouncers combine the characteristics of slipsinker and three-way rigs with added snag resistance. Basically, they use the same snells, just on a wire-legged sinker that skips over rocks, climbs up and down slopes, and across basins, positioning the bait a few inches off bottom.

While most folks use bouncers with spinner snells, drifting or trolling at paces fast enough to rotate the blade, bouncer rigs also excel at slower speeds with plain baited hooks, floats, or floating jigheads, or tiny flutterspoons. Keep snells shorter than about 40 inches to minimize snags. While most bouncers don’t slip, simply pointing the rod tip back at a biting fish, then sweep setting forward, gives the fish a half-heartbeat of extra time before you set the hook. If fish are fussy, switch to a slip bouncer like the Gopher Stik or Quick Change Lite Bite.

Unlike prepackaged slipsinker rigs that come complete with snells, sinkers, and components, bouncers are sold separately from snells. For three-ways, buy prepackaged snells, but construct the rigging to go with it.

Open-Water Trolling Harnesses

When open-water trolling for suspended fish, using snap weights or leadcore to reach desired depths, walleye pros often switch the rear single hook of a crawler harness to a larger premium treble; sometimes the front hook, too, providing for extra hooking power. So long as you’re not near bottom and in no danger of snagging or picking up debris, why not? P/K Tackle’s Open Water Spinner and Bait Rig’s Big Water Rig offer the twin treble arrangement with an oversized spinner. Or make your own.

That’s why it’s called rigging.