Probably the best thing about back-bouncing is you’re holding the rod when the fish bites. There’s nothing quite like it! When you get a bite, just freeze. This is really hard to do when you’ve been fishing for five hours without a bump, but it’s exactly what you need to do to convert bites into solid hookups. I swear, the biggest salmon I’ve caught back-bouncing took almost a full minute to get a good grip on my bait. Never set the hook -- let the fish do it!

If you take the time and effort to master these techniques, you’ll put more fish in the boat.

Good fishing!