Here's where we get into "roll'n" rather than "bump'n". I discovered a long time ago that whenever you are fishing on the bottom in salt water it is a good idea to move your bait frequently. This is true if you are surf fishing, bank fishing, pier fishing, or fishing from a boat.

Referring back to "bottom bump'n part I"...I aways use what I call the fish finder rig. This is the one with the sinker that slides on the line so that the fish doesn't feel the drag. When I am in a location where there is little, if any, current or tidal movement I like to use an egg sinker. In Cumberland Sound, for example, I will use a 3 oz. egg. What little water movement there is will roll that egg sinker a little...moving the bait. In addition, I will take two or three turns on the reel every minute or so to move it even more. When the rig gets close to the boat or the bank I reel it in all the way, check the bait, and cast it out again.

Why do I do that? About 100 years ago I was a Navy diver. We trained down in Key West. On my days off I would dive around the Navy piers where fishermen would be bottom fishing. I noticed that about half of the time when a bait reached the bottom it would be picked up right away by a catchable fish. The other half of the time, one of two things would happen. Sometimes a cloud of small fish would envelop the bait and ultimately clean the hook. Other times a crab would grab on and start feeding. I observed that if the bait moved, the cloud of small fish would instantly disperse allowing a catchable fish to move in. Also, if the bait was held by a crab, the fisherman would feel the weight of the crab if he tried to move the bait and could shake him loose.

If you are bottom fishing where there is more current or tidal movement you should try using a pyramid sinker. Obviously, it is shaped like a pyramid and will not roll as easily as an egg sinker. However, in the stronger current it will move some across a hard bottom. Again, you want to take a couple of turns on the reel every minute or so.

Without exception I always use circle hooks. When you see the tip of your rod start to bounce, don't jerk up on the rod to set the hook. With a circle hook all you do is lift the rod tip and start reeling. Most of the time the fish will have the hook in the side of his mouth...making it easy to extract. Rarely will you gut hook a fish using a circle.

When bottom fishing in saltwater you should have fairly rapid results. If you have not had a bite in 30 minutes you are probably in the wrong spot. Move. Or perhaps come back when the tide is at a different stage.

Also, if you are not using live bait like mud minnows, your bait must be fresh. The best bait, in my opinion is shrimp. When buying dead shrimp for bait be sure that it is fresh.
Then before putting it on your hook take off the head and peel off the shell and tail flipper. If you are using a whole shrimp insert the hook at the head end and run it through the body into the tail end. At the tail end are the shrimp's muscles which are firmer than the body and will better hold the hook in place. If you have large shrimp you should use pieces rather than the whole shrimp. Too large a bait simply makes it easier for the fish to steal it without encountering the hook.

If I don't have a bite in about 15 minutes I will always change the bait...putting on a fresh piece of shrimp. The reason for peeling the shrimp is to release more odor which attracts fish. After 15 minutes you need to replace it.

The other day I was fishing from the bank in a public park and I was catching a whiting every 5 or 10 minutes. These three elderly gentlemen rolled up next to me in a van, tossed out their lines, set up a tent and a table and commenced to play cards. I noticed that almost an hour went by and they had caught nothing...while I continued to reel in fish. Finally one of them looked my way and I asked what they were using for bait. "Oh, we aren't using any bait" he replied. "We just came down here to play cards". The rule is: You have got to have bait on the hook to catch fish. LET'S GO FISH'N!!