The Ideal Set-Up for a Carolina Rig

As we approach the late winter bite, one on my favorite rigs is fishing a Carolina-rig worm. First of all let’s talk about the line size, in my opinion this is critical to catching fish.

The key to line size is diameter the bigger bulkier diameter lines can be viewed very easily in clear water, because of that I believe the best line size is 15 lb. test. It’s strong enough to pull through most cover without breaking and has enough abrasive strength not to cut easily by a rock. The leader however needs to be 12- pound test, slightly smaller in diameter.

The next critical aspect is leader length. The length of a leader to me depends on a couple of key items, the first being the bottom structure. If the bottom is rocky then you need to keep the length no more than 18 inches, you see the longer the length the more apt you are to get the leader caught in-between rocks on the bottom. A short leader will not drop into the pockets between the rocks like a longer leader will. The grass bottom however presents another issue; a grassy bottom can dictate the leader length. You want to make sure that your bait floats above the grass while being pulled so therefore you need to determine the length of the grass on the bottom and make your leader slightly longer.

The next important set up is the weight, one thing common to my set-up is, that the smaller the size of the weight the more sensitive the bite will be. So first of all I like a Tungsten weight because its profile is smaller than a standard lead weight. The actual measure of weight depends to me on depth, most fishing of less than 10 feet of depth you should never go heavier than a half oz. Hence the deeper the heavier the weight.
Lastly is the bait, I believe the bait should not exceed 6 inches in length; I want the fish to easily inhale the entire bait. I believe these key elements will make you a better Carolina rig fisherman.

Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
256 759 2270
Captain Mike Gerry