Carolina Rig Tips?

[Trophyhunter8]

Dave
don't give all the secrets away. and to everybody else, he is not kidding about the big smallmouth taking a rod away. The day after I went with Dave back in may. I almost put a rod in the drink but somehow caught it again right before falling in myself. I am hooked on c-rig now

[Trophyhunter8]

I didn't fall in but it was close

[Dave Stewart]

Here is the setup I recommend:

7 to 7.5 ft MH graphite rod (fast tip) 20lb copolymer base line with 10lb or 12lb copolymer leader. (I prefer copolymer line for one reason...it is more nick resistant than any other line out there. Fishing here on Ky/Barkley you are dragging thru rocks and mussel shells which will nick and cut your line...these lakes eat florocarbon and regular mono and shred braid when you are bottom fishing). If you use one of these lines just be prepared to retying very often or you are going to be sorry. I myself prefer Gamma copolymer line...it is just as strong as other copolymers but does not have the stiffness nor memory associated with most copolymers.

I use lead egg sinkers...these tend to come over rocks etc better than bullet sinkers which tend to hang up more. The rule of thumb on weight of the sinker is: If the sinker comes off bottom when you drag it...go up 1/4 oz in weight until bottom contact is maintained. I have found that I can pretty much fish a 3/4 ounce on all the ledges here unless the current is very strong..which is a rare thing on these lakes anymore. If fishing shallow with the rig...you can easily go lighter...but the lighter the weight normally the less casting distance...it is a tradeoff.

I use two glass beads between the sinker and a brass barrel swivel. The lead weight will not give you any clacking noise..but having two glass beads banged together by the weight of the sinker will make up for the lack of sound of one glass bead and a lead weight.

My rule of thumb on leader length is shorter in the spring and longer in the summer months. I find that most bass will sit tighter on cover in cooler water and tend to suspend over cover in warmer water. Through experience I have found that 18" to 2ft in spring and 2.5 ft to 3.5 ft in summer seems to work best for me.

Lures: If it is soft plastic you can C-rig it...I have caught fish on just about any soft plastic lure. Some of my favorites are: creature baits (lizards, brush hogs), worms, tubes and flukes.

Technique: Here is what I teach and recommend:

Keep your rod tip low...at the 7 or 8 o'clock position the rod at a 90 degree angle to your body....keep a TIGHT line at all times....DO NOT get any slack in your line...drag the bait in one to two foot sweeps....take up the line while keeping the line tight and then pause for a few seconds (fact is most C-rigged caught fish take the lure after it drops back to bottom). Yes, this is a slow way to fish...but experience over the years has shown me that fishing it slow gets more bites: Ask any bass guide and they will tell you that women tend to outfish men 90% of the time when using a C-rig...the reason is women tend to fish slower.

When fishing the rig with a tight line as I recommend...here are some tips:

1. You will feel the same bite on the tight lined C-rig as you feel of a Texas rig. Sometimes you will just feel the weight of the fish..this is a fish that has just inhaled the bait and is sitting there with it in its mouth or slowly swimming off with it, sometimes the fish will slam it and run..this is an indication that there are more fish there and the fish is trying to get away from other fish there competing for the bait, and you will get the bump, bump, bump bite you tend to feel more often when fishing a T-rig. If you have slack in your line..such as you will have with a rod held high like a T-rig...you will not feel this bite...this is because the weight on a T-rig is against the lure...on a C-rig the heavy weight is on bottom and the weightless lure is on the end of a leader...keeping your line tight and and rod low will allow you to feel this bite. The bump, bump bite is a fish that has taken the lure in its mouth and is turning it around to swallow it...one of two things happen here when you don't feel this type bite...the fish will either swallow the lure and many times this means a gut hooked fish or in most cases the fish decides he does not like the feel of this lure and will spit it out...which means you are not even aware that a fish has taken your bait and spit it out because you had slack in the line.

2. When tight lining a C-rig...the hook set is a hard, quick side sweep in one continuous motion...DO NOT drop your rod to get slack in the line and then set the hook...doing so will move the heavy sinker and many times the fish will feel this and spit the lure and you will be setting the hook on nothing but water. DO NOT set the hook and then move your rod forward again (putting slack in your line) to get a second hook set..(slack in the line gives the fish an opportunity to shake the lure free). Fight the fish from a tight line and when you can gain some line on the fish to get the rod in a position to set the hook again on tight line...do so.

3. Caution: When fishing a tight lined C-rig, make sure you have a good grip on your rod....a big Smallmouth hitting a tight lined C-rig can take the rod right out of your hand and into the drink...I now have 3 rods on the bottom of Ky Lake from folks tight lining a C-rig and loose grip on the rod.

Like was said above...there are a myriad of ways to fish a C-rig...what I have said here is what I have found to work for me and seems to put more fish in the boat..actually I know it puts more fish in the boat...try it and the other suggestions here and see what works best for you and then go for it....the C-rig is one technique that works year round..and is one of the best if not the best search technique there is.

[Todd2]

Here is the setup I recommend:
The bump, bump bite is a fish that has taken the lure in its mouth and is turning it around to swallow it...one of two things happen here when you don't feel this type bite...the fish will either swallow the lure and many times this means a gut hooked fish or in most cases the fish decides he does not like the feel of this lure and will spit it out...which means you are not even aware that a fish has taken your bait and spit it out because you had slack in the line.

Dave, thanks a lot. Great post! Reading the part above, I just wonder how many times I've felt something a little different (not the obvious bump, bump) and thought I was just caught up on something when really a bass just nailed it and didn't run. I guess it's like they say, "hook sets are free".