Carolina Rig

[SStracker]

I am starting to throw the carolina rig more and had a few questions. Currently I am using a 6'6mh casting rod (plan on getting a 7mh to replace it) with 30lb braid and a 12 flouro leader.My questions are as follow.. What lb line do you like to use? Do you usually put some kind of stopper above the weight to keep it close to the swivel and bead? any tips on keeping weeds off in heavier cover? I think a smaller swivel, weight, and beads might be the key weed prevention.

Thanks

[Cecil]

I use flouro all the way to my bait. 17-20 main line and 12 leader. No stopper, a good sweeping cast will keep it close to the swivel and if you have a stopper the fish will feel the weight more when they pick it up.

The key to weed prevention is knowing right where the edge is and making accurate casts. The closer you can get to the edge the better.

[SStracker]

Alright that makes more sense for less weeds, I was told that you want to cast into the weeds and pull it out from the cover.

[Cecil]

If in, only like a foot or two tops. Too much and you will disturb a lot of cover and spook fish

[BassProAddict]

Do you guys throw C-rigs with a hard super-long cast?

[SStracker]

Ive been doing fairly short sweeping casts in 5-10FOW. Im still playing around with it figuring out what works best though.

[TonkaBass]

I use flouro all the way to my bait. 17-20 main line and 12 leader. No stopper, a good sweeping cast will keep it close to the swivel and if you have a stopper the fish will feel the weight more when they pick it up.

The key to weed prevention is knowing right where the edge is and making accurate casts. The closer you can get to the edge the better.

right on!

[RK]

Hiya -

Good stuff from Cecil. A couple additional thoughts...

I go fluoro across the board too, though a little lighter than Cecil. My main line is 15#.

I almost always use a pre-made C-rig set-up. I make my own on a short piece of single-strand wire. Simple and fast to rig up... I fish C-rigs on rocks a lot, so I also take a 6" piece of clear plastic tubing (it's basically IV tubing, but you can get it at hobby shops), slide it up the line above the rig, then when I tie on to the wire, slide the tubing down over the knot. REALLY saves the knot from grinding on rocks...

For fishing weedlines, as Cecil said, really helps to have a good handle on where the weed edge is. I sometimes toss markers to help me keep track. GPS can help too, but markers REALLY help.

Another way to fish weedlines, though, is to cast from shallow to deep. Get up on the flat, cast past the weedline, then work the rig back, and slow it down when you start to feel the edge of the weeds. (This works with crankbaits too, btw...)

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[TonkaBass]

I agree Rk, I think every fisherman should have at least 3 marker bouys if they are planning on fishing offshore weedbeds or rocks.

[BassProAddict]

What's a good buoy brand out there? Doesn't it take too much time to have to toss in markers to line up a spot? I'm asking coz I wanna try using buoys myself.

How many times do you guys cast to a lined up set of markers?

[TonkaBass]

brand doesn't matter as long as you can see them. I use them to pin point a school or mark out a spot to make casting easier, but only if I know I can catch multiple fish there... the time it take to set a bouy is about the same as it takes to set a duck decoy. I ussually fish without bouys... normally i only use them if the fish are schooled tight or I want people to keep their distance in a tournament...

[gunning]

What kind of plastics do you guys like to use.

[BassProAddict]

Zoom lizards for me.

[TonkaBass]

My stand by has been a zoom finesse worm, but ussually it seems like its either a straight tailed worm or a lizard.

[SStracker]

Ive been throwing a sabertail burly bug. I hear a lot of people throw worms.

[BassProAddict]

Would a main line-braid and leader-braid combo be a bad idea?

[Cecil]

It would scare me. My best bait is a baby brush hog

[delmuts]

I run a mono leader. My thinking is this way the plastic will stay off the bottom a little, where with a braid it would stay more on the bottom.

I have had problems with the weight sliding up the braided line on a cast. A quick fix was to stop the line in the air and let the weight slide back to the swivel. Plan on trying a bobber stop a foot or so above the weight next time out.