Carolina Riggin'

[Boedigheimer]

I have never tried carolina riggin' but have read about it and am going try it this year. What brands or types of plastics work for this type of presentation? I would assume the floating variety. Does this target mainly Largemouth or is it equally effective on smallies?

[RossT]

The baits I have most effective Carolina rigging are Creature style and noodle style of baits. I use the Berkley Power Hawg 75% of the time, the remainder of the time I will use a 4" Power Noodle or Outkast Stickworm.

I would recommend a long rod, 7' or 7'6" with a soft tip, but a ton of backbone is needed to drive the hook home. My basic rig consists of:

Rod - 7'6" Heavy action Fenwick HMG flipping stick

Reel - Any high speed reel will work, but I prefer a Abu Garica Torno.

Line - 30lb. Berkley Fireline. Low-stretch, abrasion resistant, and ultra senstive.

Sinker and Beads - I use a LEAD bullet weight in 1/2oz or 3/4oz. With lead you can see teeth marks to see if the fish are biting the sinker rather than your bait. The lead will also ply out of the rocks better. However, on areas such as Lake Pepin, the Lindy No-Snagg works great! I will always use two beads and one clacker. The order goes: Sinker - big bead - clacker - smaller bead. A quality swivel is a must to reduce line twist.

Leader - 15lb. Vanish line. Flourocarbon is low-visibililty and ultra tough around rocks.

This is what I prefer to use, but everyone is different in what they use. Experiment to see what works best for you. Baits such as Flukes, Craws, worms, even stickbaits like a floating Rap can be Carolona rigged. Good Luck!

Ross

[Daze Off]

Your plastic don't need to float but it is definately an option. I use French Fries/Dead Ringers most but the classic and highly effective bait is the plastic lizard - most especially in the late spring in my experience. Have been known to use a 4" Senko-style bait too.

It is equally good for both largemouth and smallies - have taken smallies in both rivers and lakes with it.

Daze Off

[Crank It Up Pro]

Carolina Rigs are a great way to find fish,they cover huge amounts of water yet they are still a subtle presentation,can't beat that. First thing If I were you is I would go out and buy thee already put togather sinker,bead,swivels ect. I would also start with a 3/4 oz.rig much easier to to stay in contact with everything (weeds,rocks,sand and muck. If you happen across any of this stuff make sure you slow down your retrieve,get a bite or catch a fish drop a marker bouy next to your boat could be a good school there and don't be afraid to use lizards all year long. good luck (works on both largemouth and smallies.

[delmuts]

if you go back to page 12 on this forum; there are several post comparing the carolina rig to drop the shot, and a post about the carolina rig that may help with a little more info.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Here are those 2 posts that del was talking about.

Post #1

Post #2

I myself dont "Carolina" rig a ton, but I do something very close. I do something I call "Stupid Rigging", its very similar to a carolina rig but has a smaller leader, lighter sinker and its crimped on and not sliding.

Plastics used for this can be just about anything. I use flipping tubes a ton.. The Exude Salatube has caught me probably the most fish on this rig, but hog baits, stick baits, frogs, and craws will all work. And no they dont have to be floating, as a matter of fact I seldome use a floating one. And as stated, its a killer rig for both largies and its one of my personal faves on smallies as well.

[svttom01]

Last year I really got into Carolina rigging and could not have been any happier. I wish I would have tried using this method earlier in my fishing career because it really does work well and is quite versatile. Tubes and 10" Power Worms worked really well for me last year.

[Deitz Dittrich]

SVT- If you have time, please list how you fish a Carolina Rig, maybe the areas you like to throw it in. I think this could be a learning exp for many of our readers.

[svttom01]

Quote:

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SVT- If you have time, please list how you fish a Carolina Rig, maybe the areas you like to throw it in. I think this could be a learning exp for many of our readers.

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Sure, although I'm not close to being a Carolina rigging expert, I can offer a few tips. A Carolina rig will usually consist of a Carolina style weight, a bead, followed by a swivel and some type of clear leader (14-15 Vanish works great). Hook selection is usually a 3/0 worm hook if you are rigging worms or less bulky baits, or a 3/0 wide gap hook for bulkier baits like tubes and creature baits. I will fish a Carolina rig in both shallow and deeper water. My favorite spots to fish it is where there are drop-offs and underwater structure, especially where rocks are present. You cast it out and once it reaches the bottom of the lake, start to drag it along the bottom until you feel a bite then set the hook. When dragging it along the bottom feel free to experiment with speeds until you find out which is working the best for your given situation. Any type of plastic bait works well, but I have had better success with Berkely 10" worms, 4" tubes, and power lizards. The nice thing about the Carolina rig is that you can cover lots of water with it in a short period of time. I have been going on 24 hours w/o sleep so sorry if it seems I am a bit incoherent.

[delmuts]

ok! i have a question for you guys!when working a drop off wiht a carolina rig; do you find it better to work from shallow to deep water, or from deep to shallow? ( i realize the fishing from deep to shallow would allow the lure/rig to stay in contact with the bottom easier), but??

[Deitz Dittrich]

Del my friend, With a carolina rig you are usually using much larger weight sinkers than any other application. So staying in contact with the bottom is really not all that hard, unless you are on a wall of a drop off. I myself will still however still be working a spacific area, if the best way to cover that area is deep to shallow or shallow to deep or parallel/staying at the same depth, then that is what I am going to do. Often times, I will work it from different angles, till I get bit.. Its weird, I have noticed many times, the fish will only hit while casting from a spacific angle.