Carolina Rigs

Carolina rigging, often called do-nothing fishing, is a rigging and presentation method used mainly with soft plastic lures that is designed to comb wide areas fairly quickly for active bass. It has been around in one form or another for at least 30 years but has enjoyed a recent surge of popularity among serious anglers.

THE BASIC CAROLINA RIG: A Carolina rig involves the following components: 1. A Heavy Worm or Egg Sinker. Usually 1/2 to 1 oz. or heavier, made of lead or brass. Some sinkers have rattles molded inside for extra noise attraction. The sinker is slid onto the main line, which is normally heavy mono or one of the new high tech line products. 2. A Glass or Plastic Bead. This is placed on the main line below the sinker to protect the knot and provide sound attraction as the sinker knocks against it on the retrieve. 3. A Swivel. This is placed on the main line. This helps prevent line twist. 4. A leader Line. The length of the leader varies according to fishing conditions. This can be either mono or high tech line. 5. The Hook. The size and style is dictated by the lure used. 6. The Lure. The lure is usually an unweighted soft plastic bait.

LURES FOR CAROLINA RIGGING: 1. Plastic Worms. Use plastic worms that come in standard bass sizes. Many pro anglers also use 9 and 12 inch plastic worms when fishing for bigger bass. 2. Plastic Lizards. Carolina rigging has extended the lizard season through fall in many lakes. 3. Grubs and Tube Baits. These are used in clear and/or cold water by many Carolina riggers. 4. Plastic Crawfish. These can be substituted for worms or lizards. 5. French Fries. These are blunt 4 inch plastic worms that come unrigged. 6. Do Nothing Worms. These blunt 4 inch worms are molded around a harness and come rigged with two small hooks. 7. Soft Jerkbaits. These popular lures can be fished Carolina style to attain deeper depths. 8. Hard Lures. Floater/diver minnow or jerkbaits can be fished effectively on Carolina rigs in areas free of weeds or brush. Unlike soft plastics, hard baits give off plenty of flash in clear water.

CAROLINA RIG TACKLE: Use a long, medium to medium heavy action, long handled baitcasting rod for Carolina rigging. Some anglers prefer a 6 1/2 footer, others a 7 footer. The main line is normally 17 to 20 pound test mono or stronger high tech line. Pros vary all across the board when it comes to leader line composition and test. Some want their leader to be exactly the same as their main line. Others use mono for their main line, high tech line for their leader or vice versa. Still others want their leader to have a lighter breaking strength than their main line ( example: 20 pound test main line, 12 pound test leader ). This allows them to sacrifice the leader and lure when hung , without losing the sinker, bead, and swivel. Experiment to determine what main line and leader combination works best in your home lakes.

HOW A CAROLINA RIG WORKS: The Carolina rig is fished more like a crankbait than a worm or jig. When the angler casts out the rig, the heavy sinker goes straight to the bottom and follows depth or contour changes as it is retrieved. As the sinker roots across the bottom, it kicks up puffs of silt, much like a live crawfish does when foraging. The sinker also clicks on the bottom like a crawfish, and the sinker, bead, and swivel click together as well, further adding to the auditory attraction. Finally, the lure trailing behind darts, sinks slowly, suspends and darts again as the sinker moves erratically across the bottom, an extremely effective simulation of an injured baitfish.

WHERE TO FISH A CAROLINA RIG: 1. When Hunting For Bass On A Strange Lake. You can fish a Carolina rig about as fast as a crankbait, and keep it in the productive zone at all times. This is useful when trying to put together a pattern quickly on a strange lake. 2. On Main Lake Flats, Bars, Humps, and Points. These big pieces of structure often hold bass in certain areas. Pros comb the structure with a Carolina rig to locate concentrations of bass quickly. 3. On Drop Offs. The heavy sinker of the Carolina rig drops quickly and exposes your lure to bass holding on fast dropping structure. 4. In Current. The heavy sinker keeps the lure in the strike zone and allows the angler to have maximum control over his presentation even when current is intense. 5. When Hunting For A Quick Limit Of Keeper Bass. Carolina rigging is one of the most dependable methods for catching a quick limit of keepers. Pros use it for numbers, then often add pounds to their stringer via another method better suited to catching big bass, like flipping a worm or jig. 6. In Clear To Stained Water. Most pros like good to decent water clarity when using a Carolina rig. The system is not as productive in low visibility water.

VARYING LEADER LENGTH: One of the secrets of successful Carolina rig fishing is knowing when, and by how much, to vary the leader length. Here are some pointers: 1. Start out with a leader length your comfortable working with. For many anglers, this is 2 feet. This length works well when bass are holding tight to scattered cover and aren't willing to chase a bait too far. Pros tend to like a shorter leader in cold water, especially early spring, and where no current is present. 2. If bass are active and/or suspended off the cover, a longer leader ( 4 or 5 feet ) may produce better. A longer leader also works well in warm water and where current is present. 3. If the area you're fishing has weeds, adjust the leader length so the lure darts and settles just above the weedbeds. If the lure picks up grass, make the leader longer. 4. If you're not getting strikes with one leader length, experiment with another. Many pro anglers report changing leader length immediately results in more bites.

VARYING LURES BY SEASON: Many anglers often vary the lures they use when Carolina rigging by season. Here's what they choose to use: Spring: Use smaller lures in cold water. Four inch worms, french fries, grubs, tube baits, and plastic craws produce best. Summer: Bigger lures get the nod. Some pros routinely use 9 and 12 inch worms in warm water. If bass don't respond to these, however, stick to 6 and 7 inch worms or 6 inch lizards. Fall: As the water cools and the baitfish become more active, try hard floater/diver minnow lures ( jerkbaits ) on a Carolina rig, especially in clear lakes. Use reflective chrome or gold patterns on sunny days for maximum flash, but switch to bone, gray or chartreuse on cloudy days. Six and 7 inch worm and lizards also produce in fall.

A FEW MORE CAROLINA TIPS: 1. Keep Carolina components in a separate tacklebox. Use a clear plastic utility box for sinkers, beads, swivels, etc. 2. Rattles and clackers ( brass cylinders ) are available which slide up your main line, below the sinker. These add more sound to your presentation. 3. Vary the sinker weight according to conditions. Some anglers drop back to 1/4 oz. in clear water. A heavy sinker is usually not advised when fishing the rig around thick cover. 4. Wrap prerigged leaders around a section of cardboard or stiff foam and keep them in your boat. This will save rigging time when you're fishing.