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By now unless you happen to be brand new at bass fishing just about everyone knows what a carolina rig is and how to fish it. But here are some tips that I bet just about anyone can use from time to time. First of all when rigging most folks use a slip sinker and one or two glass beads ahead of a swivel ( or a brass weight with a clacker) to which a one to three or even four to five foot leader is attached with a 1/0 to 3/0 hook using any number of soft plastic baits. Haven't learned anything new yet? Okay,. I rig mine much the same way except between the 2 glass beads I use a bead called the cajun rattler. I don't know what it is this little plastic bead filled with minute shot that you can barely hear with your own ear ( sound carries in water) but the bass sure do love it. Here are some tips on fishing it. I fish on a fairly small lake (5000 acres) in north central Louisiana designated as a trophy lake, so you can just imagine how pressured the fish are. One thing that I always try to do is think of something that everyone else isn't doing. So instead of just dragging this rig, I shake it as much as possible to make as much noise as I can, and this really pays off in more bites, especially in heavy cover. The reason I prefer lead over brass is because if you are missing fish you can look at your lead and see if they are hitting the weight, this will tell you to shorten your leader, you can't see teeth marks on brass. Here is a tip on hooksetting if you are fishing heavy brush and are having fish wrap you up or if you get bit on the drag and give slack to set the hook here's how to catch these fish. As soon as you feel the fish, start reeling as fast as you can and then set the hook. If you are using a good quality light wire hook like an ewg gamakatsu, there should be no problem. I learned this the hard way after losing many good fish to wrap-ups! Here's a tip to have fewer hang-ups, when you feel the rig hang up never never put a lot of pressure on it. First try taking up the slack with your rod at about 12 o'clock and sharply hit your rod just above the reel. If this doesn't work, go to the bait and since you didn't put any pressure on it to start with, it should shake loose. Hope these tips help, I also use those cajun rattler beads with my texas rigs as well. Bill Wheelis . |