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Soft Plastics...Carolina Style
by Chris Stevens
Most bass fisherman don't think of Carolina
rigging as a year round thing. Some tend to only use it in the
spring and summer. That's the one of the biggest mistakes you
can make with the Carolina rig. The Carolina rig is one of the
most successful rigs today.
First thing you need to do is get the right tackle. You need
a good rod and reel that allows you to cast long distances and
detect light bites. Most people prefer a 6 ½ to 7-½
rod, with a reel with a moderate retrieval speed. A lot of anglers
use light sinkers, that is a big mistake because you need to
get the sinker to the bottom as quickly as possible. I like ¾
and 1 ounce sinkers. Hooks are another major part of Carolina
rigging. You want the lure to float behind the sinker, so you
need to use lightweight hooks.
Different people have different retrieves for the Carolina rigs.
Two of the most popular retrieves are the hopping and dragging
retrieve. In the hopping retrieve you cast the lure out, let
it hit the bottom, then lift your rod tip to move the lure, then
drop the rod tip and reel in the slack, just keep repeating this
until you get it in. In the dragging retrieve you cast it out,
let it hit the bottom, then drag the lure 2 to 4 inches and pause
in between drags.
In the Pre-Spawn bass are usually around drop-offs close to a
point or their spawning flat. You can also fish migration routes
like underwater ditches and channels. Try fishing these areas
with a 4- inch grub or lizard with a long leader up to 4 foot.
In the spawn Carolina rigs work great if you find bass bedding
on sandbars. Fish these areas with tubes or lizards really slow
around and on the beds. You should be able to catch the bed guarding
males during this time of the year.
During the post-spawn is when most people start using crankbaits
around big pieces of structure, but again you can use the Carolina
rig and still catch a lot of fish. Try using a 4-7 inch strait
worm, fries, tubes, or grubs. Fish these around points, humps,
or structure close to deep water.
In the summer you need to fish deep with Carolina rigs. Try fishing
near creek channels and around deep-water structure, in these
areas fish soft-plastic Jerkbaits. You can also find bass in
weedbeds in the summer. Fish the weedbeds with long leader long
enough for the lure to float above the weeds. There are a lot
of big bass in weedbeds in the summertime so use big baits like
10-12 inch worms.
During the fall lakes are really clear because of the summer's
sun and less rain. Try using small lures like fries in natural
colors and use light leaders. Fall is also a good time to use
hard baits like hard Jerkbaits on Carolina rigs. These work really
good around deep points.
I don't really like to use Carolina rigs in the winter, but they
still work. Carolina rigged lizards work really well on river
channels in around 20 foot of water. You need to use a really
slow retrieve and you need to use flavored lures so the fish
will hold on longer.
Tight Lines and Bent Poles!
Chris Stevens |
