Carolina Rig Questions

[Fuese54]

Do you need to use floating plastics for a Carolina rig to work? & what size weight should I use? What are some of the best baits to use on a Carolina rig?

[Bluebasser86]

No, you don't need to use floating plastics, but sometimes they will get more bites, sometimes they'll get fewer.

 

My best advice for a C rig, fish something else    Typically I go with a 1/2-1oz brass weight with a glass bead and brass clicker. I like brush hogs, french fries, stick worms, lizards, and 10" worms on mine, but I might as well be casting just the weight because if I'm fishing one, I've pretty much given up hope of catching a fish. 

[MasonV]

I don't know that I can add a whole lot to that. BB86 pretty much covered your question, but I will say it sounds like I have more confidence in a c-rig than he does lol if that makes you feel better about trying it out some. I usually don't go smaller than a 3/4 oz weight. I love having that bottom contact and feeling everything down there. It can be a good search bait for finding little sweet spots down there. You can throw pretty much anything on it. I usually throw some kind of creature bait but I also throw bigger ribbontail worms, lizards, french fries or a speed craw type bait like a rage tail or Yum Christie craw.

[webertime]

Rage Tail Shrimp, Hags Tornado and Undertaker are great floating C-Rig baits.  Use a mono leader, even up to 6ft (I prefer a 4-5ft) it can help keep the bait off the bottom too.  A small craw (speedcraw) and a swimbait (4.8 Keitech) are awesome on the rig as well.

[scaleface]

! use 3/4 ounce weights and a variety of baits. The popular Zoom Lizard is my favorite. Its harder to detect strikes on a C-rig than on a T-rig . The Zoom Lizard with its smooth shiny surface makes it  easy to see teeth marks if your questioning if that was a fish or not .

[WRB]

The original Carolina rig (C-rig) is made up using a sliding egg sinker, glass bead, swivel tied onto the main line then a leader tied to the swivel and a hook.

I can't remember using the original C-rig in decades, it doesn't work well in deep clear structure type reservoirs where I fish. I use the slip shot rig or finesse C-rig, works very good and is made up with a sliding mojo tubular weight, pegged glass bead on the main line, no leader or swivel with a hook. The pegged bead stops the weight and can be adjusted easily without retrying. The mojo style wright slides through structure without hanging up as often, you feel strikes faster and can use weights from 1/16 oz to 3/4 oz, both spinning and casting tackle. The Carolina plastic keeper can be used for a weight stopper and I prefer using the Keeper, brass Pro-Jo wights, along with a glass bead to add clicking sound.

Creatures, lizards, soft plastic jig trailers and a variety of worms all work.

Length of line between the weight and hook depends on the bass; 8" to 36", try different lengths, the more active the bass are the shorter the length.

Tom

[Felix77]

I am a huge fan of the Mojo rig (aka Finesse Carolina Rig).  I just began fishing a traditional Carolina Rig this season with some decent success.  I tend to use a 1/2 oz. weight, bead and a Carolina Keeper.   As for lures ... thus far I have kept it pretty simple.   Either a Zoom trick worm, UV Speed Worm or 7" Berkley Power Worm.

 

I am sure I will expand over time but if you are beginning (like I am) this seems to get bites and begin building your confidence.