Carolina Rig a jerk bait?

[Bass Turd]

Has anyone had experience rigging any kind of hard bait (jerk bait or crank bait) on a Carolina Rig? Share any tips please.

[Choporoz]

I've read that it can be effective.  I've never tried it -- I guess I feared that I'd get have line fouled in a hook every time and not know it until retrieved.

["hamma"]

I tried this many many years ago, with a perch patterned rapala jerkbait. did it work? yeah,.. after i took the first hook off and could actually fish it, and ground down the bill a bit so it wasnt constantly catching bottom. but it didnt produce like I thought it would so i scraped it

[A-Jay]

I tried it too - quite a while back - didn't produce like I thought it would for me either.

Ended up going with the little talked about but effective Rapala CountDown bait. (sinking version)

http://www.rapala.com/rapala/lures/countdown-lures/countdownandreg/CountDown.html?dwvar_CountDown_color=Bleeding%20Copper%20Flash

Sinking at a consistent rate of one foot per second, the CountDown allows an angler to easily target specific depths repeatedly. Whether the fish are suspended, at the weed tops or holding on bottom structure, this bait can get you to them consistently without sacrificing cast ability or fish attracting action.  As a weighted balsa lure with the slow-rolling Rapala action, it casts pretty good (CD09 & CD11).  I do change out the hooks though.

A-Jay

[Raul]

3 hours ago, Bass Turd said:

Has anyone had experience rigging any kind of hard bait (jerk bait or crank bait) on a Carolina Rig? Share any tips please.

I caught my very first bass ever 37 years ago by C-rigging an Original Rapala Floating Minnow size 7 black & silver.

The ver first thing I learned given the visibility conditions ( the water was so muddy you could literally plow it ) was that: bass don´t need to see the bait in order to bite it. 

 

[scaleface]

I did it one time with a floating  Bomber Long A Minnow and caught a couple of fish    I 'll probably do it again some day.

[Airman4754]

Yes in the summer. I throw a one ounce steel sinker with around a 3' leader and a floating Rapala.

How I fish it is basically the same sweeping hook set I use for a normal C-rig then let it sit for about ten seconds and do it again. Sometimes there is a fish when you set it, most the time there isn't. 

Someone else posted a Count Down, but they can take awhile to sink in a summer or winter scenario when they are in 30'+ water. 

It's not some magic technique. It's just a technique. 

[Bass Turd]

Thanks everyone. I read about it somewhere but couldn't find any information. I appreciate all the reply's.

[fissure_man]

Not quite a carolina rig, but...

I've caught some good smallies in deep water on Erie by drifting with a floating jerkbait behind a walleye-style bottom bouncer.  It's a clunky rig and lazy fishing but it works.  Best on windy days to cover lots of water and provide action (and when you're tired of breaking off tube jigs to snags).

[Ski]

On 6/3/2016 at 2:38 PM, A-Jay said:

 Rapala CountDown bait

This ^^^^^

[BayouSlide]

On 6/3/2016 at 1:38 PM, A-Jay said:

Ended up going with the little talked about but effective Rapala CountDown bait. (sinking version)

http://www.rapala.com/rapala/lures/countdown-lures/countdownandreg/CountDown.html?dwvar_CountDown_color=Bleeding%20Copper%20Flash

 

 You and me both, A-Jay. Have one rigged up for a bayou fishing trip tomorrow.

 

I too find the Countdown's capabilities unique, versatile and ideal for certain conditions. Have a 3600 full of them, mostly gold but some silver, in most of the sizes. The two smallest sizes get all the use.

[Tennessee Boy]

I wish you guys would stop talking about the count down Rapalas.   Some subjects should not be discussed online.  

 

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I wish you guys would stop talking about the count down Rapalas.   Some subjects should not be discussed online.  

 

After some R & D, turns out I actually prefer most all of my 

minnow baits to be 'countdown'.

Don't tell anyone.

A-Jay

 

 

[king fisher]

Yes it works. I have caught bass Carolina rigging floating Rapala's and square bills.  If you have the patience you can use a flatfish, or Lazy Ike and reel as slow as you can stand it.  Years ago this was my skunk buster technique.  Once when I was a kid and my friend and I couldn't get the bass to bite our top water baits, my friend decided the bass were to deep for top water.  He didn't own any other baits so he put an egg sinker a foot in front of a Jitterbug.  Of course I told him that had zero possibility of working.  He caught three bass on the crazy Jitterbug Carolina rig.  It took me years of watching him use crazy junk that shouldn't work, before I quite telling him something can't possibly work.

[Firstoutfisher]

OSP makes some baits specifically designed for this, I belive they call them shad baits. They are somewhat of a hybrid between a jerkbait and crankbait. Ryugi also makes something called a deep tracer rig to achieve a similar presentation with swimbaits/jerkbaits/crankbaits

[Bazoo]

I have read about this technique here, and I tried it the first time the other day. I found a rapala jointed jerkbait a size 9 I think, that had the lip broken off. It had a great action when pulled behind an egg sinker. I promptly lost it due to my inability to judge casting distance due to a prominent bush.

 

I tried several other lures, and lost a small rapala but none of the lures looked right to my eye since they all had lips. I will try again with a Rebel jerkbait that I didn't care for,  but have subsequently removed the diving lip.

 

My purpose in this is not necessarily to get the lure to suspending bass, but to be able to cast it farther from shore, and for something different on my local lake which is heavily pressured. I appreciate everyone's contributions to this thread.

[papajoe222]

I've been C-rigging small cranks and Rapalas for decades. It took a while to get the cast down so those treble hooks didn't get tangled up with the line. Bass rarely see small minnow imitations in deeper water and I believe that makes it more successful than a deep diving crank and a lot easier on the old forearms and wrists.

[Bluebasser86]

Whenever someone would come poking around after a tournament asking what we caught on them on, "A Carolina rigged, bubble gum colored buzzbait down by the dam", was always a popular answer. This thread reminded me of that. 

[MN Fisher]

@Bluebasser86 - worst part about that, Clayton...I can see you doing that with a completely straight face.