Best Rig For Rocky River Bottom

[Lord Castlereagh]

Fishing the Potomac river and it's got a rocky bottom that takes a lot of my lures. What's the best rig to avoid this? Texas? Carolina? Wacky? Something else?

 

Thanks

[scaleface]

Usually anything that sinks  into the rocks is lost . A trick that I use is a jig with a plastic body much thicker than the leadhead . That way the plastic becomes wedged and  its much easier to pull free than a lead weight . A skinny Road Runner head works well with piece of Yum Dinger .  Its not fool-proof but I lose fewer baits that way .

[geo g]

I use as light a weight that is possible for the conditions that day.  Many of our man made lakes are full of jagged rocks both on the bottom and the rock walls.  A light weighted plastic will come free much easier then plastics with a heavy weight.  If you feel resistance don't set unless you feel a pull of the line.  If snagged, lower the rod with slack, and then pull straight up.  This usually frees a snag when from rock.  If you just set and pull you usually lose the rig.  The lightest weight possible solves most of the problems.  With light weight you just fish slower especially in deep water.  When I talk of deep water I'm talking 10 or more feet in Florida.

[Scott F]

This is where an unweighted senko type plastic works very well.  Bass are used to looking up for food floating down a river and senkos do this very well without sinking too quickly and getting snagged in the rocks.

[frogflogger]

I just found out about river rock lures - they make a sled/jig? anyway they make a great jig that you screw soft plastic bait into - I fished it for hours in our rocky snaggy river - caught fish and very few snags - with a white 4" twister tail it is a killer walleye bait and with a tube it is good for sm - there are any number of ways to rig it

[jr231]

Depends on the time of year for me... Also water clarity, speed of current , and depth. 

 

I like floating/suspending jerkbaits in rivers... Rapala is the best bang for your buck IMO, and I feel better losing 7 bucks to a snag than I do a 20 dollar jerkbait. 

 

I agree with scaleface also about the small jig with meatier plastic; much harder to get wedged ..

 

Senko/fluke styles seem to work in every body of water I fish in.. 

 

If you're getting skunked reach for a mepps , I've caught more species on this than any other lure!! And don't even use them often.. 

[frogflogger]

River Rock lures is a Virginia company

[fishwizzard]

16 hours ago, frogflogger said:

I just found out about river rock lures - they make a sled/jig? anyway they make a great jig that you screw soft plastic bait into - I fished it for hours in our rocky snaggy river - caught fish and very few snags - with a white 4" twister tail it is a killer walleye bait and with a tube it is good for sm - there are any number of ways to rig it

A few places sell them, usually called "sled" or "draggin" heads.  I have been using them for a few years now and they are excellent on rocky bottoms.  I use them with all kinds of plastics from tubes to small swimbaits.  

 

 

[WRB]

As everyone has already suggested use the lightest weight possible and use weight shapes designed to reduce snagging. 

There skill envolved to reduce snags and that is keeping in touch with your weight and not letting it drop into rocky crevices by controlling any slack line.

FC line sinks and if you allow slack in the line it will get snagged between rocks. Mono or Copoly and braid lines are less likely to snag.

Drop shot rig is designed to lose the weight only when it snags, good choice.

Ball head jigs and football head jigs reduce snags.

Tubular Mojo Jo style cylinder weights reduce snags. Rock hoppers are a cylinder weight with a hole in the top and short wires on the bottom that reduce snags.

Lots of choices for bottom bumping rigs that have less chance of snagging, the bottom line....it's up to you to be aware of what is going on underwater.

Tom