Carolina Rig Retrieve...thoughts

[Bartableman7]

What kind of retrieve are you all using and does it change based on the lure used?  I love that I can feel the bottom so well with that 1 oz sinker, but should I drag it, hop it or sweep-stop etc?  Does something usually work really well? (I usually use a tube or a Power worm)

[GaryH]

I usually drag it with pauses. 

[WRB]

Rarely use a heavy ball & chain (C-Rig). Prefer using a finesse C-rig (Slip Shot) with cylinder mojo weights between 1/8 oz to 3/8 oz depending on the wind and line being used. 

Slow drag retrieved, the weight provides all the action needed. It’s like a drop shot rig easy to over fish it.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

I like to reel them along bottom and cover a lot of ground (water)

[Catt]

3/4 oz tungsten bullet weight

Drag it with the rod tip up like a t-rig or jig.

[rtwvumtneer6]

Slow sweeping drag, reel slack, slow drag, reel slack.  Rinse and repeat.  Did I mention slow?  I find it painful to fish this way, but it works.

[huZZah]

1 hour ago, rtwvumtneer6 said:

I find it painful to fish this way, but it works.

Yeah not my first choice, but sometimes the only choice.  And C rigs work or I wouldn’t bother. 

[Big Hands]

I turn the reel handle to move the bait so slowly that the sloths ask me to kindly 'pep it up'. If the bait hangs on anything, then I may have to use the rod to work it through whatever is hanging it up. 

 

I use both heavy Carolina rig setups and the more finesse slipshot rigs. I like the feedback the heavy weight provides. If I am anchored up and using a 3/4 to 1 oz weight, I will often close my eyes so I can just concentrate on the feel, and what it would look like slowly, tediously crawling up and over the cover. 

 

Time and a place. And it's getting to be that time in the places I fish.

[TnRiver46]

Honestly I like to fish it a good bit faster than a texas rig

[scaleface]

33 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Honestly I like to fish it a good bit faster than a texas rig

Me too . I user it to cover deep water fast . Thats why the  heavy weight .

[DaubsNU1]

Haven't used the C-rig in a long time. Most of the lakes I fish have lots of vegetation and/or flooded timber.

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Haven't used the C-rig in a long time. Most of the lakes I fish have lots of vegetation and/or flooded timber.

It’s perfect for that!!! I learned to use it in lake toho Florida of all places. 4-5 feet of water

[DaubsNU1]

7 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

It’s perfect for that!!! I learned to use it in lake toho Florida of all places. 4-5 feet of water

 

Man, sounds good, and I would be interested to hear your technique. 

 

I fished yesterday and was catching bass on white spinner bait in 2-3 feet of water...the vegetation was so tall....if I let the SB get anything more than 6-7" deep, would get hung with weeds.

 

I did try drop-shot in the creek channel...broke off four rigs getting snagged on timber. That's when I opted to run the spinner-bait shallow...worked out...put 20+ bass on the board. Mostly small...largest was 14"

 

 

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, DaubsNU1 said:

 

Man, sounds good, and I would be interested to hear your technique. 

 

I fished yesterday and was catching bass on white spinner bait in 2-3 feet of water...the vegetation was so tall....if I let the SB get anything more than 6-7" deep, would get hung with weeds.

 

I did try drop-shot in the creek channel...broke off four rigs getting snagged on timber. That's when I opted to run the spinner-bait shallow...worked out...put 20+ bass on the board. Mostly small...largest was 14"

 

 

The hardest part there would be casting it! I thought my cousin was crazy when he rigged them up in FLA but it’s quite effective. Basically it gets your bait right on the bottom instantly and keeps it there. There’s not much time wasted with your bait being out of the strike zone. He said a lot of times the bass will even grab the 1 oz sinker on splash down. I believe terry “big show” scroggins might have taught him a lot about it. There’s not much technique to it, just reel it along the bottom. Setting the hook is the hardest part for me. It’s also something that shallow fish don’t often see, therefore making it more effective at times . 

[volzfan59]

I'm a little late to this one, but like other's I drag my C-rigs using a sweeping motion. I used to pull up on the rod tip, but for me I have more feel sweeping the rod tip. I usually fish the rig pretty slowly but as always, let the bass tell you how they want the bait.

[scaleface]

33 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

 

Looks like spinnerbait water to me . I wouldnt consider a C-rig here .

[TnRiver46]

32 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Looks like spinnerbait water to me . I wouldnt consider a C-rig here .

It would end up in the top of a tree fairly easy! 

[J Francho]

I cast it out, let it settle, and then reel it in really fast, cut it off, and fish a Texas Rig instead ?

[billmac]

I haven't tried it, but I know some anglers on the St. Lawrence are using C-Rigs and just doing controlled drifting in the heavy current.

 

Even as I'm typing the above, I'm thinking, isn't the current going to push the bait ahead of the weight?  I have to talk to some of the guys I know who are doing it, because that doesn't seem like an ideal situation.  I must be missing something.

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, billmac said:

I haven't tried it, but I know some anglers on the St. Lawrence are using C-Rigs and just doing controlled drifting in the heavy current.

 

Even as I'm typing the above, I'm thinking, isn't the current going to push the bait ahead of the weight?  I have to talk to some of the guys I know who are doing it, because that doesn't seem like an ideal situation.  I must be missing something.

I’ve seen it used on Champlain much more than st Lawrence but that’s just observing on TV and YouTube 

[billmac]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve seen it used on Champlain much more than st Lawrence but that’s just observing on TV and YouTube 

I remember seeing Scott Martin on Champlain getting quite a few bites on the C-Rig, but losing most of them.  Doesn't mean much but it stuck out in my mind.

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, billmac said:

I remember seeing Scott Martin on Champlain getting quite a few bites on the C-Rig, but losing most of them.  Doesn't mean much but it stuck out in my mind.

I saw that as well. I think Jamie Hartman did very well with it the previous year when the elites came To Champlain 

[Darth-Baiter]

Gah. I should have tried the c-rig yesterday.  
 

i would have peed on a spark plug if I thought it would have helped.   My drop shot was an utter fail. I should have covered more ground with this rig. 
 

next weekend. 

[WRB]

My son started fishing with me shortly after he could walk and was water safe. Attention span is short at 3 years when I made him a 4’ light spinning rod with Zebco Mini Omega trigger spin cast reel. 

I put a rod holder in the back deck to hold the rod when got bored and could play with his toys. The rig I used for him was the slip shot rig and 3” smoke S & P reaper, size 1 worm hook, 5 lb Max UG line. Tommy grew up using this rig and caught 100’s of bass dragging the finesse C-rig behind the boat after he tired of casting it.

 I fish slowly while using a jig keeping an eye on the son and his rod. I would hear “Dad slow down” or “stop” his rod would be bend over and was fighting a bass. My son developed into a expert split shot angler, far better then I will ever be because he know to let the rig do it’s own action and phenomenal ability to detect strikes.

It’s truely a do nothing slow presentation just dragging along the bottom. Perfect back seater rig.

Tom

 

[PressuredFishing]

21 hours ago, WRB said:

Rarely use a heavy ball & chain (C-Rig). Prefer using a finesse C-rig (Slip Shot) with cylinder mojo weights between 1/8 oz to 3/8 oz depending on the wind and line being used. 

Slow drag retrieved, the weight provides all the action needed. It’s like a drop shot rig easy to over fish it.

Tom

Agreed so much, we are from California so im sure we love the good old split shot rig! I use the mojo weights alot but something nobody ever has talked about and what im using and have been enjoying using is simply a bullet weight pegged with a tooth pick 12"-36 inches above the line, for what thats worth, seems to come through the cover well and does the same thing.