Carolina Rig

[-nick-]

Would this be good to use in cold weather? I went fishing this morning and it was freezing cold and i didnt even get a bite. I didnt even see any fish for that matter. But I tried everything that would be good to use in cold water and got nothing. Would a carolina rig be any good?

[Micro]

Could be.  Give it a whirl.  On the few occassions I've tried them, they produced well, especially in fall.  I don't have a good reason why I haven't done it more.  But I plan to.  I bought several packs of the pre-rigged weights from Strike King just today.

[BassNub]

what motion would u use?

[Flameseeker]

Try using downsized lures. When the water gets colder I would use smaller lures and fish deeper water. If your determined to fish carolina rig then try using a zoom fluke or possibly a 4" lizard.  

[fishhard]

I would try using a blade bait, and just cast it out let it sink to the bottom, and just lift the rod tip until you feel the vibration and let it sink again, then just do the same thing but just in different rhythms, it seems to work for me, even when their is snow on the ground.  Or do the same thing with a rattle trap, just fish it like you would fish a jig.  Lifting the tip until you feel the vibrations.  Another thing is a jerkbait, twitched about three times real fast, then let sit for as long as you can stand it, then three slow twitches, letting it sit about 15 seconds between each twitch.

Good Luck, Let me know if you try it and if it works for you.

[-nick-]

alright thanks guys!

And for the carolina rig how do you retrieve it? Just constant reeling or what?

[Steve P.]

Throw it out. Let it sink to the bottom. Drag it slowly with the rod a foot or two. Take up slack with the reel as you prepare to move it again.

A lot of times you will not feel the fish "hit" it so to speak. When you go to move it with your rod, it will feel mushy or just "load up". You'll just feel the fish surge with it. This is why it's important to move the rig with your rod, and not your reel.

A crig requires a powerful rod and powerful sweeping hookset. The hookset is different than a Texas rig. You need a 7ft or longer rod with this technique.

[Matt 825]

Carolina rigs will work all year, you just have to change the baits you are putting on it and slow down in the winter.  

Also as Fishhard said a blade bait is hard to beat in the dead of winter.  They love to eat silver buddies in the winter and I love to feed it to them.   ;D

[roadwarrior]

Here's the stickie in the top section of this forum:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1120348381

8-)

[steelhorse1]

great info .. slow  works best on cold deep water

[gatrboy53]

the c-rig is a good cold water presentation because you can work it slow and it is a bottom bait which is where the bass will be most of the time.down size baits  and pause 30 sec. or more between pulls,dont pull far or fast.the other thing to consider when useing a c-rig is location.deep points ,drops,holes.

[EastTexasBassin]

I've been doing pretty well with a c-rig lately, and I was previously more of a t-rig guy.  Its great for windy conditions because you can use a nice big weight without making the bait look too bulky.  It gets down quick and its great for covering a large area of deep structure to find where the fish are.  

My best lures on a c-rig have been the flappin hog (gycb) and the baby brush hog (zoom)