Page 24 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine Stelly Special Ed 2022

Fishing A Carolina Rig- Deep Finesse

A Carolina rig consists of a weighted main line and a free-swinging leader line where the soft plastic is
rigged. This allows the soft plastic to be fished at deeper depts along the bottom which is essentially a
weightless presentation. As the weight is being slowly dragged along the bottom, the bait is traveling hori-
zontally. The Carolina rig is a simple yet highly effective technique. While we introduced this as a bait that
allows an angler to fish the soft plastic at deeper depths, it can be fished at shallower depths using lighter
weights. As an added bonus to fishing the Carolina rig is that almost any soft plastic can be used to catch
fish. Like with any rig, experiment with size and color based upon the conditions

A Carolina rig is composed of a weight, a bead, a swivel, a leader, a hook, and a bait. For those who are visu-
al, please see the labeled image below.

The bead helps to protect the knot from the movement of the weight. For that reason, use the most econom-
ical options available such as those beads you can get from a craft store.

To tie this rig, start with putting your weight on the main line and sliding it up. The weight varies from a half
ounce to one ounce and sometimes even more. The shapes most used are barrel, bullet and egg. Once
your weight has been slid up the main line, slide on the bead and then tie on the barrel swivel. Next will be
the leader. Leaders can range in length from 12-36 inches. The longer the leader, the more freedom the soft
plastic will have to float and move away from the weight. Something to consider is that as the leader length
increases, the way you cast the rig does change. More on that later! At the end of the leader, tie on the hook
and your chosen soft plastic so that the hook is weedless.

The Carolina rig is often used as a search bait. An angler can cover a lot of water and learn a lot about the
bottom composition and various structure and cover where bass may be hiding. One of the biggest players
is the weight. In addition to the probing effect, the weight moving up and down the line and hitting against
the bead adds a clicking sound. This clicking sound acts as an attractant to nearby bass. These are import-
ant, but it is also important to use enough weight to get the bait to the bottom quickly and to keep it there
while it is being drug horizontally across the bottom. As a general guide on the size of weight vs the depth,
use the following.:

½ ounce- 10-15’
1 ounce- 15-20’
1-1/2- 2 ounce- 20’ or more

24 Lady Bass Anglers Association
Fishing A Carolina Rig