Page 27 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine Stelly Special Ed 2022

rock piles, brush piles, gravel or other structural features or pieces of cover. Remember, the more weight you are using,
the more obvious those features will be as you retrieve. As you find these structural features, make a mental note of their
location, and hit those spots with multiple casts. Remember to cast beyond your target so that you can drag your bait
back through that area multiple times. Each time you feel your bait approach the piece of cover, slow your bait down or
stop it momentarily. It is important to also remember that your weight is free to move up and down the main line. As
such, there are going to be times when the weight will fall over the cover, but the soft plastic is still on the other side. The
time when the bait and weight are not in direct contact can often be when the bite takes place.

So, what does a bite on a Carolina rig feel like. Well, that depends on how aggressively or not the fish are biting. There
are times when because of the leader having slack like, the bite might be hard to detect. Be sure to watch your line. At
other times, you will feel that “tick” just as you would on a Texas rig. At other times, it will get heavy as the bass swims
off with it. Once you sense a bite, reel down to take up the slack feeling for the resistance of the fish. Once you feel the
resistance, rear back, and make a wide sweeping hookset. This is important because you are taking up a lot of line and
that wide horizontal hookset helps take up more line. Don’t be timid on this hookset!

Lady Bass Anglers Association 27