Guide To Set Up A Carolina Rig For Bass Fishing

Posted by Rosalie Galvez on January 26th, 2021

Where one can use the Carolina Rig?

One can use this rig almost anywhere they feel sure there's bass to catch. Heavy areas of cover are the only places one has to stay away from and sites where a lot of trees or other big, tough vegetation exist that can catch hold of the rig's components and snag one up. Other than that, one’s Carolina Rig playground is their river. One should make sure to drag the points up and down and around it. Strike those humps and grassy underwater areas.

When one senses that the arrangement is altering, they should pay special attention. One should stop moving their rig if they feel this and let it rest in the area for a little while. One might just be above a mine of gold. Bass is going to hold in one place that is separate from everything around it. Work again in this field, and it should prove fruitful.

Fishing a Carolina Rig is often referred to as dragging "Old Ball and Chain;" due to the strong love-hate relationship, many bass anglers have developed this strategy. They hate it because carrying around a heavyweight all day isn't as fun as flipping a jig or working a top-water frog. They love it, though, because it's flat out catching fish when other methods don't or can't.

Carolina rig fishing is difficult to beat in terms of flexibility. It operates north to south in all forms of lakes, clear to stained, and in all the seasons of the year. Yet many new bass anglers, perhaps because of the more involved rigging required, are reluctant to learn the Carolina Rig setup. This guide will take the interested ones through each part of the C-Rig step by step, and the next time they reach the lake, they will be ready to throw it.

Components of Carolina Rig Setup

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The basic Carolina Rig framework comprises of a few simple components that, when combined, create a subtle appearance that the bottom bass has a hard time resisting. To understand how and why it operates, let's break down the Carolina Rig into 3 easily comprehensible parts.

Rod and Reel

The best rod for Carolina rig fishing is a Medium Strong, Fast Action casting rod, and a decent 6.3:1 or 7.1:1 gear ratio baitcasting reel. The longer rod allows you to make a long sweeping hook set that can easily pick up any slack line, and the fast action lets you penetrate the hook into the mouth of the fish. When making the sweep hook setup, the higher gear ratios allow you to reel line up quickly. Here are a few nice and inexpensive Carolina Rig combos, which can be used for many other applications as well.

7’1” MH St. Croix Mojo Jigs/Baits Rod + Shimano Curado Reel

7’ MH Abu Garcia Veracity Rod + Abu Garcia Revo STX Reel

Main Line

For other baits, the line can be just about anything, or whatever one usually uses. Usually, the best fishing line for a Carolina Rig is 15-20 lb of fluorocarbon or 20-30 lb of braided line for the mainline. Since one is going to make long casts, while setting the hook, the low stretch design of these lines will help. Bear in mind, though, that a larger diameter line tends to get more stuck in the current and can place a bow in the line that makes hook sets difficult.

15-20lb Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon

20-30lb Sufix 832 Advanced Braid

Weights, Bead, & Swivel

Brass: A 1/2 to 3?4 oz brass bullet weight is the most common Carolina Rig weight. More noise than the lead is produced by brass. However, there are several variants you can try, such as a cylindrical Mojo type weight that can maneuver through grass a little easier.

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