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Carolina rigs are simple to assemble and simple to fish. They're nothing more than a weight, a bead for color and to protect the knot, a swivel, a leader and a hook. Add your favorite plastic. Davies likes a 4-inch Centipede by Zoom, known in bass circles as a French Fry worm. The Carolina rig is also a tremendous search tool that can be fished fast. Position the boat on a point over deeper water and fan-cast the Carolina rig to the shallows and return it. By the time you are done, you'll know the location of every boulder, weed patch and brush pile on the spot. Cast and reel relatively quickly until you feel the weight bump into something. Then slow down to entice a bass to strike. If nothing, reel again until you feel more cover and then slow again. Daves uses a heavy 1 ounce or ¾ quarter-ounce Rattlin' NO-SNAGG¨ at first to better feel the bottom. Once he has a mental picture of the point, he switches to lighter weights, 1/4 or 1/2 ounce, to feel the fish better. If he connects with fish shallow, he'll reposition the boat in close to shore so he can cast parallel to the bank to stay in the effective zone longer. If he finds 'em deep, he moves the boat so he can fan-cast through deeper water. Once through the strike zone, he reels the rig in and starts again. Leader lengths vary from 14 to 20 inches long in the spring when fish are shallower and relating to the brush. He will lengthen the leader as the year progresses. They may be 3 feet in summer and grow to 4 or 5 feet in fall. He uses larger plastics in the summer, too. Keep the hook-size relatively small to avoid hampering the bait's action. A 1/0 or 2/0 will do. Woo Daves is Mr. Consistency. The 25-year veteran of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society trail and Angler of the Year in 2000 for the Eastern Division has qualified for 15 Classics. He had narrowly missed the winner's circle at earlier Classics by finishing second and third by margins of just 6 ounces and 13 ounces respectively. Daves previously did well on other big waters in the Great Lakes system, including Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. But, this was the first time he fished for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Lake Michigan. He began practice fishing in the Calumet River. He reasoned the main lake would become rough and quickly dangerous, thus making long runs to fish impossible if the wind began to blow from the east during the tournament. He caught some largemouth bass in the Calumet, but they were small and scattered. He also figured other anglers would be concentrating on the rivers hoping to escape the brunt of Mother Nature. Strategies that call for fishing in crowds doesn't usually win bass tournaments. Daves decided to search the main-lake shoreline for structure that might hold smallmouth bass, the larger of the two species of bass in the system. He was rewarded when he found an aging seawall near the mouth of the Chicago River, just a half mile from the launch site. He tried a NO-SNAGG¨ Carolina rig along its face. "I caught two fish on back-to-back casts," Daves said. Not wanting anyone to see him at the spot, he soon left, but returned briefly another day to make certain bass were still present. He caught two more smallmouth and made the fateful decision to fish there during the Classic. Rough water forced Daves to resort to a tube jig to control his presentation 8 to 12 feet down along the face of the wall. Believing the lightest weights provide the best feel of what's happening below, he started with 1/8th ounce jigs and went to ¼ ounce when wind blew hardest. He used green/pumpkin tubes and dipped the last ½ inch in chartreuse dye. He covered it with Jack's Juice Crayfish to mimic the scent of a hungry smallmouth's favorite meal. Another key was line size. He started by casting twice the first day with 6 pound test line and caught two fish. Fearing a break-off, he switched to 8 pound test, but caught nothing. He returned to 6 pound again and began catching fish again. When able, he tossed the Carolina rig along the seawall's face and caught a keeper that allowed him to cull and add to his slim winning margin of just 1 pound, 2 ounces. His total was 14 smallmouth weighing 27 pounds, 13 ounces. He could weigh five bass each day and culled one or two each of the first two days. Woo thinks the clear water of Lake Michigan figured in both the need to use light line and the location of the fish. Good water clarity had allowed a thin band of weeds to grow along the face of the seawall. He believes the vegetation attracted crayfish, which in turn attracted the smallies. Daves had never used a NO-SNAGG¨ sinker before the Classic. Now, he is sold on their ability to go where no bait has gone before, whether used with plastic baits for bass or livebait for walleyes and other fish. "I can go through a box of those round weights in a day," Daves said. "But, I didn't lose one NO-SNAGG¨ after fishing for 10 to 12 hours in rocks and brush. You can't catch fish when you are sitting in the bottom of the boat retying." Nothing could be finer than to use a Carolina. Just ask Woo. |
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| © 2003 - 2008 All Rights Reserved. Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle, Inc. |
Nothin’
Finer Than a Caroliner
