How fast do you typically drag a carolina rig?

 

I assume a creep for cold water?

 

I assume faster in warmer water. How fast is too fast for warm water?

I’ve always slow dragged it with a pause. Kinda like dragging a jig. But I never had a lot of success or tried it a lot. The ponds I fish the bottom is just so weedy and scummy it is a pain and your constant cleaning stuff off the weight 

Bass are faster than any retrieved lure.......

Learned from an OG on Champlain that if the boat drifts at .8 to 1.1 mph you'll get bit (Summer).  Well that has proven to be true for hundreds (thousands?  I'm old...) of smallies up here for me. That's not terribly fast.

St Lawrence only SLIGHTLY faster than the current that being said I have caught them at 6mph drifts there.  So to me it's matching a realistic speed of the little creepy crawly on the bottom in a given environment. 

 

Think of it this way.  If it were a like creature that weighed half an ounce (craw/helgrimite).  Would it have enough muscle/energy to skitter quickly on the bottom the same distance as a cast?  No, not consistently or realistily.  If you're doing a Fluke then would a dying fish have that energy and chose to be on the bottom where it can't escape?  Nope.

 

For me understanding drifts of fishing a nymph in fly fishing was a huge advantage to learning to rig.  Verrrrrrrrrrry similar ideas.

Some of the places I fish are muck bottoms, some are more sandy/clean. 

 

That makes a lot of sense @webertime, thanks.

I fish Carolina rigs with a 3/4 oz weight and cover deep water quickly with it. Slower than a crankbait  but faster than a Texas rig or jig. 

I use a C-rig to cover water quickly, but even in the early spring cold water that isn't what I would consider fast. The only thing I change for different water temps is the leader length. 

Start slow and speed up until I start getting bites. I drag the bait using the rod versus reeling.  Only time I use it is deeper water like 35'.

 

Allen 

I haven’t fished a traditional C-rig in decades. I use the Slip Shot rig or Finesse C-rig since the 80’s when teaching my son how to bass fish. Using the mainline without a leader and adjustable weight to hook length with 1 knot at the hook saves a lot time, the cylinder weight reduces snags and the sliding weight improves strike detection.

Tom

I use a split shot rig some myself. But I am exploring traditional Carolina rigs, though from shore since I'm bank bound currently.

Fishing from bank , I would go with a light rig or split shot. I have some cylinder weights that I have never used.

I seldom use a Carolina Rig on my lake;  guaranteed to snag on the rocky bottom.

I generally use a 1/4 or 1/2 ounce weight. Though I have used 3/4 ounce when I wanted to get a little deeper on a few points I fish.

I stopped fishing it a long time ago. Too many snags and too many missed or lost fish. I went to a traditional Texas rig and in the past few years, the free rig. I still fish both and have much better success with them than a C-rig. 

C Rig is one of the most effective ways to catch em in my area.  Wind and Bottom cover matter but I've caught a lot of fish dragging over rocky points and peagravel banks.  Also love to C rig parallel down a riprap bank or dam wall. Hookset matters with a side sweep instead of overhead hookset will catch a lot more fish.  Babybrush hog, creature baits, stickbaits, flukes, trick worms, twintails... just sink that thing and let the boat do the work while staying in touch with the line. Some bites just feel mushy without a lot of action but turn out to be nice fish.  

Can’t imagine casting a egg sinker C-rig into rip rap and getting back!

Tom

I've been wanting to try the lindy no snag sinker for carolina riggin' in rough stuff. Anyone here ever try it?

12 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

I've been wanting to try the lindy no snag sinker for carolina riggin' in rough stuff. Anyone here ever try it?

Yes , you will never go back. They work great 

I move the weight fast enough and long enough to get my bait to plane up off the bottom. The pause is long enough to let it fall to the bottom.  

13 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I've been wanting to try the lindy no snag sinker for carolina riggin' in rough stuff. Anyone here ever try it?

Phenix Rock Crawler does the same and is way cheaper 

On 7/24/2020 at 9:59 PM, papajoe222 said:

Here you go;

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/northland-fishing-tackle-rock-runner-slip-bouncer

We used these for fishing rip rap for walleye and they work just as well for C-rigs. I actually use them for running small/shallow cranks deep, which is something the fish don't see much.

Another option is a Lindy sinker. They'll occasionally get hung up too, but no where near as often as other types.  You can find them by looking up sinkers for walleye fishing.

This post was from years ago, but I really like the idea.  May have to try these.  My lake has rip rap with wood stuck all over in a few areas and it can be a nightmare for most presentations.

Reminds me of a walleye bottom bouncer rig.  I have a couple but never tied on a bass lure.  Probably should try.

I still use a C-rig mid-summer through Fall in high percentage areas (points, rock rubble, etc). It can absolutely out-fish anything else at times. 
 

In terms of retrieve, I try to remember that I’m using my longest rod and pulling it a further distance than I think I am. I try to drag the weight about 18-30 inches at a time before pausing. Slower in cold water, faster in warm.
 

Sometimes I will pull it 4 feet at a time but fairly slowly to grind the bottom and call fish in to see what’s going on.

 

I prefer floating plastics though and if you drag too much without a pause, the plastic is less likely to float up into their face. Sometimes the bottom is silty and/or the weight stirs up bottom composition, so the pause and floating plastics above the debris into the fish’s vision is critical. Remember, it’s darker down there - even to the fish…

 

Best floating plastics for me are Big Bite Baits - Flying Squirrel, or BPS Floating Lizard. 

I always use a Carolina keeper instead of the swivel with a Zoom fish Dr or lizard.

It's a summertime deal for me. Use a lead weight not tungsten. Lead will give a little and help you pull it loose, hopefully,

Fishing from the bank and dragging it up hill is asking for it to get hung up, much like an A-rig.

Thanks for all the tips.