Carolina rig in the winter time, probably the most underrated and overlooked time of year for the Carolina rig. Now, it is definitely not winter time here right now. As you could tell, it's still kind of warm, but we're getting into it. What it's coming on very soon. Don't overlook the Carolina rig.
Now, what is exactly the Carolina rig? It's when you have a weight. On your line. Sometimes you have a bead swivel, knot protector, then your swivel and then a leader that leads into your hook and the business end that little snack morsel. This is Missile Baits Baby Destroyer. It's my number one year round bait on a Carolina rig. But the Carolina rig, it's a bait that you're going to throw, let's sink to the bottom and then you're going to drag across the bottom till you feel that cover. Let that bait bounce over, let the weight bounce over. Then you're going to be able to you feel every little thing that that bait does. You can feel the bottom, you know, if you don't have forward facing sonar, it is also a great way to feel what's under there.
If you, if you're just, you don't know what's out there. Maybe you're fishing from the bank. Maybe you're fishing from a boat that doesn't even have a depth finder. You can take a Carolina rig, make four or five casts and realize, OK, there's a rock pile out here. There's some kind of stump looking thing over here, it feels like. And then there's not much in between. So you can, you can find cover. Very effective with that Carolina rig. I typically year round I'm going to throw it on a bait caster. You can throw a Carolina rig on a spinning rod, that's fine, but the principles are going to be kind of the same.
I throw a 7 foot 3 inch. This is a Cashion medium heavy fast taper. So what that means is it's got a faster taper on it, but it's not extra fast, it's not super stiff, it's got a good backbone, but it's still definitely a medium heavy. You don't want to have too stiff of a rod to throw the Carolina rig. In that winter time, I like to have a little longer leader for some reason. I think it, you know, just like in the post spawn period, you want to in the winter time, you want to have at least a three foot type leader. Sometimes I'll go to even a four or five foot in the winter time, something about just being a little more lethargic, something about that that bait lagging a little bit further behind the weight in that winter time.
You got in the winter time, you got to think about what is going on, got cooler temperatures. Colder water. The fish are going to be typically further down in the water column and they're going to be feeding on a lot of times in the winter, dead shad, those shad are dying off. They're falling to the bottom. Those fish are programmed to be looking for stuff that's kind of lifeless kind of stuff that's flopping around on the bottom. Sometimes a a fluke style bait can be really good in the winter time. But I've still I've still caught a ton of fish on the Baby Destroyer in the winter time. That's just probably my go to green pumpkin flash is a is a good one. That little bit of flash I think gives off the presence of bait fish, kind of, you know, a little something's going on. A little sparkle.
That hook right there is a Gamakatsu offset Shank, round bend, worm hook, the 3/0. It's kind of my standard. I've caught a zillion fish on on that hook right there. It is really, really good, especially in that that winter time period. Anytime on a Carolina rig it is good, but that Carolina rig, it is very effective for fishing those deeper areas where those fish are going to be in the winter time.
Points also can be. You know, that's a great place to start. Humps can be very good, but a lot of times in the winter time this is it's probably the the the places you want to look for. Here you've got these long points that drop off into a deeper channel. So you may have a long point that comes 100, 200, 300 yards off the bank. Long point, maybe 10 feet may may taper all the way down to 20 feet, but then it drops off into that river channel. To where it's going to go into 40 feet, 60 feet, 100 feet of water. Where that long tapering point drops off into the river channel. That is a Primo classic type place that you're going to look for in the winter time those fish are going to be using that. You might have a hump that comes up to, you know, 15 or 20 feet, but it's deep on all sides. Another classic Carolina rig type place in the winter time, that's what you're going to look for.
But we didn't we skipped over the line. We touched on the rod that 7’3” medium heavy is the deal. I want a high speed reel, even though it's the the winter time we're going to be fishing this thing a little bit slower. High speed reel is the way that you effectively and efficiently reel the bait in quickly and get it back out to the next next location. High speed is a Seviin reel, the GSC model. 8.3:1 to one gear ratio high. High gear ratio makes it it's just more efficient to fish.
20 LB sunline shooter This is the shooter spool is what it looks like also had this is the 14. This is the leader that I'll put below that SPRO power swivel. So I'll have the 20 LB mainline 1/2 ounce up to a 1 oz. Weight, then I'll have a little bead on there and then a knot protector. So when that that bait is or that weight is is clanking around in there, you're not going to be beating up that knot. And then I have that SPRO power swivel 14 LB Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon.
You want to have that fluorocarbon because fluorocarbon is very dense. That dense line is what transmits all those little. Sensitive rocks, all the sand, all the grass, all that stuff that you're feeling down there. It those signals are transmitted so much better through fluorocarbon than any other type of line. So down to 14 LB and then that Gamakatsu hook with that bait.
There's there are times that I will go with a. With a little swim bait, like a spro, like a Missile Baits Shockwave. I've caught a bunch of fish in the winter time on that Shockwave on that 3.5 that's a little bit smaller one. Just rig it on the Carolina rig. It's got that little boot tail. Just a the plain white Pearl white is is a really good in that winter time along with the this Baby Destroyer. Those 2 are my combination in the winter time.
So you're going to be having that little bit longer leader. You can be having that half oz to 1 oz weight. You're going to fish the heaviest weight that you can get away with without hanging up and without having to break off. That is the biggest deal all year with the Carolina. But especially in that winter time, you're going to be getting that bait. You want to cause a commotion. You want to cause attention to come to where your bait is. You get that. You get that Carolina rig around where fish are kind of hanging out looking for those shad looking for maybe the last little bit of crawfish to be to be scooting around or maybe the 1st crawfish to come out of their hibernation and start scooting around, that's where I think that that. That baby destroyer looks a lot like a crawfish scooting around the little Shockwave looks a lot like a, you know, a bait fish that's still kind of kicking a little bit around on the bottom fish.
Those in the we're talking, you know, deeper water. 10 feet is kind of a minimum in the winter time for me, 10 to 40 feet of water. I think that that that money area most lakes now is going to be 20 to 30 feet. That's the you know, we're talking throughout the middle part of the country. Where, you know, 20 feet is deeper water. That's kind of the the deeper end is definitely where you want to go. All the herring type lakes in the Southeast. Carolina rig is a really, really good way to to to fish deep. Everybody is still throwing the underspins and drop shots and the jig head minnows. But don't overlook that Carolina rig that ball and chain in that winter time can be really, really good.
The very first time I've ever saw or heard about a Carolina Rig was a tournament, a Bassmaster tournament from back in the early 90s. I was just kind of getting started. I'd read a little bit about the Carolina Rig, but I had never seen anything on the Carolina Rig and it was a winter time tournament on Lake Hartwell. That was back before Hartwell had the the blue back Heron in it and back before it was really, really good. But the first time I ever heard about it was on like a tournament on Lake Hartwell. Guy was in second place. Guy was blowing it away on a rattle trap. He found one area that was just loaded. 2nd place by a good margin was on a Carolina rig. Had a lot. Guy had a long leader and that was kind of the classic way to fish in the winter time. In that part of the country, it's first time I've ever, ever heard of it back in the early, early 90s.
I just think that's really cool that it was, you know, so long ago that in, in the technique is still effective. It's effective year round. It's definitely effective in the winter time. Take that Carolina rig. Prowl around those deeper areas. Don't be afraid of a little too much rock. If you get around too much rock, instead of having that the big one ounce sinker, maybe you go with two half oz sinkers if you're getting around some areas that have a heavier rock and you're starting to to get hung up a little too much. Two smaller weights, 2 half oz smaller weights versus 11 oz Or you know, half of whatever weight you're throwing can be, can be a good way to to not get hung up near as much.
You can fish a Carolina rig all day, even in rough stuff. If you do it properly, you're going to be dragging it trying to keep that bottom contact. But once you do have the weight come in contact with some rock or something, something on the bottom, you're going to lift your rod tip up and try to lift it over that cover and shake it. Over that cover and a lot of times it'll just come right on through.
Winter time Carolina rig. Great combination. Be sure to be sure to fish it. Do reel up all your slack, long sweeping hook sets winter time or anytime Carolina rig. Catching a lot of fish, big fish, all species of fish and definitely catching bass year rou
