So I have been using Santee Cooper Rigs almost exclusively since I started catfishing. I have started thinking about three way rigs for drifting. Even a double hook Kentucky rig. I see the other rigs used a lot for river fishing but as long as I'm moving they should perform the same. What do y'all use... Should I mix it up or stick with old reliable...

I run a three-way rig from around March 1 when I stop using big baits and start anchoring shallow until around June 1 when I primarily pull boards. The 3 way is better suited for anchoring shallow and the slip sinker santee drift rig is better for drifting. The 3 way rig will get tangled on itself when you cast them far 10x as much as my slip sinker rigs. Some guys overcome this by dropping their baits instead of casting them but I prefer to send mine long. The reason the slip sinker rig hags less is because the slip sinker will separate from the hook and leader when you cast them and when they hit the water they are farther apart so they don’t tangle. I wish I could use the 3 way santee all year but fir me it’s not nearly as good for drifting as my santee drift rigs.

Two hook Kentucky rig with twisted dropper loops works very good, because twisting makes loops more rigid. I use ~ 7” loops. Deflection of twisted loops during casting are ~ the same and that prevents tangling between loops.

I try to run them all when I'm in the boat. Santee rigs, with drifting weights, double hook Kentucky rigs, and suspended Carolina rigs with an egg sinker, if I'm moving. If I'm anchored, usually Carolina rigs with a no roll, and a few Santee rigs, with a coin sinker instead of a drifting weight. If I can get on the Brazos when there is actually current, I got a few 3 way rigs for bumping too.

I quit using a double hook Kentucky rig many years ago because when I would hang a really big fish it would always come back tangled and wrapped. The 2nd hook would sometimes end up buried in the catfish injuring it and I hooked one in the belly really bad once so I quit using them. I still use a Stinger rig but both hooks are in the same bait and I don’t have the same problem. The other problem is when you hang a fish that is a side runner, the double hook rig will tangle any of the other rigs the fish crosses since there is an exposed hook and your left with a mess that can’t be untangled. For you guys that want to save yourself from a guaranteed cluster [censored] than I would recommend not using a double hook rig unless both hooks are going into 1 bait and in the event you hang a toad, you won’t injure a big fish you intend on releasing.

I don't know the name of this rig if there is a name but since I made it up myself, I'll just call it an SB Catfish rig. I use a cut up crappie rig, snap swivels, 50 lb leader, A snelled circle hook, and a weight determined by water speed.

I cut the beads, swivels, and arms from the crappie rig, I cut a 2' piece of leader. I also snell my hook with a seperate 10" piece of leader. I then tie one arm of the crappie rig on the leader about 5" from the end the same way it was tied on the crappie rig. I then tie a swivel to both ends of the leader. On the long end of the leader I connect the weight. The short end I connect to my fishing pole. I then tie the snelled hook onto the arm of the rig. I also place a small/tiny bobber or small hunk of Styrofoam (if needed) about 2" from the hook to keep the bait elevated just off the bottom. I stiff line the rod with cut or live bait and wait for the big one. If I'm fishing from the bank or casting from the boat I also use a larger bobber above the rig to help it to be semi hang-upless by suspending the rig straight off the bottom. NOTE: this float does not have to float on the surface. It just needs to be big enough to keep the SB rig hanging straight up and down

I rarely if ever get the rig tangled on itself and have only lost one or two a year in 10 years to a hang up. I used to retie 3 to 10 hang ups every trip.