Truth here! Have a c-rig terminal box and these are the majority of the hooks in there. The rest are some freebies I got from Trokar.

I'm not the most experienced CRig guy, but my experience is that most of my strikes have been more of the fish running with the bait and not a bump like a jig or TX rig. I typically use a creature bait or baby rattlesnake and fish usually go after those pretty good. Mark Davis has a video on Crig and he uses a 3/0 Worm hook. I like to use a mono leader because in theory it floats where flouro sinks. Good luck!

I used to fish a Carolina Rig often back in the days when there was hydrilla in Fork. I fished it shallow and deep. I tended to set the hook with the sideways sweep that most talk about here. But I have set it like a Texas rigged worm but that always seemed awkward to me. If you aren't setting the hook then set the hook harder. And I say this knowing at times regardless of what you do, the hook doesn't get set which can be frustrating. I've had times where the fish allowed me to reel it most of the way in and then it realized the food it was eating was too much trouble. And then the fish just opened its' mouth and let the bait go.

I Txpose a 3/0 or 4/0 Owner rigging hook and it works just fine. It is weedless and since it is Txposed it has very little plastic to go through. Great hook up ratio.

Next time you are out toss your C-rig into shallow water where you can see the bait and see if the "floating" mono has your bait suspended off the bottom. I would be willing to bet your bait is sitting on bottom unless you are using a floating bait.

It is a sweeping motion with some force. If you are using a thicker hook, you'll need even more force to drive the hook in. You are having to move a lot of line thru the water before the hook sets. Not gentle like with a crank bait. I still use the same simple gear that I did decades ago. Mono, swivel, brass weight and bead with lighter mono leader and hook. No bobber stops or any other stuff. Most of my bites I can feel the thump thump before setting the hook. I rarely lose a fish. It is one of my favorite ways to fish.

This is very true. The weight of the soft plastic and hook will keep the lure on the bottom instead of floating in the water. Also keep in mind that if you're fishing shallow water that the fish will visibly be able to see the mono line in clear water.

If you realllllly want to increase your hook-up ratio then look no further:



And I also buy into the mono floating deal. Might make no difference whatsoever but I think if your bait is already somewhat buoyant then it helps.

I use the Roboworm rebarbs for just about everything, c-rig is not one of them. Reason being, the rebarb hook is too light when setting the hook it flexes / bends. I've experienced this first hand. The 1/2+ weight, the swing hookset, etc. are just too much for it.

That's interesting. I can't remember who it was but I saw a video of a pro suggesting using a lighter wire hook for C-rigs because oftentimes you're making a really long cast and a thinner diameter hook will penetrate easier with less force.

Plus I caught my first 10 lber on a C-rig using this hook so maybe to use it properly, you need a more medium action rod.

Ok.....going to change to the offset shank round bend 4/0 worm hook and a fluoro leader......and hit them harder with a sweep. Will report back! Thanks to everyone for their thoughts!

Yeah, that's probably where I went wrong. My C-rig rod is more of a MH/H rod with a good taper. I do use rebarb hooks when I mojo rig (like a light weight c-rig) and a M rod.

Your sweep should be from low to high. Move a lot of line and use the rod length to your best advantage. The point at the water and sweep is great,, but the sweep should be to your oposite shoulder!

I for one use only a 3/16 oz bullet weight down to 30ft I use no beads only a swivel and I use hooks to suit the size bait I am throwing. I use a lite weight for one reason and that is to slow me down to keep contact with the bottom . It has worked for me for 40 + years and 6 double digit fish three of which came on c rigs

+1 This is the way to do a hook set.