Anyone got any tips for the good ol' C-rig? Seems like I don't get bit as much as I should. How long of a leader do you use? I know it depends on time of year, structure, etc...and what would you change in those scenarios? What pound test is your leader? And main for that matter? What kind of baits do you throw on it? Weight size? Tungsten or lead? Beads or clacker? Anything you can think of...fill me in!

I heard this time of year big worms are good carolina rigged, prefarable 10" power worms, 1/2 oz weight with about a 20 to 24" leader.

I use 30 lb braid main line with a 12-15 lb mono leader. During the summer, I use a shorter leader than I do in the winter, my leader is 24-30 inches right now. In most conditions, a 1/2 oz brass weight with a bead and a clacker.

My favorite baits are brush hogs, baby brush hogs, flukes (both sizes, depends on the water body) and GB Rattlesnakes.

Try a bait that will float. Like Strike King 3X baits. Use Mono so it will float. Fluorocarbon will absorb water and keep it down.

I didn't go over the complete setup:
40# Suffix 832 Braid, main line.
14-17# Mono. I use Gamma Co-Polymer. Big Game will work. I will make this about 3' long in the spring and gradually make it longer as we get into summer, 6'. (This will depend on how high up the water column I want the floating bait to float up. This is a killer when fish are suspended on guard rails on underwater bridges.)

A few notes. Use a Crane swivel. To do all Palomar knots:
Remember the first knot should be your leader to the Crane Swivel, then connect the braid to the Crane Swivel with another Palomar knot. Then do the same with your hook. Remember to allow about 6"-12" for tying knots.

These work.

http://www.xcitebaits.com/get_xcited/product_info.php?cPath=16&products_id=588

I use 20 pound McCoys Mean Green as a main line with a 15 pound test leader of McCoys, or P-line CXX 17 main, 15 leader.
Leader length, I use what Paul Elias came up with after a lot of experimenting with short and long leader lengths. He reels the weight to the tip of the rod and has the bait hang somewhere between the last two guides on the rod. It works for me.
Any soft plastic works well on a C-rig you just have to throw what you like or what works for you.
I use a 1 oz weight either brass n glass or a 1 oz. lead slip sinker and a glass bead.

I started with Zoom french frys, many years ago. I remember when they first came out and this technique was fairly new.
I still use them at times but mostly now I throw LFT ring frys, LFT baby creatures, Zoom baby brush hogs,lizards, and super flukes. Various brands of 10 inch worms and shorter straight tail worms. The latest plastics that I have been throwing on a C-rig with a lot of success with are the Hags tornado's and Grande Bass rattle snake and baby snake.
I throw chartruce a lot.

Dead stick if on structure. Sometimes they want it incredibly slow.

Why is there always so many threads on a Carolina rig. It's not complicated. Throw it out there and drag it. When you feel a bite or the line moves set the hook. Now repeat.

Keep it simple... i use seaguar invisix 20# main line, seaguar invisix 15 or 20# leader at 3ft., tungsten 3/4 oz weight, a bead, and a baby brush hog / or reg. brush hog type bait... key is putting it where the fish are...

I think the lighter and widergap hooks works best. The bait should move on the bottom naturally, bigger baits seem to work best in deeper waters, while mediums work well to 10-12 feet.
I prefer a floating type bait that will raise itself up a little off the bottom,...Hags,Creme,etc..I use a couple of beads sometimes, sometimes not, I think in the deeper dingy water sound is always a plus. I like to work the rigs very very slow, but always moving...j

Sorry man, I didn't realize this forum wasn't for asking questions and getting good info. Didn't mean to inconvenience you there podna. I'll keep that in mind next time though...

Thanks for all the tips guys...definitely gave me some new ideas and a few things to think about!

Well lets see, people ask about crank baits. You throw them out and reel them back. Not complicated. They ask about fishing with a jig. You throw it out and hop it and bring it back. Not complicated. Everything you throw out you bring back unless you break off. Why all the questions you ask....
Because you can just throw something out and bring it back and repeat as you say or you can fish that same technique with better results if you fish it smarter. Bumping cover on a piece of structure is a better way of catching fish than just blindly tossing it out and bring it back and repeating that and expecting different results. Banging the C-rig into timber or rocks on a road bed usually results in more bites. I believe that is also true with crank baits banging into something. What a novel idea, bump it into something.....

You can blind fish all day or you can fish smarter all day and he was asking for tips so he can fish smarter. That is what this forum is all about,(well for most people on here) people helping others with tips on how they effectively fish a technique.

Ag08,

Happens all the time on here man. I think there is the perception that everyone on the TFF has always been on the TFF and that surely, they have read every line of every single thread that has ever been posted. When they find someone who asks the same question someone may have asked 2 or 3 weeks ago, they get all butthurt for some reason and act like a jacktard. I have found that sarcasm, much like you in your last post, disposes of them quite readily. 90% of the guys on the TFF are quite willing to offer something no matter how many times its been posted. Good luck with the C-Rig. My advice, throw it far, reel it slow. Dirty water-18-24 inch leader, Clear 30-36 inch. And use tungsten if your budget will allow it.

I read the reply quite differently - but thank you for offering your opinion which clearly offers your insight, and insults.

I read it to say "don't over complicate the technique". Cases in point: fluoro vs mono for the leader, braid vs other for the main, tungsten vs lead, 1/2 oz vs 1-1/2 oz, big worm vs little worm.... There are probably more variables to c-rigging than in most of the other techniques combined. Trying to get a consensus here won't happen, and as you'll get contradicting answers, may make things more confusing.

If you're just learning to use the rig, use whatever line you have on your reel, tie on a 3/4 to 1 oz weight, whatever kind you have, a bead and a clacker (if you have one), 3' to 4' leader of whatever you have on hand, except braid (ezbassin's example is perfect - my guide as well), and an offset hook with a baitfish colored fluke attached. Throw that thing everywhere you go, keep the weight in contact with the bottom / cover, learn to distinguish what you're feeling, i.e. mud, rock, shells, grass, etc.. When the weight comes in contact with an object, don't be in a hurry to pop the weight over / free - pull gently on the weight to get it to hang a little and then gently shake the rod tip. Do this for a bit then let the bait sit still for a while before moving on. When the rig feels like it's come alive, reel down and swing to the side.

If you want to become more advanced with the rig, the way I recommend doing this is changing only ONE component of your rig at a time, and fish it that way for more than one trip. If you go changing multiple parts each time you go, you won't know what part, if any, made the difference.

Now, if you can't catch'em on that c-rig fluke, you're fishing in the wrong spot.

Dang! Don't get your panties in a wad girls. I wasn't trying to be rude. All I was trying to say is there is no reason to complicate a simple technique. Fish with whatever line you like the best, use a weight you can feel, and like any other method of fishing figure out what bait and presentation they want and keep doing that. When I take my wife fishin she sits in the back of the boat reading a book dragging a Carolina rig and catches fish.