Northwest Fishing Reports

So, I always have Carolina rig loaded in the boat, usually in the very bottom of the rod locker. Yesterday, I got bored here at the house and while the wife was busy typing away on the computer...I went to the lake and shore fished. I might also add that I fished from 2030 - 2300 in the dark. I took three rods, yeah I know that is a lot for shore fishing, but I wanted to be prepared for a few rigs. On a hunch that I could catch fish dragging a tube I brought the C-rig. Long and short of it, I caught fish on cast #2, #3, #4, and #7. First time on that setup! Nothing of size to brag about, but fish non the less. I was pulling a foot of line, then reeling up slack, pause a short time, then repeat. Occasionally I would throw a random long pause or a longer retreive, but you get the picture. Was I doing this correctly? Just because I caught fish, doesn't mean I was working the rig properly. Any suggestions?

Chris

Nuttin wrong with that way. I've done it that way, A LOT. As well as just dragging without pauses. I've also hopped the weight over the bottom, and swum the bait without the weight touching the bottom.

Doesnt sound like your too far off here at all 2000, Your were faced with a limited amount of water to work so i completly understand . Now lets dig into the skinny of C-Rigs , First of all most say that C-rigs in the summer months seem to be in allot of cases more productive than football heads . Bass will suspend more often during the summer months so when your dragging that bait back to ya ( dragging by way of rod movement , not trolling moter) that leader will allow the plastic to float off the bottom as compared to a weighted down grub on a leadhead jig .. Now as for leaders , my rule of thump on c-rigs is that i base my leader length base soly on current , you mentioned that you had a 12" leader in this situation , my personaly would have opt for a 2-3 ft leader as long as the current flow was minimum to none . If your faced with stronger current pull simply shorten the leader to compensate for less movement of you baits by way of a stronger current pull, iv fished this same situation in rivers creeks in the south and used 6" to 8" leaders ...

Baits , you mentioned that you stuck with a sounds like a standard sized tube , im assuming 3.5-4" ...Any time you runn into those rats (short fish) try increasing the size of the bait , use the same color but just a bigger profile , You will have less bite activity but once you do get bit more than likely that fish will be bigger depending upon the amount of larger fish in that particular body of water ...

Can i ask lenght rod you are using for this , because lenght is key for C-rigs , bare minimum 7' Hvy action fast tip ..

BBD

Yep 2 or 3 ft. leader works well for me. You sometimes may not feel the pick-up, just suddenly get a "spongey" feeling. Set the hook hard, more often than not the sponginess is a fish.

Oh ya, set the hook by sweeping the rod to the side, makes for a longer pull on the line as opposed to the standard sweep upwards. Try it before you go fishing/cast the lure and you'll see that more line will be pulled that way. This way the bow in the line, and slack in the leader will be taken out for sure, and the rod will bow good.

I never did mention the size of my leader, but it is easily been 2-3 feet. I was actually tossing right down the cement boat launch, believe it or not. I have found that there is a bunch of riprap and broken concrete at the end of the ramp. Add to that a ton of weeds 5 or so feet from there and I have found my little patch of night fishing heaven. I understand the sweeping hookset, and have felt the spongey feel of the line. I was fishing limited tackle, so upsizing was not going to be an option, but Saturday I may give it a try again, this time from the boat. Hopefully I will be able to get a few bigger fish, but I have found that Tapps only has small smallies. We'll see what comes of a few hours fishing!

Hey 2000,

C-Rigging is a great technique. Stick with it. I like to use a Mojo Rock Hopper (up to 1 ounce) when I encounter gnarly rock, scattered wood, broken concrete and submerged rip rap. I will sometimes run a 5-6 ft. leader, depending on the conditions and mood of the fish. The longer leader can give the soft plastic a less inhibited action, therefore a more natural presentation. 99% of soft plastics will not float off the bottom on a C-Rig, so I still prefer this technique for bottom hugging fish as opposed to suspended fish. Dez must have the Rev-Rig and C-Rig confused.... jk

Also, Tapps harbors much bigger smallmouth than you give it credit for. I have a friend that lives on Tapps that routinely catches fish in the 4 pound range and has landed bronzebacks up to 6 lbs. out there. The very best tip that I can give to someone that is looking to target bigger smallies is to think outside the box and do not get caught in a rut. If you are consistently catching 1-2 pounders and you want to consistently catch 3-5 pounders, sticking with the same approach and hoping for bigger bites will result in very limited success. Be confident that the 3-5 pounders are out there and are available in pretty fair numbers once they are found. Breaking out of a comfort zone is one of fishing's greatest challenges, but the pay off can be well worth it. Good luck and catch a pig.

2000subaru wrote:I never did mention the size of my leader, but it is easily been 2-3 feet. I was actually tossing right down the cement boat launch, believe it or not. I have found that there is a bunch of riprap and broken concrete at the end of the ramp. Add to that a ton of weeds 5 or so feet from there and I have found my little patch of night fishing heaven. I understand the sweeping hookset, and have felt the spongey feel of the line. I was fishing limited tackle, so upsizing was not going to be an option, but Saturday I may give it a try again, this time from the boat. Hopefully I will be able to get a few bigger fish, but I have found that Tapps only has small smallies. We'll see what comes of a few hours fishing!

C-Rigging is my "Bread and Butter" method. Don't be affraid to use lighter weights (1/4 oz) or heavier weights (1oz) depending on the depth and area. Let the wind blow you across a flat or along the bank and drag it-you'll be suprised at what you might catch. Get creative and use many different types of plastics with it as well. Everyone that has responded has great info. listen up and use it and I'm sure it'll be towards the top of your rod locker instead of at the bottom.

One thing I like to do on C-rigs is take a foam earplug and soak it in a scent and insert it into a tube bait. This gives the tube more bouyancy and of course flavor. Also it gives u a cavity to inject scent into after several casts. This is deadly on a slow retrieve in deeper water for summer time smallmouths and walleye.

lonnie197272 wrote:One thing I like to do on C-rigs is take a foam earplug and soak it in a scent and insert it into a tube bait. This gives the tube more bouyancy and of course flavor. Also it gives u a cavity to inject scent into after several casts. This is deadly on a slow retrieve in deeper water for summer time smallmouths and walleye.

That is an awesome idea...:bounce: