Bass Love the Carolina Jig Rig
Bob McNally 05.03.16
Ever think of using a jig instead of an egg sinker when making a “Carolina Rig?” You should, because it’s a hot bass technique that creates a double-lure weapon that scores on bass you’d otherwise never catch.
The idea started in Texas with anglers who noticed they were getting hits on a Carolina rig sinker instead of the soft plastic lure floating above the weight. That gave the Texas fishermen the idea they should use a jig as a sliding sinker in a Carolina rig instead of a hookless chunk of lead.
It makes plenty of sense because in a lot of situations where Carolina rigs are deadly, a jig could be used, too. And two lures searching for bass makes more sense than one.
The “Carolina jig rig” is set up just like a standard Carolina rig, except instead of threading on an egg sinker, a heavy weedless bass jig is used. The jig is allowed to slide on the fishing line through the lure’s line-tie ring. Then the line is tied to a barrel swivel, with the leader having a floating worm, grub, or lizard tied to the opposite end of the barrel swivel.
The jig must have a large line-tie ring so the fishing line slides easily through it. A durable jig weed guard is vital, too. “Clean” humps, slab-rock ledges, sand and gravel bars, roadbeds, and “ditches” are ideal places to fish the Carolina jig rig. It’s also an excellent double-lure set-up for fishing well-defined weed edges or “walls.”
Whenever two lures are used it’s smart to use greatly contrasting colors. A good choice is dark crayfish color for the heavy jig, with lighter and brighter colors for the floating worm or lizard. A brown, black, or dark blue jig used with a shad-colored, fire tiger, white, yellow, or light blue plastic lure is an example. Offering bass lures of opposite colors helps determine what hue bass want on any given day.
