Refining Carolina rig components

— -- We all know lizards go great on Carolina rigs, and there's no doubt you have other favorite baits you like to Carolina rig. I'll bet you favor a certain length of leader that's lucky for you too. But let's leave the baits and hooks and leader lengths out of this week's tip. Instead let's delve into the Carolina rig components that go on the line above the swivel. The first item laced on the line is the sinker. Egg sinkers are traditional on Carolina rigs. Common thinking is that egg-shaped sinkers don't wedge into cracks and crevices on rough bottom as easily as bullet sinkers. In weeds or brush however, a bullet weight seems more weedless and snagless than the egg. In submerged trees and scrub brush, especially when fishing vertically over such stuff, the long, thin Mojo weight comes through brush and trees better than other sinkers. The Mojo sinker is an "in-line" sinker that hangs as perfectly straight as your fishing line when you fish it vertically. You can suspend it at any mid-depth in trees or brush, and it will dangle perfectly straight down, avoiding snags while your bait swings around on the leader. It's good for fish suspended in wood. Mojo also makes a relatively new style of sinker named the Rockhopper. The name is misleading since it hops over brush, tree limbs and comes through weeds too. Try it. You may find you snag less with a Rockhopper than some other types of Carolina sinkers. Even where the bottom is smooth, I still use the Rockhopper. When it rises up off bottom when you're reeling in to take another cast, the Rockhopper will sway side-to-side on the line. I equate this action to what a diving bill does on a crankbait. Now, the bait trailing behind the sinker does not sway, but the Rockhopper itself paddles strongly from side to side. I fancy that the Rockhopper's paddling on the line has some attractive allure. Whether it gives out a vibration or it's the visual rocking motion, who knows? It just wobbles in a way that other sinkers don't. Beads
I tend to rig religiously with a bead because it makes small clicking noises when the sinker strikes the bead. Fish like clicks. Plastic beads have less chance than glass to chip or cut the line or chafe the knot. Glass has done that to me too many times. Some say glass makes a louder click than plastic. I find that plastic clicks more than loud enough for me and my bass, and I like the vibrant colors of plastic beads. A brightly-colored chartreuse or orange bead will attract bait-sized small fry that peck away at it like barnyard hens on a June bug. These small bead peckers attract bass over to the scene. Picture a cluster of small fry that you can feel tap-tap-tapping at your bead via line feel. As they pull and tug the bead, this brings an ornery bass over to investigate the small fry commotion. Naturally, the bead peckers scurry away, leaving your bait as the only morsel to whet the appetitive of the bass. That brings us to the swivel. To me, there are none finer than SPRO Power Swivels. They are well-made and stronger than standard barrel swivels. Despite their tiny appearance, a standard rigging size of SPRO Power Swivel is incredibly 230 lb. test. That's about as good as swivels get. Rattle Nunchakus
Well, there is one other component I was going to keep secret from you ? the rattle nunchakus. They look like a miniature pair of martial artist's nunchakus. There is a hole through this contraption's center hub so you can thread it on the line in between the swivel and the plastic bead. Each end is a flexible rubber arm about 1-1/2" long that holds a hard plastic rattle chamber housing three steel balls that click together. The two tentacles flex and wave, rattling the metal balls as you retrieve. Make sure the hard plastic rattle chambers make hard bottom contact as often as possible. The constant clatter of the hard chambers against hard objects underwater is what you want! Not only that, but the rubber hub protects the knot from getting chafed. Try it. I think you will like refining your Carolina rig these ways. I know I do.