Scott Martin Fishing Tips, Reports and Articles

this rig along the bottom in 2 to 6 feet of water.
When I’m Carolina rig fishing in Florida, I don’t fish a weight heavier than a 1/ 2-ounce most of the time. If you’re fishing in a deepwater impoundment with 20 feet of water, or a river system here in the state where you want to get your worm down deep and keep it deep, then you can go up to a 3/ 4-ounce or 1-ounce weight. But 90 percent of the time, I rig my Carolina rig with a 1/ 2-ounce weight.
To build a Carolina rig, I like to start with fairly heavy line, say 17- to 20-pound test. The reason is that the fish aren’t biting up near the sinker and beads. The leader line will be lighter, and that’s where the fish will see the bait. I thread on a 1/ 2-ounce weight t the end of the line, then thread on two small beads—I like either plastic or glass beads that you pick up at the tackle stores, as they clank together and add a clicking noise to the bait. Then I’ll attach a barrel swivel to the line.
Next, I’ll take a 2- to 3-foot long piece of leader—I don’t like to use anything longer because it will limit your casting distance and accuracy—and I’ll determine what pound line I use based on the water conditions. I use Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon for my leader line because it’s difficult for the bass to see, and that’s an important feature when you’re fishing in super clear water.
If I’m fishing a very clear water impoundment and I want my leader to be small, I’ll go down to 10-pound test, but more often than not I’ll use 12-pound or 15-pound test. The other reason for using a lighter leader than the main line is, if you get your hook hung up on some structure, you can break the hook off without losing the entire rig.
I like to fish a little smaller worm on my Carolina rigs than I do on other worm rigs—say a 4- to 6-inch worm like a straight worm, or even a lizard. In the spring time, I like to throw lizards on this rig quite a bit. I rig that on a 2/0 to 4/0 hook depending on the size of the worm.
When fishing the Carolina rig, you want to make a long cast with the rig, then basically drag it back to the boat. When you’re fishing a Texas-rigged worm, you want to lift your rod from 9 o’clock to 11 o’clock, basically lifting your rod up in the air, then reel your slack up with a slight pause between every pull to try to feel the strike, and then repeat that process.
With a Carolina rig, you want to hold the rodtip down close to the water, and drag the rod with a sweep to the right or left side a foot or two at a time. Give it a good 2 or 3 second pause, reel up the slack, and then drag it again a foot or two with pauses between every drag to try to detect the strike.
Most fish will bite the worm when it’s dead still. They don’t really bite the worm when you’re moving it, so pausing the worm at regular intervals is very important. No matter what style you rig the worm, you want to allow your bait to sit on the bottom for at least 2 or 3 seconds while you try to detect a strike, and then repeat that process all the way back to the boat.