Going Weedless with the Carolina Rig

After my somewhat successful fishing trip to Lake Tulloch I realized that I had to add some techniques to my arsenal. While I was fishing in shallow water it occurred to me that I didn’t have anything really to throw into the weeds. I had grown so used to throwing jigs and crank baits that I forgot about one of fishing’s oldest techniques - The Carolina Rig.

During a fishing trip a couple of weeks ago with my brother he immediately went with a carolina rigged brush-hog. Needless to say, he was the first to bring a fish in the boat that day. That’s when we got to talking. He agreed that it was one of the best weed-less techniques out there and he said that the brush-hog is a bait that almost always produces strikes. I did some investigating when I got home. I looked at some photos online and how the brush hog sits on the bottom is a tell tale sign that it’s designed to draw attention.

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Lake Tulloch & The Four Day Hall Pass

My journey to Lake Tulloch last weekend will definitely go down as one of the most memorable. The scenery, the fish, and the overall learning experience was like no other fishing expedition I’ve been on. If you ever get a chance to get out there make it happen.

A big thanks to my buddy Jay for extending the offer and for cooking some of the best damn tri-tip around. Thanks Jay, really. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate my brithday. Just let me know when we’re going back so I can put in for the hall pass thing again.

Day1 - 03.29.07

We left here on Thursday afternoon and I was on the water by 5:00 p.m.. I immediately headed back to Black Creek and I was surprised to see few things:

1. There was so much vegetation I couldn’t throw anything without hooking up with weeds.

2.The Lake water level was VERY low.

3.I never knew the water in that lake was so clear. I could see down about 12 feet.

I had a couple of buddies in my boat that have absolutely no idea how to fish, but I think they were there just for moral support. They also brought some cold beer which was nice of them.

I hooked into NOTHING and I threw EVERYTHING I had. Jigs, crankbaits, senkos, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits. Had I known about the vegetation I would have brought some additional weedless setups.

Day 2 - 03.30.07

My buddies hit the golf course and I was on the water at 9:00 a.m.. I saw a fallen tree just across lake from where I was docked so I decided to investigate. Sure enough, I saw 3 bass hanging out in this thing and one of them was a nice sized smallmouth. Once again, I threw everything I had - even hit him with my line a couple of times. Not a strike in 2 hours. I decided to work my way back again towards Black Creek but this time I chose not to go so far back and hang out where there is less vegetation. While working my way into one of the coves I noticed an adolescent deer swimming about 10 feet in front of me. Once it landed on the other side it began to call out to the other deer that chose not to swim (I’ll get back to this later).

Anyhow, I saw tons of fish but could never get into anything. An hour later I hooked into my first smallmouth. I used a very natural looking jig and even though it wasn’t very big, I was ecstatic. Then it hit me - I needed to stick with natural looking colors because of the water clarity and clear skies. I ended up hooking into about 6 more smallmouth that day - it was a good time. I also realized something else, sight fishing is much harder then you think. Subtle movements and staying as far as possible are key. This realization would help me with Day 3.

Day 3 - 03.31.07

On the water at 10:00 a.m. and while I was warming up the boat, I caught 3 smallmouth off the dock. That’s the way to start the day. Once in the boat I immediately made my way over to that tree and stayed as far away as possible. I even chose to cast onto the shore and retrieve my jig slowly as to not make a splash. BAM! That sucker hit my jig so hard and after a pretty good fight, I lost him at the boat. Bummer! But at least I knew what my approach was going to be the rest of the day. I shore casted everywhere. My jig looked like the Terminator when his skin fell off. Hooked up with 6 more smallmouth. Good day, no lunkers, but at least I was onto the fish.

Now back to the deer - I was cruising back into the cove where I saw the deer swimming and that’s when I noticed a couple of vultures parked on the shore. Then noticed there were 8 more flying up above. As I looked closer, I noticed the deer was lying there on the shore and it’s hind quarter was missing. It didn’t drown becuase it was 9 feet up from the water - something got it. I was thinking Mountain Lion but I’ll never be 100% sure.

Back to the fishing story - I got off of the water a little earlier than usual to watch the NCAA Tournament and grab some grub.

Like I said before, awesome lake and awesome weekend. I really owe my buddy a bunch of thanks and my wife was kind enough to extend a 4-Day Hall Pass (which was pretty cool as well). Cool

My brother and my Dad came up late on Saturday Night (Day 3) and did some fishing on Sunday. Unfortunately I couldn’t head out since I needed to get some things done back in the Bay Area. They hooked into some fish but nothing really to write home about.

Have fun out there guys and Good Luck this year!

Marce