How To Fish the Carolina Rigged Worm

This rig is good for fishing a lot of deep structure when searching for bass. You rig this worm as follows: Take a light wire hook (2/0 or 3/0 depending on size of worm) and rig a worm weed less. Tie a piece of lighter line from 18 inches to 3 feet in length to the worm. The length depends on your preference and to a degree on the conditions. To the free end of the line, tie on a barrel swivel.

To the free end of the line from your rod, add a weight. After assessing what type of structure and depth you are going to be fishing, decide how much weight you are going to need. The way to look at it is, get away with the lightest weight possible; usually throw between a 3/8 to ½ oz weight for water less than 25 feet deep. Use a ¾ to 1 oz weight for deeper water. There is a variety of weights to use for this, egg sinkers, bullet weights, weights with rattles in them, and so on. They come in different composites, lead, brass and Tungsten. A bullet weight is a more common weight for ease of getting through vegetation. Since many of the states are getting away from lead, use the brass or non-lead weights. The heavier weights allow for longer casts and the sinker maintains constant contact with the bottom. As the sinker is pulled along the bottom it kicks up clouds of silt that arouse a fish’s curiosity.

The next component that goes onto the line after the weight is the bead. Beads come in either plastic or glass and in many different colors. Personal choice dictates which type and color you will use. Whether you use one or two beads, again is your personal choice. Some fishermen advocate that two beads generate more noise. The sound generated by the clicking of the weight and bead is a representation of the clicking sounds a crawfish makes.

Now tie the free end of the line to the barrel swivel. This is used to keep your line from twisting. It also has a secondary purpose as an equipment saver. When the rig hangs up, the lighter leader should break first thus you only lose the worm and not the rest of the components.

The trick worm, French fry, Senko, 4” worms, 5” worms, and lizards are ideal for this type of fishing.

Make long casts and give your sinker time to get to the bottom. Retrieve by slowly cranking the reel to keep the sinker in contact with the bottom. The only time you need to raise your rod tip is to lift the sinker over an object. Just keep slowly cranking the reel throughout the retrieve. When a fish does bite the worm, you might feel only a heavy feeling on the line. Occasionally, you will feel a “tap” but as a general rule it will just feel heavy. To set the hook, just sweep the rod to the side and keep reeling. With the light wire hook, this will be enough to set the hook.

If you use bigger 3/0 or 4/0 hooks, the sweep will have a tendency to tear the hook out of the mouth of the fish except when using larger bodied worms. Remember, reel the worm in during the retrieve at a pace slow enough to keep the sinker in contact with the bottom. Fish these baits slowly to begin with and then vary the retrieve until the fish tell you which retrieve speed to use.

Many guides and locals that regularly fished Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs, Arkansas used the Carolina rig. They kept the technique very quiet. I fished several tournaments during this period and kept noticing that the winners of these tournaments were all winning with the same bait. The bait was called the “Green Weenie”. Nobody would talk about it or tell you what it was. I drew Mark Davis, a lake guide at that time, in a draw tournament. I finally managed to meet the Green Weenie. The manufacturer is Kalin and it is a 4-inch worm in a green color. When fished on a Carolina rig it yields astounding results. This technique was a consistent producer of fish for several years.

The baits are manufactured today and come in a variety of colors. I continue to use these baits when fishing the Carolina rig.

I hope this article helps you put a few more fish in your live well.

Carlton “Doc” Holliday and his wife only tournament fished together for 5 years. In late 1992, Carlton had a heart attack thus the early retirement ended along with the professional fishing career.

All told, both individually and as a team Doc and his wife won over 30 bass tournaments and placed in the top 5 in over 70 bass tournaments. The last 3 years of their career as professional bass fishermen were spent winning the Arkansas Guys and Gals Championship in 1991, Doc finishing seventh overall in the Arkie Division of the Redman Circuit in 1991 and becoming eligible to fish the Redman Regional Tournament in Columbus Mississippi where he finished 20th. Also in 1990, Doc fished in the Mr. Bass of Arkansas Championship on Lake Ouachita and finished third. Career winnings estimated over $85,000.00.

Carlton “Doc” Holliday and his wife are both retired and live at Joplin, Arkansas two minutes from Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Visit us at http://www.bassfishinglakeouachita.com or email us at [email protected]