Summer 2021
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sweep, that momentum is going to carry that stick bait forward and that subtle gliding motion is what makes a Carolina rig special.”
Mah’s also keen on C-rigging a Big Bite Baits College Craw, which mimics the protein-rich profile that postspawners are seeking in the summer months.
TACKLE AND MECHANICS
Uribe stresses the need for a 7 1/2- to 8-foot rod; but not only for the requisite lengthy Carolina-rig casts. It is also a matter of effective hook sets.
“That longer rod gives you the ability to pick up more line faster,” he said. “A lot of times, when you get a bite,
the fish is coming at you, so you need to reel up fast, get the weight off the bottom and sweep set.”
Mah’s No. 1 C-rig hook-set tip: Use a high-speed reel that picks up 35- to 38-inches of line per handle crank. As he explains, it is all about the physics.
“If you have a long leader and you have a lot of line out, taking up all that slack and burying the hook takes the whole system,” Mah said. “It takes a long rod, an 8:1 reel and a sweeping hook set, with a lot of intense reeling following the hook set.
“Our bodies can only sweep so far before everything gets tight and that’s where that highspeed reel really comes into play. I’m less concerned with reel gear ratio than how much line a reel picks up per crank.” •
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