Rigging is technically the terminal setup for any kind of fishing. But, when most anglers say they were "rigging," they mean baitrigging. Rigging with livebaits, deadbaits and a few new options comprises the foundation of knowledge from which most fishing methodology arises. A Carolina rig, for instance, is basically a baitrig with modest sophistications.

The longer an angler is in the game of creating rigs, the more he or she realizes simple is best. If extra knots serve no ultimate purpose, remove them from the equation. If a certain leader material is difficult to work with, replace it. If one hook is landing as many fish as two hooks, 'nix the extra hook. If a swivel really serves no purpose, it's gone. Rigging takes time, The less time spent rigging, the more time spent fishing.

Baitrigs might be most popular for panfish but serve to catch anything. Trout, pike, walleyes, steelhead, flounder, bass, grouper, redfish, sea trout, tuna -- the list covers all gamefish. At any given moment, without any doubt, millions of basic rigs are being employed around the world for thousands of species. The perfect hook or hooks (tandem- or triple-hook rigs are common for some species), and the perfect sinker, change from one application to the next. Type of bait and the mouth of the predator in question determines hook size and style, while bottom composition, current, depth, and speed decide the most efficient sinker.

Efficiency is the key to all rigging. Time spent freeing hooks from snags, time wasted on fish that shake loose, and the number of minutes devoted to finding hooks, swivels, and weights, then tying the necessary knots, can be compared to how many fish are actually landed. The simpler the rig the better, but the bottom line is: How natural does the rig look in the water, and how successful is it at fooling the targeted species?

FREELINE RIG

This is perhaps the simplest and most effective of all rigs for a wide variety of species. No swivel, no droppers, no leader. Simply, tie the hook to the end of the line, apply split shot to the line, and this rig is ready to be tossed above tangles of logs and other snags where the current can sweep it alongside or underneath the wood. A beaked hook with a downturned eye is essential, because it grabs far less wood than an upturned eye with a straight point. This rig is perfect for deploying live crawlers, small minnows, or spawn bags. In heavy cover, it should be used in conjunction with abrasion-resistant lines like Berkley Trilene XT. Snag up and break off? Tie one knot and you're back in the game.

This basic variation of the first rig employs a dropper for attaching split shot, slinky weights, or pencil lead. With this rig, if the weight snags it can slide off or break free of the dropper, meaning no knots need be retied. The same baits -- spawn, live worms, Berkley Power Eggs -- work best with this rig. Current plus rocks equals abrasion. Use Berkley lronsilk or Trilene XT. These first two rigs are effective for walleyes, trout, steelhead, salmon, smallmouth bass, and other river species.

SLIPSINKER RIG

This rig excels when fish group into relatively small areas or travel along a specific contour on a well-defined break. Consider it anytime fish aren’t feeding aggressively, but it can be triggered to strike the right bait placed in front of their noses. Slipsinker rigs are most popular among walleye fishermen in natural lakes and catfish anglers using livebait or cutbait in rivers.

A slipsinker rig can be cast and slowly retrieved along bottom. It also works as a set rig, cast and set in place near key spots in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. The classic presentation method, though, is fishing it vertically below a slow-moving boat. The boat becomes part of the presentation, as boat movement controls the retrieve.

TANDEM PANFISH RIG

Dozens of variations exist for tandem rigs. Here, we show you three. Tandem rigs provide the illusion of a "school" or mass of bait, putting twice as much scent and live vibration into the water. These figs work for bullhead, small catfish, crappies, bluegills, and a variety of other fish. Some are designed to have the weight rest on bottom, such as the perch rig The basic and Kentucky rigs are designed for drifting or slow trolling with semi-vertical lines for crappies. The rigs work best with live minnows.

CAROLINA RIG

This was first popularized in 1985 by tournament angler Jack Chancellor, who Carolina-rigged a straight “do-nothing” worm to win the Bassmasters Classic. Plastic baits trail well behind the sinker on a leader, giving fish a subtle offering.

Unencumbered by weight (other than the hook), the bait freely darts, flutters, rises, or hovers as the angler imparts rod action. But the rig isn’t just for bass. With a bit of alteration, a Carolina rig can just as easily present plastics or livebait to walleyes, pike, panfish, and many other species. The fun’s learning how different fish react to each new variation, given each bait’s unique profile and action.

Carolina-rigged baits produce shallow-water bass and other fish holding tight to cover, but they really shine in deeper water—deeper than 10 feet—away from dense vegetation or woodcover. Carolina rigging is most effective in lakes and reservoirs with clean-bottomed points, sunken islands, and other deep-water habitat. It’s also a method that works throughout summer, fall, and winter, or whenever fish use deep-water structure.

Casting a Carolina rig is similar to casting a bobber rig. Swing the entire rig to the side and behind you by holding the rod at roughly 10 o’clock while waving it sideways like a wand. To finish the cast, swing the rod toward the target, propelling the rig as if releasing a pendulum.

Retrieve the Carolina rig with slow, intermittent drags along the bottom. Sweep the bait a foot forward, pause, and then sweep it forward again with a sideways pull of the rod. Use shorter rod movements when working smaller areas or targeting less aggressive fish. When the sinker is dragged along bottom, a floating bait scoots forward—like a helium balloon dragged downward when pulled behind you on a string. At rest, the lure, like the balloon, slowly ascends until the sinker stops it. Not all plastic baits float, however, so it’s important to determine the lure’s buoyancy prior to your first cast. And though most Carolina rigging situations call for a floating bait, sometimes a sinking lure works better. Think of the critter you’re trying to imitate. If it’s a minnow, go with a floater, if it’s a crayfish, use a sinking bait.

TEXAS RIG
Texas-rigged plastic worms probably have accounted for more bass than any other lure. During the late 1950s and 1960s, when the rig burst onto the southern bass scene, fishermen were astounded by their newfound success. In the years since, developments in soft plastics, including new colors, sizes, shapes, scents, and flavors, have continually kept things fresh, not to mention staying a step ahead of increasingly “educated” fish.

While action-packed plastics keep fish interested, they’d be worthless without a functional rig. The Texas rig works because it fishes like a dream, slithering easily through the densest cover—weeds, brush, and timber. With many species, not just bass, the thickest cover holds the biggest fish.

Texas rigging begins by inserting the hook point into the tip of the worm’s head and threading it down 1/4 inch or so, then poking it back out of the body. Now, pull the worm up the shank until the head rests against the eye. Rotate the hook 180 degrees so the hook points toward the plastic. Most worms have straight seams on each side; use a seam to rig the worm straight. Bunch the worm toward the eye a bit and insert the hook back into the worm, burying the point in the soft plastic body. The worm should have no kink, for kinked worms tend to twirl in the water, twisting your line and turning fish off. Rigged right, there’s not a more snagless, weedless lure in existence.

Anytime you’re targeting fish relating to or buried in heavy cover, the Texas rig shines. It penetrates the most inaccessible haunts imaginable, going where few lures can go.

Because the Texas rig is a subtle rig that’s fished slowly, choose it whenever fish, particularly bass, display a neutral to slightly negative attitude. Less aggressive, pressured, or semi-spooked fish often tuck down below thick weed clumps or brushpiles, under docks, or lie at the base of timber. Because the lure works best within a foot of bottom and is probably the most weedless lure ever devised, it’s a great choice for these situations.

Short casts or flips work best for working small areas around cover objects or general high-percentage zones. Generally, fishing a Texas-rigged worm involves many of the same mechanics as jigs. The slow lift-drop-pause appeals to most fish.