With the Carolina Rig for big autumn perch

The water temperature is slowly but surely dropping to levels that many of us are looking forward to. Now is the time for a big feast. What is immediately noticeable at many waters, however, is that the perch are now increasingly found at the bottom again and no longer hunting throughout the water column as they did in summer. In general, most predators now move one level deeper and can be found at depths familiar from winter fishing. However, everyone should act with caution and not fish for fish standing at depths of less than 8 meters. Despite careful handling, perch and pikeperch do not survive in most cases, even if they still look fit during release.

The good news, however, is that active fish often move significantly shallower during their feeding phases, even if the echo sounder initially shows yawning emptiness. Especially the small groups of better perch are often found in relatively shallow shore areas, even at temperatures around freezing point. Now you can experience magical moments if everything fits!

HUNTER and Gatherer

When it comes to tactics, many things can work. Especially in short feeding phases, classics like Action Shads on a jig work excellently, here the ABRAM has already proven what it can do. But what if I don't catch a feeding phase or want to appeal to both active and passive fish? Following the motto "Try it with ease," now is the time for the best cold water rig for me. The Carolina Rig or C-Rig collects everything and often even the big cherries that many of the standard lures had in front of their mouths. It can be led in such a versatile way like hardly any other lure.

While vigorous jigging was very successful in warm water, less is more now. As already indicated, the C-Rig works best for me in the colder months when finely tuned. Here, I drag the bullet weight very slowly over the bottom with the rod tip, without jerks or wild movements. On the one hand, this stirs up the sediment at the bottom, which arouses the curiosity of the predators. On the other hand, due to the offset hook, we hardly get stuck at the bottom, and the perch can take our bait without any resistance through the long leader.

You can use all usual rubber baits as bait, but crayfish and creature baits give a special appeal, especially in this fishing method. Especially when the water gets colder, these represent a particularly large protein bite. In addition, this potential prey is much easier and more effective to hunt than a fleeing baitfish. This also explains the guiding method "Dragging," because especially when fishing for big perch, you should always try to fish as naturally as possible. Crayfish do not move in "jigging" movements over the bottom, but rather slowly and continuously. Therefore, we often have to prepare for hardly noticeable bites. Most of the time, the colleagues just hook themselves during dragging, and you feel resistance, which should be answered immediately with a strike. I explain this with the less active escape behavior compared to prey fish. The perch only has to pick up the crayfish from the bottom, which creates a less hard bite than in a chase.

Now we are already at my number one bait for this rig. The ASTA fulfills everything a good C-Rig bait must be able to do. The vibrations transmitted to the ASTA by our bullet weight through dragging are transferred to the various small rubber arms and stimulate the perch until it can't resist anymore. Additionally, this rubber is flavored, which is a trump card in cold water. This also has the effect that the perch keeps the bait in its mouth longer before realizing that something is wrong. Try it out and convince yourself!

Tackle Check

When it comes to the question of which tackle we should use best, we have to start with the most important thing, the small parts! The Carolina Rig consists of fluorocarbon in the first part, on which the bullet weight and a bead for knot protection run, all of which is completed with a swivel. This is followed by another fluorocarbon leader with finally the hook. The length of this leader can always be adjusted a bit to the biting behavior, but usually 40-60cm is a good start. Quality should be particularly emphasized with offset hooks, as mentioned earlier, fish often just hook themselves, and you should always be prepared for a pikeperch. It is important to use extremely sharp and yet stable hooks to significantly reduce the missed bite rate.

The bullet weight is available in both lead and tungsten. In addition to the aspect of sustainability, tungsten also has other noticeable advantages. Due to the lower mass at the same weight, it flies better and gives us an even more precise contact with the bottom. Furthermore, tungsten weights are also available in different colors, where a dark weight is better in clear water than a bright silver lead. The gram amount depends on the respective type of water and should be determined individually as with the jig head. However, you can also use a heavier weight, as the bait still has its weightless phase due to the long leader. This is particularly interesting for shore anglers who depend on casting distance. For anglers in still waters who do not want to tinker much, I can recommend our ready-made Carolina Rigs with a clear conscience. They are really high quality and can be tied in a few seconds. Why make it complicated when it can be simple and just as good.

 

For hardware, I now only use spinning rods for this. Casting rods can of course also be used, but due to the longer pendulum of the rig, it is much more uncomfortable to cast with them.
THE PERCH ONE is a great rod for this method. With its extra fast action, you can feel every tug and stone transmitted excellently, and in the fight, it has a lot of backbone to handle even better fish. Personally, I prefer a 2500 reel for this, as the rod is well balanced and you can achieve remarkable casting distances. A braided line with a PE rating of #1.0 should be used. Keep in mind that we scratch a lot over the bottom and fish in front of obstacles with this rig. A little reserve is always good there!

Try it out and catch your C-Rig cherry.

Petri and have fun on the water wishes you
Julian Wurziger

PS: In our Advent Calendar you will find new and exclusive lures that can be combined perfectly with the Carolina Rig.