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The following is a quick rundown of my favorite setup for a Carolina rig.
I use the Team Lew's Signature Series Mark Rose Carolina Rig Rod, 7'5" in length. I feel like this is the perfect rod for Carolina rigging. When you pick it up off the shelf, it feels slightly stiff, but when you load this rod and set the hook way out there, it's just the absolute perfect action for a Carolina rig. You’ll appreciate the good backbone right in the middle. When you set the hook, it feels different than how it does right off the shelf.
I use the Lew's Custom Pro in 8.3:1. You can't miss it. It's gold and it is absolutely awesome.
I throw a 17-pound Seaguar Tatsu main line. It has good abrasion resistance, and its double-structured fluorocarbon is the best Seaguar makes. You can also get by with Red Label and InvizX. If you want the best, then go with Seaguar Tatsu.
I use a Mustad swivel and 15-pound Tatsu line for my leader. I usually put about 3 or 4 feet of leader on my line.
For the hook, I love a Mustad Grip-Pin Big Bite Worm Hook. It’s a regular round bend hook, but what makes it special is that it has a grip pin. That grip pin is great for holding bait firmly on the hook. I also like the brand-new hooks Mustad came out with not too long ago with the AlphaPoint and the TitanX slick coating on it. The Finesse is one of them. It has a little fluorocarbon keeper on it. I like this hook when I'm throwing a short bait.
You can’t go wrong with soft creature baits such as the Scounbug and the Rage Ned Bug.
Rig Holder
As a side note, here's a little pro tip: You can use a Lindy Rigger Snell Holder to pre-rig your Carolina rig leaders. The tube is sectioned off into 8 individual spools, so if you cut a slit across each spool to hold one end of each line, you can pre-rig 8 leader configurations and keep them on there until you're ready to use them.
So, that’s my setup for Carolina rigging. They still bite it, folks.
--Mark Rose
