This week, Scott Martin discusses Carolina rigs, fishing rods and hook sets.
This week, Scott Martin discusses Carolina rigs, fishing rods and hook sets.
If you are interested in participating in future columns, submit questions along with your full name and address via e-mail to askthepro@jacobsinteractive.com.
Q & A with SCOTT MARTIN
Q: When I'm fishing a Carolina rig, I can never feel the bite. Do you have any pointers on how to get a better sense of when the fish are biting with this setup?
- Derrick Jones, Piscataway, N.J.
A: Derrick, when you fish a Carolina rig, you will first need to make sure that you are using the right type of equipment or setup. First you will need to have a 7- or 7 ½-foot rod so you can make long casts and have much better control. Personally, I use a 7 ½ -foot one-piece Kister Helium rod. This rod does not have any cork in front of the reel seat, so your pointer finger can touch the blank. This will help you tremendously in detecting the strikes.
Second, you will need to use the right line. I use Seaguar Carbon pro® line, 15 or 20 pounds for my main line and 10 to 15 pounds for my leader. Fluorocarbon line has a lot less stretch than your standard monofilament line, thus improving the sensitivity of the strike. Mono has around 24- to 30-percent stretch depending on what brand you choose, and fluorocarbon line has around 16- to 22-percent stretch. If you want the maximum amount of sensitivity, you will need to use some Spiderwire braided line, which has around 2- to 3-percent stretch.
The last piece of advice that I can give you is that when you are retrieving your lure, you will need to drag it to the side with your rod tip down. This technique will allow your weight to stay in contact with the bottom. You will also feel a ton more structure and feel the fish take the bait better. Thank you for the question and good luck.
Q: Flipping and pitching jigs or tubes is by far my favorite way to catch fish. I have a 7-foot flipping stick (for jigs) and a 7-foot, 6-inch flipping stick (for tubes). However, I have been missing a lot of fish on the 7-foot, 6-inch rod and haven’t been missing any on the shorter rod. Do you think there is a logical reason for this, or is it just a mental thing?
- Beau Fitch, Baker, La.
A: Missing fish can be a real confidence buster in your approach to catching fish. To answer your question the best way I know how is to tell you to first try this. Take your jig and put it on your 7-foot, 6-inch rod, put your tube on the 7-foot rod, and try both setups. Your 7-foot, 6-inch rod might be giving you some trouble with your hook set. It could be the balance of the rod or that the action is too light.
When I am fishing with a 7-foot rod, I'll use my Kistler Helium heavy-action rod. And when using a 7-foot, 6-inch rod, I'll use my Kistler Helium heavy or extra heavy rod depending on the cover. If this doesn't solve the problem, mull this over. The jig is a lure that has an exposed hook, and it will usually hook fish pretty consistantly. If your tube is 5 inches or bigger or really thick, it can sometimes slide down the hook and prevent the hook point from penetrating as well as you'd like. So what I like to do is rig the tube on the biggest hook that will fit. This way the back of the hook will pass through the very back of the tube and push the hook through the tube and skin-hook the point.
Q: What type of fishing rods – fiberglass or graphite, length, and action – are best for crankbait, spinnerbait and top-water fishing? Also, how important are the differences between particular rod manufacturers such as Kistler, American Rodsmiths, Quantum, etc.?
- David Wright, Severn, Md.
A: First of all, the difference between particular rod manufacturers is now very important. Growing up in the fishing industry for as long as I have, I’ve had the opportunity to use many different brands of rods. Over the years I have found that most of them have been equally good. However, after being introduced to the Kistler brand, I can confidently and honestly say that the Kistler Helium Rod is definitely the best rod that I have ever used.
To answer your second question, I prefer graphite rods with all my lures. For my crankbait rod, I use a 6-foot, 6-inch medium-action helium for the smaller baits and a 7-foot medium-action helium rod for medium-size crankbaits. For my deep-diving crankbaits, I use a 7-foot, 6-inch one-piece, heavy-action helium. When throwing a spinnerbait, I primarily use a 6-foot, 6-inch medium-heavy helium or a 7-foot medium-heavy helium. Top-water fishing is also one of my favorite techniques to use anywhere. I like to rig my baits on a 6-foot, 6-inch medium-action helium or a 7-foot medium-action helium.
Hope this advice will be of good use. Best of luck to you on the water. By the way, if you’re interested in more information about the helium rods, send me an e-mail at ssmartin@gate.net.
Martin, the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion, hails from a famous fishing family – he is the son of the legendary Roland Martin. 2012 will mark Martin’s 13th season the FLW Tour, and he will be fishing alongside his father Roland.
Martin finished 11th in the Angler of the Year Race in 2011 (his highest finish since his 5th place in 2006). On his road to his 10th championship appearance he cashed checks at every Tour stop with a 7th-place finish, his only top 10, coming at Lake Chickamauga.
Martin and his wife Suzanne have four children. His favorite body of water is Lake Okeechobee and he loves to use a swimbait, frog and flip the grass. Martin claims one of his most memorable fishing moments was when he caught his first 10-pound bass on Lake Okeechobee with his father at the age of 12. When not fishing for bass, Martin can be found saltwater fishing in the Atlantic
