Carolina Rigs on the St. Lawrence

[bill.s]

Tell me about the rigs you use with all the rocks and Zebra mussels. I like to trap my barrel weight between the bead/swivel and a carolina keeper on the line about a foot from the swivel. With the boat moving in the heavy current and the rocky bottom, I found that rig soon resulted in the carolina keeper pushed towards the swivel and the barrel weight no longer could float free. The Zebra mussels are also tough on medium wt FC leaders; so I could use some tips for next season. I am using 30 or 50# braid for my main line, with a one oz. barrel wt.

[Mr.Bass]

The reason I don't fish a Carolina rig on the St. Lawrence. Especially if you cast into the current , your bait is washed back at you unless you drag very quickly.

Go with a heavy drop shot and drag that on the bottom instead of the Carolina rig. You can drag some heavy weights with the drop shot and keep the bait off the bottom and out of harms way of the zebra mussels and rocks.
Just make your leader shorter about 10 to 12 inches.

[Alumicraft145]

K.I.S.S. 14# main line and leader, swivel, beads, sinker. All that's needed on the river. Lizard. Bingo.

[Sharpcard]

I often use a Lindy No-Snagg sinker on a C-Rig. It keeps your knot and swivel off the bottom and out of the rocks and shells more than a normal sinker set up.
You might not feel the bottom composition as well but you feel the strike much better than a conventional C-rig and get less gut hooked fish.

[webertime]

20lb Abrazx with 1oz Phenix Rockcrawler sinker. SPRO 50lb swivel to 12-15lb YoZuri finished with a 2/0 or 3/0 round bend worm. Several of us in the pros and cos of the Toyota this past year ran this. All cashed checks.

[Jeff Hahn]

I use an E-Z Rig on Lake Erie that I make myself. Strike King sells their version and it works. I also take a 4"-6" piece of clear surgical tubing and put it on my line ahead of the EZ Rig. Then run the tubing down onto the end of the steel loop to prevent the rocks and zebra mussels from abrading the line.