rigging yesterday

[red ranger]

Well l now know there was at least 4 of us rigging yesterday and this was only my second time so I have a couple questions.. I tied up my rigs before hand put my hooks on loop knots. How much space between them and the sinker?? I put my sinker in the middle, does it work better on the bottom like a drop shot rig? Also I saw some folks with there rods spaced close and some wide does it matter?? Thanks for help, we did catch 16 and am hooked on this now. Oh one last question you folks k s use offset hooks, I did and thought they worked great.

[Jerkey Log]

pm sent

[Riverrat13]

Hey Red Ranger,

I have been riggin for three years and I have found that placing the sinker on the bottom similar to a drop shot rig is what works best. I also use a VMC drop shot hook called a spin shot. They are outstanding. They are sticky sharp and will not cause line twist due to the fact that they are made on a small piece of wire. Last year on Table Rock, I caught everything in sight using that method. I just troll around old road beds, on the edges of flats as they drop off into the channel etc and pick up a fish every once in a while. Often, you will catch some woppers.

[hardhunter2]

Trial and error! What works for everyone else might not work for you! I don't think there is a right or wrong way!
Good luck!

[long poler]

We got our Tite Lok racks in 2006. We started out using a 1/16oz jig head on top and a 1/8oz jig head on bottom. And that's how we still do it. I know a lot of people use straight hooks with sinker on bottom and helps with the hang ups, but it hasn't been to bad for us. Anytime your in stumps your bound to get hung sooner or later. We fish a minnow on top and jig on bottom most of the time. There may be better ways for others, that's just the way we rig.

[lip_ripper]

I like to spread mine out as much as possible. My rod on the left side of the boat starts at the 9 o'clock position and try to evenly space them back around to the 3 o'clock position on the right. I feel like I can cover more water and decreases the chances of getting the lines tangled together although it still is going to happen. I've had good luck with the BnM double minnow rig. I have tied my own but between work, school, and family I'm busy and buying them gives me more time to fish! The hooks that are on the rigs bend fairly easy so when I do get snagged the hook will normally straighten and with a few pops the snag comes undone, bend the hook back and go back fishing. The last 3 times I've went rigging I think I've only broke 2 or 3 of these rigs and if you were to watch me rig I'm constantly in the brush/stumps getting hung up. As stated before what works for one person may not work for everybody. Experiment, ask questions, and maybe go with somebody else to figure out what works for you.
Our riggin mess from Saturday.....

[red ranger]

thanks for the help. last year when I started we hung up a lot and I think we fished to deep. Kevin Rodgers if you read this thanks for the seminar at bps it really helped me understand what I am trying to do.. I will tie up some new rigs this week and try again next sat..if any are up the grand I will be in the black alumacraft with a 150 merc hung on the back

[HuskerCrappie]

probably a lot of ways to do it, here's what I do.

12#(or so) line(any cheap line will do) to 3 way swivel. on 3 way, I go 10" of 6# flouro back to top hook . from bottom of 3way, I go 16" of 12# through 3/8 oz egg sinker to small barrel swivel. from swivel I go 14" of 6# flouro to hook.use gold #6 wire hooks (eagle claw aberdeen). they will straighten out instead of trash your whole rig, but still have to tie some. i also think the minnow swims freer on the hooks with this set up at .3 mph, the minnow seems to swim very natural.

right now my rods are 9-12 o clock, i am adding the 12-3 o clock part haha . i started slow and as i got better and more experiences, added better equipment and more rods. the experience with fewer rods to begin with and experiment has helped me to tweak my set up before spending $1000 on rods, rod holders, reels, chairs, etc...i go 14' at 12:00. 12' rod at 11,10, and 10' rod at 9 o'clock.

im an amateur for sure but really like it and have caught everything in the lake doin this...including...wait for it....an 8" shad yesterday! wth?

practice makes better