What type of leader or hook setup do you use?

Question

My husband and I are wanting to experiment with different setups and want to know what are some of your favorites. What has caught you some good fish? Pictures of those setups would be good too if possible.

The types of fish primarily targeted are catfish, bass, and crappie. I know it'll be different for each one, but some basics will help. We also primarily fish from the shore over the rip-rap rocks, the depth of the spillway is 20ft currently, but will go up to 30ft soon when they open the 2nd gate for winder pool. We will also occasionally go to another spot that has a sand bottom, but we are unsure how deep it is.

We know a couple of rig setups, like the texas and carolina, but don't know many others. We've also wanted to try the multiple hook setup, but are unsure how to do it, and what the best ways to do it are. So any info you can give me would be helpful.

Also, how deep do you suggest we drop the bait/lure?

Thanks in advance for all of your help.

Answer 1

The Texas and the Crappie rigs are both efficient but I seem to have better luck with each of these fish with the sliding bottom rig, as the fish feels no resistance upon taking the bait, just replace the slider/wieght system with an egg sinker and adjust your barrel swivel and hook accordingly, and it is now a fresh water rig that will work for any bottom dwelling fish,    check out how we do it here......................

http://www.combat-fishing.com/basicusefu...

Here's another useful sight I like for rigging.............................

Answer 2

You can tie the dropper rig for crappie it will allow you to use your main line and have droppers off of it to tie how ever many hooks legal to use in your state.

For cats a good rig is the slip sinker rig!

This site will have several good rigs for you to try!

Answer 3

Look for underwater structure or deep holes and weed lines. And fish those area's.

Try to find where the ground drops off sharply in the water and fish in and around that drop off.

Here's a link to some rigs (It says catfish rigs, but there's other rigs too):

http://deweyvillecatfishtx.tripod.com/id...

And here's another for all kinds of fishing rigs:

http://www.combat-fishing.com/basicusefu...

Answer 4

Well Laura, when it comes to freshwater fishing and using live bait I like to use a 1/0 bait holder or circle hook and let the bait swim freely. I use the larger baits like shiners to catch the larger bass, catfish, stripers and such. I hook the baits behind the dorsal fin and cast it out. When fishing shiners in this manner the bait will swim and naturally look for cover. When you are fishing for catfish you want to keep your bait close to the bottom. In twenty-feet of water I would advise using a small 1/2 ounce weight (or more) to hold your bait in the same location. Catfish are scent feeders and will track the scent to its source. You can also use the shiners cut into chunks. This releases the scent quicker into the water and brings in more fish. Best of luck to you and your husband. Have fun and catch a bunch!