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Alternate Method of rigging your Artificials
By Capt. Rick Reynolds

During this time of the year, the water is very cold and very clear. So here are a couple of ways to rig your Artificials that will help you now and in the spring and summer as well. I saw Mark Nichols, owner and inventor of the DOA shrimp demonstrate how to make his DOA shrimp weed less.

• The bottom shrimp is the original DOA rigged from the factory
• Remove the hook from the front of the shrimp
• Use a 4/0 worm offset hook and rig from the tail
• Trim the tail in a diamond shape if you want, I left it as is
• Slip a glass tube with a rattle in the hole where the hook was

By putting the rattle in the nose of the shrimp and tying a loop knot to the worm hook, you can now pitch this DOA into the weeds and oyster rakes without getting the lure hung up on the structure. Shrimp flee backwards, so make a jerk and let it sink while taking up some of the slack. Work this slow and you will catch some nice fish that you might have not been able to cast to. See below:


Another good tactic that will work year round is using a drop shot rig. This is more for extracting fish than searching for them. With this rig, you just cast it where you think or know where the fish are and just wait.

Since I am using a circle hook with this rig, you could safely cast it out and leave it till you see the rod tip dip, then just reel the fish in, do not set the hook. If you cannot help setting the hook then replace the 3/0 Circle hook with a 2/0 Kahle hook. See below:

Notice the next picture. Use the following items to build this rig,

Fluorocarbon leader, swivel, ½ ounce steel, titanium, or lead sinker. The Titanium will be smaller than the other two weights, and will cast just as well, but quieter. However expect to spend 3 times as much for titanium. You can attach your favorite screw tail or paddle tail to the hook. I used a 3/0 circle hook, but you can attach whatever hook you like.

Just cast it out where you see fish moving and just wait, they cannot resist the fluttering of this rig. Instead of tying the weight on the bottom, you can peg it with a peg and adjust the depth this is fished from the bottom. In the picture below, you could raise the weight 6 inches and peg it. This would put the screw tail 6 inches closer to the bottom.






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