Advocacy for the "California Rig" (Nix the Drop-sh

[Polebrother]

In the nation's bass fishing arena, pro and amateur, Texas has a rig and Carolina has a rig. These are well known to all respectable bass fishers. With California's huge and favorable impact on America's bass fishing endeavors, why don't we have our own rig? Well, what would it be? Arguably, the very popular "drop-shot" technique has west coast roots and in recent years has been and is responsible for putting many bass "limits" in boats throughout our great country when other techniques were ineffective. Clearly, this method of landing bass is here to stay...like the Texas and Carolina rigs. As such, why don't we seize the opportunity now by referring to all things related to drop-shotting as, "The California Rig" or, maybe even the "Cali Rig"? If Texas and Carolina can have a commonly known bass fishing rig, why can't we? Many of you know that much has been said, written, and felt recently regarding the nation's alleged bias against California in several disciplines, especially bass fishing. Let's self-promote our great State by seizing this opportunity to have fishers throughout our great Nation using California's name in association with their success on the water. That said, let's start calling any drop-shot rig, "The California Rig" and then watch as this popular and endearing title works its way east, through the south, all the way to Maine. I personally mentioned this to a couple of the bass pro's at this year's Fred Hall seminars and they agreed it makes sense and said they could support it. What say ye?

[kazk]

Your alittle late:

Back in 1989 Paul Cormany came out wth a California Rig that he used to place 8th at a BASS tour event:

[Fishin' Dave]

Didn't the "drop shot rig" come from Japan?

[Ron C]

...a swimbait! (In my humble opinion).

[Guest]

Why pidgeon hole the entire state with one rig?

I typically end up junk fishing anyway (i.e. 2 on a crank, 3 on a spinnerbait, 1 on a buzzbait, 2 on a jig and the other 6 fish came flipping).

[Guest]

BTW I did a google search on "california rig" and found this article on Basspro.com:


http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog. ... ctID=29044

California Rig

Another Western worm rig that made inroads to the rest of the country is the California rig, which is a happy marriage between a spinnerbait and a 12-inch plastic worm. Hugh Harville of Harville Lures (Henderson, Tenn.) says this rig was developed in the Golden State, but it also works wonders on big bass wherever they live.

To tie the California rig, an angler needs a 12-inch flat-tailed worm, a 4-ought hook, an 18-inch length of 15-pound-test monofilament and a darning needle. Harville instructs, "Use the darning needle to run the line some 4 inches into the head of the worm, then push it out through the belly. Tie the hook on this end of the leader, then pull the line so the hook's shank is drawn back into the worm's body. Now rotate the hook and stick the point back into the worm like a weedless Texas rig.

"Next, slide a 1/4-ounce bullet sinker down on top of the worm's head, then tie the other end of the leader to the bottom arm of a Hildebrandt Jig Spinner. This is like a safety-pin spinnerbait wire and blade combination, but there's no body or skirt. Instead, the leader attaches where the body of the spinnerbait would normally be. Also, the blade should be a #3 1/2 willowleaf."

Once assembled, the California rig is fished like a spinnerbait, pulled slowly over sunken grassbeds, through reeds and past brush and standing timber. Harville says, "The whole idea is that the spinning willowleaf blade resembles a fleeing minnow, and the worm looks like it's trying to catch it. When big bass see this, it triggers their feeding instinct, and they rush up and grab the worm."

Harville adds that when a strike occurs, there's no tap. The bait simply stops dead in the water. "When you feel the fish's weight, drop your rod tip, hesitate a second or two, strike back hard, then start reeling. That's because this rig will fool some of the biggest bass in the lake, and you'd better get their heads up and lead 'em out of the cover before they realize they've been hooked!"

[kazk]

Yeah

"By way of Don Iovino. But the original california rig wuz a 1/8 or 3/16 ox bullet sinker, a small plastic bead and a hard rubber sinker stop. a one knot set up like a carolina rig but no swivels.

[RogerB]

Sorry, Polebrother, but I can't support your advocacy of the drop-shot as the California Rig.


Fishin Dave is correct. The drop-shot, as a freshwater finesse presentation, was first used in Japan as a solution to their highly-pressured bass lakes. Sure, the concept has been around for a long time...weight on the end of the line, hook affixed, usually by a leader, to a dropper loop or three-way swivel on the main line...for bait fishing for catfish, striped bass, and certainly many ocean species. But the rigging with the Palomar knot to affix the hook directly to the main line, the use of light line and light weights, was started by our fellow bassers in Japan as a matter of necessity to cope with all the competition they have for their few bass. I submit that we would offend our Japanese cohorts if we tried to claim the name California Rig for what should really be called the Japan Rig.

The rigging developed in California that might qualify is the split-shot rig. It is the finesse version of the Carolina rig but sufficiently different to qualify as a rigging in its own right. The use of light-wire hook and a simple split-shot crimped on the line 18 to 24 inches above the hook provided anglers with a light-line, tiny-lure finesse presentation that was very successful for many years in our highly pressured lakes in California (and that remains deadly!). The current version using a cylindrical Mojo weight held in place with an internal piece of rubber which allows the weight to be repositioned at different distances from the lure without having to re-tie is a great adaptation and a logical evolution of the concept.

Ron C is closer to reality in voting for the swimbait as a lure type that is uniquely Californian (kudos to A. C. Cole!!!). However, since it's a lure type, not a rigging, that may not fit.

Vince's discovery via Google in the Bass Pro archives is an interesting piece, but I've never heard of it before, certainly not as the California Rig. Unless it is widely used and commonly referred to as the California Rig, and I don't think it is, I wouldn't support it.

And, I agree with Vince...we don't need to categorize ourselves by a single rigging or technique. California bass anglers have been successful because they have needed to become skilled in the full range of presentations from the lightest finesse approaches to the heaviest techniques, including flipping and swimbaiting.

Go California!

...RogerB

[fishnfool]

*NM*

[fishnfool]

*NM*

[Polebrother]

Again, all of your inputs are valid and have great merit. I appreciate all of them. Please keep in mind that I'm not advocating a patent or copyright for the California Rig. What I propose would clearly never hold up in a court of law. Marketing is my main focus...via the use of jargon. I am simply suggesting that bass anglers in California, with very little effort, can favorably promote our region by beginning to refer to a certain popular bass fishing rig as "our" rig. How do you think the Texas and Carolina rigs got started? I still contend the dropshot is our best candidate because this is where it really took off relative to bass fishing. However, after considering your responses, I now believe that maybe the term, "Western Rig" may be more appropriate and an easier sell than the "California Rig." Such terminology, with a bit of a stretch, could justifiably include Japan as well as California.

The previously referenced internet article that mentioned an older version of the "California Rig" also talked about the Texas and Carolina rigs. Here's what it said.

Texas Rig: Somewhere in east Texas there lives -- or lived -- a fisherman who gave an extraordinary gift to his brothers of the bass. This man's name has long since been lost to posterity, so in its absence we shall call him the "Unknown Angler."


Carolina Rig: Texans don't have a monopoly in worm rigging. Years ago some resourceful Carolina angler devised a system for fishing a worm on a long leader behind a heavy sinker.

End quote.

Again, this kind of lore could never suffice as patent or copyright text. Indeed it could be easily challenged. It was mostly about marketing.

Finally, seems we are quick to criticize national bass fishing organizations and other entities for not properly recognizing the West's important and viable role in bass fishing. Why not re-channel some of that criticism towards marketing ourselves in every reasonable way?

I appreciate your patience and earnest attempts to understand my point of view. My ranting on this topic comes to a complete end here. Thanks.

[gt5bass]

Don't need a regional rig...we can just let our results speak for the West

[Cooch]

The Drop-shot, was not first used in Japan! They actually began using the dropshot after an article that came out in BASS in 1995. This article was done by a couple of gents from Alabama & Kentucky. I was first shown the dropshot rig be an angler from Georgia who lived on Lake Sidney Lanier, in 1992( I doubt there were bass in Japan in 1992! HAR!). The guy was 68 years old and told me he had been using a "Yankee rig" fer spots on Lanier fer 30 years. He showed me how to use this on the River in the winter, I was amazed!

This whole Japan claim to dropshotting is a myth! Sorry. And the Dropshot was indeed originally called the "Yankee rig" So California cain't lay claim either. As for those who say it should be the swimbait, well, that's a bait gus, not a rig! HAR!

Now the splitshot or the "Doodle" rig, maybe ya git my vote!

[RogerB]

Thanks for clarifying that, Cooch. I was aware of its early origin here in the states.

What I probably (or prolly!) should have said was that it was first used widely with great popularity in Japan, etc. Even though it was around here in the states in the early '90's, and described by BASS in 1995, it didn't really take off and get noticed until the Japanese bass anglers used it with great success in their heavily pressured waters. Then, it was "imported" from Japan, got some visibilty here in the states, and took off as a finesse presentation here as well, especially here in California. That's why I consider it the Japan Rig...I think they really popularized it.

Thanks again for setting the record straight.

...RogerB

[Marty]

Was reading my Oct/Nov 2005 issue of Basswester USA magazine and Gary Klein said that “Rick Clunn once referredâ€