Never used a lizard, Now I need to, How ?

[Guy Kelley]

I consider my self a fairly well rounded fisherman most times and try to change it up when conditions require it.

But for some reason I have not closed in on C-Rigs or Lizards !

But after reading Larry's H, fishing report I can see that I am serrously lacking in the approch and possible use of a very good bait and method !

Can anyone here help in what, when, & the hows of these baits, mostly fish the delta, and some Clear lake thrown in .

Thank's

[Guest]

Guy,

You really can't go wrong with a lizard for 10 months out of the year on a c-rig. For spots and smallies I typically downsize to a 4" or 5" zoom lizard and go with a 6" & 8" lizard for largemouths. This time of year on the delta I usually would fish an 8" lizard unless you get one of those post front blue bird sky days where the LM on the delta seem to not want to bite anything.

For the Delta/Clear lake the colors you should try would be Brown/Purple, Black/red flake, Black/Blue flake, Green Pumpkin, Watermelon/Red, Watermelon/black or watermelon/black & purple. You know typical LM colors based on water clarity.

As for gear pretty much your typical jig rod will suffice with your main line being 15-20lb and a leader of 12-15lb florocarbon. I personally use the Diawa L&T Worm/Jig rod with a typical 6:1 Shimano reel. For me this works well with the heavier line.

As for approach plan on fishing the weed wedges down to the middle of the slough from 3' to 25' in the delta. Pretty much the same areas you would fish a jig this time of year but this allows you to put the bait right in their face. This also works well when fishing Disco bay as you have fairly uniform banks with a pretty consistent mud/rock line.

So why would someone fish a c-rig rather than a jig?

Well most guys who pitch/flip jigs simply throw to a target, shake for a few seconds and then pickup and move to another target. They don't work the bait or drag it very much and when the fish start to get deeper or more bottom oriented simply throwing on their head is not very effective. With the C-Rig you give them a chance to look at it and it looks more natural swimming in their environment. With places like Clear Lake when the bite is really slow you can simply cast out the C-Rig and drag it around all day trying to bump into fish. I typically cast & retrieve as I'm using the C-Rig more to find transition areas like rock to mud/sand or small chunk rock. The C-Rig really is more about reading the bottom and keeping the bait in the zone for a long period of time.

Just be warned... on places like the Columbia River they have a nick name for guys who throw C-Rigs (i.e cast out, put the T-Motor on low and drag around). They refer to them as Drag Queens

Good luck and tight lines.

[wccjanel]

1. Yank the head off of a 6" lizard and use it as a jig trailer.
2. Texas rig a 6-8" lizard and use it for flipping and/or pitching.
3. Bubba Rig (Carolina Rig) a 6-8" lizard on 2-6' leader of 10-20#, and 1/2-1oz Tungsten weight on 35-65# braided mainline. Use two glass beads, and a decent swivel.
4. Fish where the fish are. Use any of the above rigs in place of what you would normally use. Don't take anything else, and give yourself time.

I don't profess to know all there is to know about lizards, but the above methods have worked for me, and others that I know.

Good luck.

[kopper_bass]

Guy,
Another secret technique that most guys overlook is with the mini-lizards. Just put it on the end of your dropshot line and shake. This kills the spots on our lakes, and can grab some nice LMB on the Delta or Clear Lake too with all those wiggly appendiges.

Fish On,

Kopper_Bass

[Stratos278]

As for gear pretty much your typical jig rod will suffice with your main line being 15-20lb and a leader of 12-15lb florocarbon.

I'm not much of a C-Rig fisherman either, but I thought the idea behind this set-up was to keep your line (sinker) on the bottom while the lure floated a couple of inches above. Wouldn't fluorocarbon leader defeat this?

[texas john]

Again not a C-Rigg Expert but exsperience has taught me that you must MUST real down until you feel the weight when you set the hook. A half hearted hookset with a Carolina rig will just cause you to miss fish and frustrate you go back to your normal methods.

Good Luck

[FATGUY]

hey vince.. i rememeber that day at clear lake you kicked my butt from the back of my boat carolina rigging a lizard ?? how you been ???? bob

[g-man]

Guy, C-rig is one of the best baits you can go to when times are tuff. Lakes, Delta, CL anywhere.

An old set up that still gets it done....

To answer your question "Lizards are good"

[tunaman]

Flourocarbon mainline, mono leader...

Roger

[Andy Giannini]

Another variation of it eliminates tying three knots, which gets old if you are breaking off.

I like a big Mojo weight, with a rubber toothpick. (from top brass I think.) You just tie your one knot on the hook, adjust leader to length, peg the sinker and start fishing whatever piece of plastic you want.

Or you could use the rubber toothpick to peg the bead and have a closer variation sans swivel.

.02 A.G.

[tunaman]

Shhhhh... keep the Mojo Rockhopper sinkers on the down-low, and never, EVER shape them like a banana!

Roger

[ash]

Shhhhh... keep the Mojo Rockhopper sinkers on the down-low, and never, EVER shape them like a banana!

Roger

For lakes like Folsom and Orroville that Mojo Rock Hopper is THE weight to use, 95% of the time you can get on top or back up and get the rig back or better yet put your rod tip strait in the air and it lifts the bait up.

I really like the C-rig for pre fishing, and when the bite is slow. I feel like I can cover a lot of structure keying in on the primo and let my bait set there quivering in front of the bass.

The lizard - I really like the lizard come spawn time on a light texas rig, it does well across spawn flats. I am sure a C-rig will be good too But during this time I want the hook being the thing going through the bed and not fish keying in on the weight.

For the most part the lizard is really a more Finesse version of the Brush Hog

[bassindon69]

Don't feel or put pressure on the fish to see if it's still there a second time if you feel a hit, Reel down the slack and SET. Don't put pressure on the fish IF you feel a hit just set the hook.
Then again some days they may need to hold it longer. That you will have to test each day. I say that to try to keep the hook in the mouth and not the gut. Some times you never feel the hit at all. It's a pressure bite or sponge feeling, SET.
I just use a tooth pick to peg the weight. IF YOUR LINE BREAKS THEN TOUR LINE SUCKS OR YOUR LINE AND ROD MATCH IS BAD. I have used it this way (old way) for years with no problems.
The 4" lizard can catch some nice large mouth too.
I even just slide it down to T-rig if needed.

Just like a drop shot the weight distance can make all the deference on hits.
You can cast or drag it. Mix it up like fast, slow, High lift, Low lift, twitch it. You know the routine
I like tunaman's idea but I am to lazy to do it and it works fine the way I do it now. If I am cashing a check then it's just fine
If you want your bait to float around a little then don't use Florocarbon (it sinks)

Don.

[Guest]

I'm not much of a C-Rig fisherman either, but I thought the idea behind this set-up was to keep your line (sinker) on the bottom while the lure floated a couple of inches above. Wouldn't fluorocarbon leader defeat this?

This is not an issue with bottom bouncing baits. When fishing topwater baits having a line that floats like braid helps with the action of the bait especially when you cast 100 ft from the boat. For jigs, carolina rigs, etc using fluorocarbon for both the main line and leader helps as the line is nearly invisible in the water, has great sensitivity and abrasion resistance.

The only situation with a carolina rig that I use braid is fishing for smallies on the Columbia River. In that situation I'm typically using a 1 - 1.5 oz sinker with 20lb Fireline crystal as the main line and 10 lb P-Line fluorocarbon for the leader material. Mainly to accommodate the weight of the sinker due to the current. In all other situations I use P-Line fluorocarbon as both the main line and leader material. Typically I'll go at least 1 size smaller for the leader material so that if I get hung up I only loose the leader rather than the entire rig.

If you're concerned with getting the bait to float off the bottom you can typically use these from BassPro:

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/store ... rchResults

Personally I think this is more of a factor in fishing heavy vegetation lakes like in Florida. I've never had a need to use these out west so I can't speak as to their effectiveness in the delta.

[brambo0311]

I use a stealhead drift fish pencil weight for your carlolina rigs. Best way I have found to avoid hang ups, actually I use my steal head set up for drft fishing as a carolina rig. Keep a pocket full of them with the surgical tube already loaded. I just clip another one on if it pulls off, finda like a drop shot weight that realeases. And it hangs up less.

[TritonBrent]

To answer your question "Lizards are good"

Well..... Most anyways

[Rod Martin]

nobody said anything about dropshotting 8 or 10" lizards on a bubba drop shot rig. 16 to 20lb floro 3/8 or heavier drop shot , use a 5/0 ewg or better hook and just have about 2" drop from the hook to the weight. Much better than texas rig for bed fishing get the dropshot in the nest then shake.

[Guy Kelley]

thanks guys to all who took the time to answer. People like you who bother is why i keep the candle lit in the window !

[aNNieNsaLTIE]

Guy,

I do know a lake that has shorelines of newts during a certain time of the year. It is a northern coast lake. So if you do buy some lizards, one color to get is black with red flakes or a black with orange belly.

Steven

[Grape Ape]

I can't believe Big "D" hadn't chimmed in on this one. He must be keeping all his secrets to himself. His tackle box has one spinner bait (still in it's original package), one crank bait (from back in the 60's), one lure he calls it "topwater"....hell I don't know....I've never seen him throw that either.....then you have about 500 packages of lizards! Ever color, shape and size! After a day of fishing with "D" I find pieces of lizards all over the place on my boat. LOL

Hey "D" help this guy out and give him some pointers!