Drift Rig: The Bait Fisherman's Friend

Using a drift rig may solve one of your regular bait fishing difficulties. One of the biggest complaints, among bait fishermen, is the loss of rigging that results from bottom-drifting baits in rocky stream.

“Sure and shootin’,” on such angler told me just the other day, “I’ll hook a rock or snag, and break-off the entire rig.” And of course, he continued, In addition to the loss of tackle, there’s the loss of time it takes to re-rig.

From my talks with bait fishermen, one little known fact is that the hook is irrelevant when hanging up in rocks. It’s the weight that matters. What happens, most of the time, is that the weight slips between some rocks. As the rig moves downstream it reaches a point where other rocks box it in. You then tighten the line, jamming the weight even tighter.

If there were a way to keep the weight above the rocks, you would almost never hang up. That’s the theory behind a drift rig. This is a method of keeping the weight bouncing along above the rocks, so that you rarely get stuck. And, on the relatively few times you do, they minimize tackle loss.

A drift rig, for the most part, is based around three-way swivels. Using the smallest one consistent with your other tackle, you tie your main line to one of the rings in the swivel. To a second ring goes a leader and hook. That much stays consistent. What varies is how you rig the third loop.

The simplest approach is to tie on a length of mono about four inches long. Ideally, this line will have a lower breaking strength than your main line. For instance, if you’re fishing with ten pound line, the dropper would only test about six pounds. If you don’t have any mono weaker than your main line, no big deal. Just use what you have.

On the dropper line, arrange a series of spaced-out split shot. Your goal is to add just enough weight that will carry the bait to the bottom, but not enough to act as an anchor. What you want is to have the whole rig drift down in the current – thus the name drift rig.

If you nail it, the dropper will just tick along the rocks. Indeed, you can feel it doing so. Because the dropper doesn’t actually fall between rocks, you don’t hang up.

Occasionally, despite your best efforts to balance the amount of weight with the current, the dropper will get caught. When that happens, however, one or more of the split shot slide off the mono, and the rest of the drift rig gets released. It’s a simple matter, then, to add new shot to the dropper. On rare occasions, the dropper actually will break off (which is why you want weaker line for it, if possible). While replacing it takes a few moments, it’s still a lot better than replacing the entire rig.