When veteran bass angler Courtney Copley relocated from the East Coast to Arizona, he tried bringing his familiar power tactics for bass with him. While there were occasional windows of time in which the old standbys of bulky jigs and fast-moving spinner-baits would work, the ultra-clear and heavily pressured waters around his home near Mesa, Ariz., required a change of tactics for consistent success. What would ultimately benefit Copley’s need for change was being refined halfway around the globe by Japanese anglers facing very similar conditions: intense fishing pressure and extremely clear water.
One of those Japanese tactics that made its way to the U.S. market—and eventually into Copley’s bass boat—was the free rig, which involves running the fishing line through a heavy cylinder or bell-shaped drop-shot sinker and tying a
