HEMINGWAY’S CLASSIC TALE of Santiago’s adventures in the Gulf of Mexico describes an old man who combined simple fishing tactics with his knowledge of the sea to engage the mighty marlin. Santiago’s ways were rustic, rugged, distinctly unfancy, but nonetheless effective (even though marauding sharks crashed the party).
That’s really no stretch from today’s professional bass scene, as the more senior anglers often reach deep into their bag of time-honored tactics to combat tough scenarios. Among their options is the Carolina rig.
Many are the tales of how slinging the old ball and chain delivered the goods in derbies of yesteryear. But as meaningful as those accounts surely are, we’re taking a different approach.
Paying homage to the master storyteller and his indomitable sportfishing spirit, we’ll look at the newer generation of bass pros who recognize this blast from the past as a tool for today. In novel form, we’ll title it “The Young Man and the C-Rig.”
For this, we rounded up a handful of the younger Bassmaster Elite Series pros and asked them for the when, where and how of their Carolina rig preferences. We set the age bar at under 30 and, while I realize chronological perspectives on old/young vary, it’s my story and that’s what we’re going with. (Wink)
SKYLAR HAMILTON (28)
Leading us off with reflections of early indoctrination, the 28-year-old from Dandridge, Tenn., said his fishing views are the product of generational instruction.
“I was a weird child; I had a lot of older friends, so I attached to older fishermen because they taught me so much,” Hamilton said. “One of those older friends, who fished Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes, taught me how effective the Carolina rig can be.”
Hamilton said those early lessons
