You're generally using enough weight with a Carolina rig (a half-ounce or more) that long casts are easy. As a result, another reason this bait can pay big dividends for you is that it lets you cover so much water effectively.

If there is a "trick" to this bait that will help you catch more fish, it has nothing to do with specifically how you rig it, or the speed of your retrieve. Rather, it involves learning how not to react when you feel a bite.

Kevin VanDam, 2005 BASS Masters Classic champion, talked with me about this years ago, right after he'd used a Carolina rig to set a one-day weight record in a B.A.S.S. tournament. "Tommy Martin taught me how to hook way more bass with a Carolina rig," he explained. "Like many anglers, I was setting the hook as soon as I felt a bite, and I was often pulling the plastic bait out of the fish's mouth. Tommy told me to slowly count to three when I felt a bite, reeling in as much slack line as I could as I counted. It really works."

As with the two baits already mentioned, you should let conditions dictate how quickly you fish a Carolina-rigged lizard. Slower is better when water has not yet begun to warm, or on days dominated by a cold front with a chilly wind. You can speed up on brighter, warmer days.

HULA GRUB
There are certain times of the early season when this bait will work better than the others, and there are a couple of reasons for that.

First and most important, I fish this soft plastic on a standup "mushroom"-style jighead so that it looks like a crawdad going "defensive." Bass absolutely love crawdads.

Second, you can effectively fish these baits really, really slowly. That means during the earliest days of a new season, when every living thing under water is still sluggish, you can imitate nature with this bait and give bass something that's going to look like an easy meal.

Another situation where you can switch to this lure from another of the Fearsome Foursome is when you've stumbled across a whole mess of nice bass staging in one fairly small spot. And if that spot involves rocky cover, all the better!

Remember, this bait fished the way I fish it imitates a crawdad. They're generally found in rocky structure, and bass know that. They'll be looking for and expecting crawdads in spots like these.

Using this bait allows you to keep an enticing offering in front of bass as long as possible, and that often will trigger strikes.

You'll enjoy versatility in your fishing during the early season with this Fearsome Foursome. And you'll enjoy plenty of bass action.