10 POSSIBLE ADJUSTMENTS
1. SNAPS
Snaps provide the key connection from the rig to the swimbaits, so the first thing Smith does is upgrade to heavy-duty size 3 duo-lock snaps that he buys from Barlow’ s Tackle.
2. JIGHEAD WEIGHT
Smith runs five jigheads where legal and generally starts with 1 / 8 or 1 / 4 ounce, going only as light as 1 / 16 ounce and never using weightless hooks. He adjusts depending on the target depth and speed of retrieve. Pairing lighter heads on the top two wires( and sometimes the middle) with heavier on bottom can help prevent the rig from rolling or spinning during the retrieve, but Smith actually prefers for them to all weigh the same and makes other adjustments if his rig spins.
3. JIG-HOOKS
Some anglers prefer light-wire hooks on umbrella rigs because they believe they penetrate easier than heavy-wire hooks. Smith disagrees.
“ You definitely want a fairly stout hook because those fish hit that bait so hard,” he says.“ It’ s beefy tackle, so they hook themselves when they eat it. There’ s no need for a fine hook. To me, it’ s important to have a stout hook that they’ re not going to straighten.”
He’ s also particular about the angle of the hook’ s eye.
“ I’ m pouring my own 90-degree-eye Gamakatsu round-bend jigheads,” he says.“ I feel that a 1 / 4-ounce jighead with a 90- degree eye generally is going to stay down better than a 1 / 4-ounce jighead with a 60- degree eye.”
Smith uses a 4 / 0 round-bend hook for swimbaits up to a 3.8-inch Keitech and a 5 / 0 for a 4.8-inch Keitech, which is about his maximum size.
4. KEEPERS
In the case of FLW tournaments that allow umbrella rigs but limit them to three hooks( they’ re banned on the FLW Tour) and in states with three-hook limits, Smith always rigs the middle bait and bottom two baits with hooks. For the top two, he experiments with spring-style keepers, weighted spring-style keepers and his own jigheads with the hooks cut off. He settles on whichever setup keeps the bait and the particular rig running true. photo by ChARLES WALDoRF
Use a high-quality snap always.
Situational tweaks
Some tweaks that Smith makes are situational at best, perhaps only being necessary for a day. For instance, at oneida, smallmouths kept striking his“ dummy” baits – the swimbaits on the top two wires without hooks. In some cases, they’ d pull the swimbaits off entirely. to get the fish to dial in on the hooked baits, he made two tweaks. First, he ran 2.8-inch Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbaits as the dummies on top, on two wires bent way up and away from the other three. Second, he bent all three of the remaining wires down and rigged them with larger 3.3-inch Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbaits. After the changes, he hooked up more consistently. Little adjustments and experimentation can sometimes lead to great improvements in final results.
Casey Smith’ s best tip for umbrella rig success is to not be afraid to make adjustments and experiment on the fly. Even subtle changes can make a big difference in results.
Smith’ s custom jighead has a stout hook and a 90-degree eye.
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