Don't Let Current Ruin Your Bottom-Fishing Trip

Lengthen your soak time with this fast-current bottom rig.

- George Poveromo

It was May, a prime time for bottom-fishing throughout the Bahamas. But a stiff 20-knot easterly breeze destroyed our chance to make shallow-to-deep drifts off West End. Or did it? To compensate, we switched up our game plan, opting to rig a pair of fast-current bottom rigs. Anyone who experiences fast current when bottomfishing should consider this option. This is not a Bahamas-only rig.

The setup extends a bait's soak time in a fast current, be it at anchor or while drifting. As basic as it may appear, there are crucial subtleties involved in its rigging and fishing, ones which make the difference between catching fish or spewing excuses back at the dock.

THE COMPONENTS

Our drift windows spanned from 45 feet of water to just shy of 200 feet. If we scored, we'd duplicate the same drift by following the trail feature on my electronics. We fished two bottom rods, one off the bow and one off the stern. I maneuvered the boat sideways for our drifts to prevent tangles.

The fast-current bottom rig requires a three-way swivel. One eye accepts the fishing line, the center eye accepts the leader, and the lower eye accepts the sinker line. Sinker options include bank sinkers and drop-shot weights.

If you don't have a three-way, you can accomplish the same rig by adding a free-sliding barrel swivel on the main fishing line. (This barrel swivel is what you'll tie your leader to.) Then thread on a spacer bead or a tiny sinker before terminating the main line with a second swivel. The bead acts as a buffer between the two swivels. We used 250-pound-test barrel swivels. Swivels are crucial because they reduce line twist and produce better bait presentations, whether with live bait, strips or chunks.