For most catfishermen the standard slip sinker rig probably makes up 90% of their bait presentation. It is a method that is effective for live and dead bait and works especially well for presenting large livebaits for catfish. The main part of the rig is the sinker sliding on the line above a swivel. A slip sinker is exactly that, it normally has a hole designed to allow the main line to pass through it so it can freely slide up and down the main line. The swivel’s purpose is to take the twist out of the line from a lively swimming bait or a piece of cut bait twisting in the current. A leader is then attached to the swivel giving the angler versatility in type of hook to use or length of leader to use.
Sinkers: They come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Egg sinkers; Pyramid sinkers; No-Roll Sinkers; Bank sinkers; etc., etc. They all work and almost all have their champions. When fishing in light current or in lakes and reservoirs an egg sinker may be the perfect choice. When presenting bait in current situations near heavy cover where you want that bait to hold in a specific spot a flat sinker like a No-Roll or a Pyramid sinker may be what is needed to keep the current from rolling the sinker into snags or debris. When drifting or slow trolling for cats a walking slip sinker like a Lindy sinker or Slinky sinker may get you down to the depth you are looking for and by their design walk through the rocks or sticks and keep you from getting hung up.
Leaders: The placement of the sinker in relation to the bait determines the bait action. The closer the sinker is placed to the hook, the more control you will have over bait action and the likelihood of snagging. Conversely, the farther the sinker is from the hook the more freedom of movement you give the bait but also the more freedom for that bait to get snagged in rocks or debris. With a slip sinker rig you control how far the bait is from the slip sinker by varying the length of the leader you will use. The rule of thumb – the shorter the leader the less likelihood of getting snagged. In some cases where there is heavy current and lots of rocks and debris the choice may be no leader at all and to have the sinker slide right up to the hook. There are times where this is the preferred and most effective presentation. The type of line to use for a leader is an angler’s personal preference. Suffice it to say that for cats – use whatever you want, they are not leader shy so you don’t have to go to great pains to try to come up with an invisible leader. I personally use high test HiVis PowerPro for my leaders mainly because it is easy to tie and easy see in the dark.
Basic Slip Rig: Photo #1 is a standard slip rig using a No-Roll sinker. The No-Roll sinker by design is made to lay flat on the bottom and not roll in current.
Photo #2 is a standard slip rig using a bank sinker. Note the main line just goes through the sinker to a swivel to which your leader is attached. Some folks will add a bead between the sinker and the swivel to try to protect the knot from getting beat up by the sinker as shown in the photo.
Slip Rig Options:
Sinker Slide: Last year I was fishing with Larry Haugh AKA Larry Flatcaster and he introduced me to a device called a Sinker Slide. He gave me a few to try out and I immediately became hooked on them. The Sinker Slide is a plastic device with a snap attached to it. You thread your main line through the sinker slide so that it slides easily up and down the line and then attach your swivel and leader to complete the slip rig. The snap on the bottom of the sinker slide allows you to attach a sinker to your rig but it gives you a lot of flexibility with sinkers allowing you to change sinkers quickly without having to retie your rig. Larry was using Pyramid sinkers that have a brass eye on the top of the sinker and he would just snap the sinker on the sinker slide and he was in business. I like to use flat bank sinkers that didn’t fit the snap on the Sinker Slide too well so I just modified my rig by hooking a rubber band on the flat bank sinker and then hanging the rubber band on the snap of the sinker slide. It works excellent and if the sinker gets hung up I just tug the main line until the rubber band breaks and I don’t lose my entire rig. You can just hang a new sinker on the sinker slide and get your hook back in the water quickly. Photo #3 is a picture of a sinker slide with my flat bank sinker hookup.
John Jamison’s Dropper Slip Rig: I was reading an In-Fisherman article on fishing for winter blue cats. Legendary Missouri River tournament Blue Cat angler John Jamison was talking about one of his preferred slip rigs for fishing around a lot of rock. He uses a dropper – a bank sinker attached to a 4 to 6 inch section of 20# mono. The dropper is hung on the mainline using a snap swivel and then he adds a bead and then ties a swivel to the end of the main line to which he attaches his leader. If the sinker gets snagged, the dropper breaks, saving the rest of the rig. Photo #4 is a picture of the Jamison Dropper Slip Rig.
This is kind of a quick and clean tip on cat slip rigs and some proven options that work. You can see that it is not rocket science and to not be afraid to experiment with different sinker styles or rigging options. The objective is to get a bait in front of a big catfish – once he finds it just hang on.
Good fishing.