Rise and shine. This is Early Bird Fishing. Prepare for world class fishing instruction, stories, and news, in less than 5 minutes.

Here’s what we got for you today:

• A complete guide on how to fish one of the most versatile rigs out there (shout out to our friends from the Carolinas) 🐟

• Add lightning to the list of what to watch out for when fishing ⚡

• How to fillet a 300 pound grouper 🔪

• Scroll To The Bottom - we have an unreal referral program and offer rewards for ONLY 1 referral 💸

🎣 Master the Carolina Rig

If you want a setup that covers water and catches fish year-round, it's hard to beat the Carolina rig. It's simple to tie, deadly effective—and unlike your buddy’s "secret lure," it actually works.

How To Rig It:

• Slide a bullet weight or egg sinker onto your main line.

• Add a plastic bead under the weight (this protects your knot and makes a clicking sound—kind of like ringing the dinner bell).

• Tie to a barrel swivel.

• On the other side, tie a leader (12–24 inches) to a hook.

• Finish with a soft plastic bait like a lizard, craw, worm—or even a floating bait like PowerBait for trout.

Choosing the Right Weight:
Use just enough to keep contact with the bottom:

• 1/4 oz for shallow water (under 8 feet)

• 3/8 oz to 1/2 oz for moderate depths (8–15 feet)

• 3/4 oz or heavier for deep water, heavy wind, or when the fish are hanging out somewhere you need a zip code to reach.

How To Fish It:
Once cast out, let the rig settle. Instead of sharply jerking the rod, you want to "sweep" it across the bottom. Think of it like slowly dragging your weight across the floor.

Sweeping Tips:

• Primarily move the rod sideways, not upward. Every once in a while it’s okay to add some vertical movement, but the main focus should be on on moving the rod sideways.

• Use slow, steady pulls—about 2–4 feet at a time.

• Pause often after a sweep. Many strikes happen when the bait looks like it's taking a coffee break.

• Keep light tension on the line to feel subtle bites.

• Reel in slack after each sweep before sweeping again.

Why It Works:
The Carolina rig is versatile because it presents the bait naturally while covering ground efficiently. It shines for bass, but also works wonders when floating baits for trout. PowerBait will hover just off the bottom like a neon billboard that says, "Eat Me."

Bonus:
Catfish, redfish, walleye, surf species—you name it. If it swims near the bottom, it’ll hit a Carolina rig. Master the sweep, and you’ll master this bottom-fishing powerhouse (and finally outfish that one guy at the marina who "never gets skunked").

🎣 IN THE FIELD

• Underwater footage of a Carolina rig in action:

• In Surfside, Texas, game wardens intercepted anglers who had exceeded the red snapper limit and were fishing illegally in federal waters. Instead of letting the confiscated fish go to waste, the wardens donated them to the local community, sparking a spontaneous cookout.

• We found out that fishing is the deadliest hobby when it comes to lightning strikes, responsible for four times more fatalities than golf. Long hours on open water, lightning-attracting rods, and slow reactions to storms make anglers prime targets—especially in summer afternoons.

• We sincerely wish that this weekend a bass hits your lure like this - there’s no better feeling. This is also a great visual of ‘sweeping’ a Carolina rig:

AI CORNER

Every week we generate fishing related AI images. See the coolness/weirdness below:

💋 CHEF’S KISS - RECIPE OF THE WEEK

This is what it takes to clean a 300lb grouper - I think we’ll stick to trout for the time being: