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SEVEN CASTS
Coastal Companionby Seven Casts · Coastal Virginia
Sheet 16 of 28

intermediate rig

Float presentation

Santee Cooper rig

A real step up in complexity from a plain bottom rig, but solves a genuine problem: keeping cut bait up out of bottom debris and crab-picking range while still fishing on/near the bottom where catfish feed

Water
riverbay
Santee Cooper rig schematicTop to bottom: main line, swivel, dropper loop, sinker, leader, float, hook, bait.

Schematic, not to scale. Hover, tap, or tab through the parts; the drawing isolates each one.

Terms usedMain lineSwivelDropper loopSinkerLeaderPopping corkHook sizes

Components

As listed in the rig record, top to bottom.

  1. Main line to a three-way swivel
  2. Dropper to a bottom sinker
  3. Separate leader up to a float
  4. Leader from the float down to the hook, suspending bait just above bottom

Setup

Hook
Circle hook, sized to bait — 5/0–8/0 for typical cut-bait blue/channel catfish presentations.
Weight
A no-roll or bank sinker on the bottom dropper, sized to hold current — the float (not the sinker) does the job of keeping bait off bottom debris.
Leader
The float-to-hook leader length sets how far off bottom the bait rides — typically 12–24 inches, adjusted for how much bottom clutter (mussel beds, debris) is present.

How to fish it

A real step up in complexity from a plain bottom rig, but solves a genuine problem: keeping cut bait up out of bottom debris and crab-picking range while still fishing on/near the bottom where catfish feed.

When to use it

  • Mussel beds, debris, and cluttered river bottom that eats plain bottom rigs
  • Anchored above a channel edge or hole in the tidal James, Nansemond, or Chickahominy
  • Slow to moderate current that lets the float lift the bait

Variations

Float rigs: the same idea, adjusted

Rigs drawn from the same schematic family — heavier, lighter, or with one part changed for a different fish or water.

All float rigs

Where to use it

Water this rig is documented for

Spots marked “species match” document a fish this rig is for and the way it is fished — a place to try it, not a report that it has been fished there.

All fishing spots