How to Fish With a Carolina Keeper

The Carolina Keeper is an ingenious little device for fishermen that eliminates the need for a swivel and split shot when using a sliding sinker for bait fishing. It keeps the sinker from sliding down against the bait. It also allows you to add a Hula Skirt and other attractors to your line, and keeps them in place when trolling or casting lures.

Things You'll Need

• Needle nosed pliers
• Bait hook
• Sinker
• Fishing line
• Lure
• Attractants

Instructions

1. Use a Carolina Keeper instead of a swivel to separate the hook from a sliding sinker. This eliminates the two knots required for attaching a swivel. The fewer knots in a fishing line, the stronger the line, and the less likely it is to break or separate when you hook a lunker bass or other game fish. This also eliminates the need for a split shot to hold a sliding sinker away from the bait. Because a split shot clamps down on the line, it can also pinch and fray the line, creating a weak spot in the monofiliment.

2. Slide a barrel sinker or other sliding sinker onto the fishing line. Attach a Carolina Keeper to your line by squeezing it with needle nosed pliers to open the slit in the center. Pass the end of the line through the slit and pull about 12 inches of the line through the Carolina Keeper. Release the pressure on the pliers and the Keeper will stay put. Tie a bait hook onto the end of the line.

3. Move the Carolina Keeper up or down the line easily by squeezing it with the needle nosed pliers any time you want more or less distance between the hook and the sinker. Start with about 18 inches of line between the hook and the sinker and experiment with longer distances if you don't get a bite after a reasonable time. The ease of changing the line length lets you keep your bait in the water fishing rather than having to re-tie leader sections to vary the length. The more time the line is in the water, the more likely you are to catch fish.

4. Add a Hula Skirt, a series of small Octopus Skirts or other attractants when fishing with lures. Just slide a Carolina Keeper below each attractant to keep it in place. You can also slide a Carolina Keeper above the head of the lure as a cushioning device when setting the hook on a big fish.

Tips & Warnings

• Using a Carolina Keeper instead of a swivel also lets you feel a fish taking your bait more easily. A swivel often dampens the sensitivity of the line, making it harder to feel a fish mouthing the bait.

• When using a heavy sinker of 1/2 oz. or larger, use two Carolina Keepers to hold it in place.