December 22, 2016

How To Tie The Chalmette Rig

Jon Miller shows us how to tie the Chalmette Rig, his custom rig for catching speckled trout in deep water during all seasons of the year.

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Jon is a member of LAFB Elite, posting about his forays into Louisiana's inshore waters. He does pretty well, catching boxes of speckled trout and more.

What Makes This Rig So Special?

The neat thing about Jon is that he thinks outside of the box and doesn't accept conventional tackle as being the only approach to catching speckled trout.

He's thinking how he can present the most natural-looking presentation in deep water and provide a little bit of rattle as well.

That is where his "Chalmette Rig" comes in to play.

It succeeds by doing what a drop shot does, but power fished like a Carolina rig. This way you can fish the bottom but have your bait float realistically just above it.

While he uses it to fish in about 8-12ft of water, this rig would also do well in deeper, faster moving water.

It's not entirely unlike a Rucker Rig, another rig suited for such scenarios.

What really makes the rig standout is Jon's custom floating jighead.

How To Tie The Chalmette Rig

Tying the Chalmette Rig is no more difficult than tying anything else, and these are the parts you will need to do it:

  • barrel swivel
  • barrel snap swivel
  • Lindy No-Snag Sinker 3/4oz
  • Floating Jighead
  • Gamakatsu 3/0 Finesse Wide-Gap Hook
  • 17lb Stren monofilament for a leader
chalmette rig

Floating Jighead?!

Many people have asked Jon where they can find the floats to create their own floating jighead.

Jon tells us that, after much searching, he found his floating jighead parts at Lure Parts Online.

Jump to 13:05 to see how he constructs his floating jighead for the Chalmette Rig.

Important Note About Leader Material

It is key to use monofilament for your leader, not braid or fluorocarbon.

Not only does braid tangle more easily, but not all types of braid float like monofilament.

Because monofilament line floats (or is neutral buoyant) it makes for a better presentation.

Fluorocarbon has a higher density than monofilament and sinks, not making for a good leader line in this case.

Does The Chalmette Rig Work?

Jon demonstrates how he fishes it in another one of his YouTube videos:

As you can see, he has no problem catching speckled trout with the Chalmette Rig.

What do you think?

Comment below!

Captain Devin

About the Author

Devin is a former fishing guide and lifelong inshore angler. He founded Louisiana Fishing Blog in 2012 to share his ideas as a charter captain and still writes in it today. Since then he's created a fishing university — LAFB Elite — where he teaches inshore anglers how to safely navigate Louisiana's coast and catch more fish.


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