Popping corks and freeline rigs are popular and effective rigs to fish the upper and/or middle water column, whereas bottom rigs are only for bottom fishing (see my article on bottom rigs, here). In this article I will discuss different popping cork and freeline setups.
Popping Corks
A popping cork is a float (usually made of foam, but sometimes made of hard plastic) that helps your bait suspend in the water. They can be used with live bait, dead bait, or artificial lures, but they are most commonly used with live bait. On many corks, the top of the cork is dished out; this creates a loud “popping” noise if you give the cork a sharp jerk while it is floating on the surface of the water. This popping noise simulates feeding gamefish, and sounds similar to the popping noise made by trout or redfish when they are feeding nearby.
The photos below show a couple of “old school” popping corks. This style has been around forever. In each photo, note that the cork on the left is equipped with a green plastic tube that is stuck in a hole that runs through the middle of the cork (blue arrows), and the cork on the right has a hole with no tube (red arrows). In the second photo, also note that the tubed cork has a slot in one side (orange arrow), and that each cork has a concave or “dished out” area surrounding the hole on the top side.
Each of these corks is a bit different in its use. The tubed cork can be attached to your fishing line using the “Quick Attach Method”:
- pull the green tube out
- stick your fishing line into the slot
- re-insert the tube.
The tube squeezes your fishing line against the inside of the hole, keeping the float in place. However, sometimes the tube will not clamp the line tight enough and the float will not be very secure on the line. To fix this, use the “Better Quick Attach Method”, which only requires a couple more steps:
- pull the tube out
- stick the line in the slot
- wrap your line completely around the outside of the float,
- put the line back in the slot
- re-insert the tube.
The photo below shows the “Better Quick Attach Method” with the tubed cork. The cork is positioned on the main line (blue arrow) a few inches above the leader (red arrow) and about 18″ above the hook; you can see the line wrapped around the outside of the cork (orange arrow).
Here is a top view of the “Better Quick Attach Method”…you can see how the line is wrapped around the outside of the float (orange arrow) and also secure within the hole by the tube.
The big advantage of the tubed cork is that it can be attached/detached from your fishing line very quickly and easily without having to cut or re-tie you rig.
The tubeless cork, on the other hand, is typically used as a “slip cork”, meaning that the cork is situated on the main line above an egg sinker, and is able to freely slide up your main line (red arrows) while the sinker sinks into the water column (yellow arrow). Like this:
The cork will slide up the sinker any distance you want, but you must stop it with some type of bobber stopper, such as a piece of rubber band or a commercial bobber stopper. Alternatively, you can also use the tubed cork as a slip cork by keeping the tube in place and running your fishing line right through the middle. Slip corks are beyond the scope of this article, so I will discuss these in greater detail in a separate article.
Here is an example of a more modern popping cork, called a Cajun Thunder, rigged with a Khale hook. This popping cork consists of a top swivel (red arrow), plastic beads (dark blue arrow), foam cork (white arrow), steel wire (purple arrow), brass beads (orange arrow), and bottom swivel (yellow arrow). I have added about 18″ of flourocarbon leader (light blue arrow) and a split shot weight (magenta arrow), which is sometimes helpful in keeping a live bait down in the water column.
This is an excellent setup to fish any live bait, including live shrimp, mullet, or croaker. Note however, that this particular cork has a rounded float without a concave top. This is a more subtle cork, and it will not make the distinctive popping noise that a concave cork will make. Just like with all fishing, adapt the cork to the conditions you fish, and your preference.
Also note that the steel wire (i.e., “piano wire” or “trolling wire”, depending on your terminology) is connected to the swivels with a wire twist called the Haywire Twist (lime green arrow), forming a very strong and secure connection.
Here is another example of a modern popping cork, called a Paradise Popper, rigged with a DOA Shrimp. It is nearly the exact same setup as the Cajun Thunder, except the wire through the middle is a composite material that stays perfectly straight (blue arrow). This composite wire is secured with a crimp (red arrow) instead of a Haywire Twist. Even if the wire is bent, it returns to perfect straightness, whereas the steel wire of the Cajun Thunder may stay slightly bent/kinked. The crimps used are likely not as strong as the Haywire Twist on the Cajun Thunder, however they should be plenty strong for keeper-sized fish.
I have fished the modern corks plenty of times, and generally prefer them over the old school “green” corks. However, they are not adjustable like the green cork with the tube. Also, I can’t fit a modern cork into my wadefishing tackle box, but a green cork easily fits! Once again, your conditions/situation and preference will dictate what you use.
Freelining
I love freelining because it is one of the simplest forms of fishing, and it is almost exactly what it sounds like. The picture below shows one way you can freeline. In this example, there is a 20lb fluorocarbon leader (red arrow) tied to the main line (blue arrow) with a Double Uni Knot (white arrow…see my article on knot tying, here). On the end of the leader we have a Khale hook, but you can use a different style hook if you prefer.
Depending on current and/or the liveliness of your bait, adding a split shot weight can be helpful, as shown below (white arrow). Here, I have put the split shot above the knot so that it can’t slide down the line, but you could also crimp it right onto the leader below the knot, too; your preference.
One of the big advantages of freelining, aside from it’s simplicity, is that it is one of the most natural ways to present a bait to the fish. In other words, a bait on a freeline is at the mercy of the current when presented correctly. Predator fish are accustomed to using currents to their advantage during feeding, because currents carry bait past ambush points where they can attack the bait without using a lot of energy. Fishermen have to be conscientious of this, because oftentimes predator fish get leery if they see your bait “swimming against the current” or “staying in one place”, which looks unnatural to them. But with the freeline rig, you can cast upcurrent (or upwind), and just let you bait travel with the current just as it would naturally. This is a very effective way to entice fish.
Enjoy your popping and freelining, and good luck!
Have a reel good day,
– The Simple Fisherman