The Alabama Rig is the newest sensation to hit the water after Paul Elias destroyed a field of Bassmaster pros on Lake Guntersville. As seen in the picture above, the rig imitates schooling baitfish and it seemed to be a deadly tool when targeting suspending fall bass. This technique has been mostly utilized by Striped Bass fisherman and other saltwater fish chasers under a different fitting name, the umbrella rig.
My analysis of this rig needs to pertain to MN and WI fisheries. Each state has their own regulations as to how many fishing lines and hooks are allowed to be in the water at one time to catch fish. Also, the tournaments we fish have their own regulations that represent the regulations that govern the entire circuit across the country. Will this rig be tied on to one of my rods this season?
In Minnesota, we are not allowed to fish with more than one rod, or line, at a time during the open water season. During the winter months where we ice fish, we are allowed to use two lines. So we have one line in the water but a bait tied on with 5 separate lures and each have a hook, the Alabama Rig. Is this legal? In the state of MN, this is not legal, as each separate bait is considered its own line. For instance, we can't throw a Rapala with another Rapala tied on to the back split ring, and then tie another Rapala on to that last split ring.
The question is, how can this lure be relevant to Minnesota and Wisconsin waters? Well we know that it was a success because the bass love to chase schools of bait fish when they become suspended in the fall. Can we modify this a bit to imitate bait fish without all the separate baits? I think this is a very viable option. I have ideas already spinning in my head that will take this idea, and with a few modifications, will be a great legal way to represent a school of bait fish here in MN. Also, this rig might not be relevant during most of the summer months. It was a huge success because fall bass chase schools of bait fish, but will they attack a school of bait fish post spawn?
My take...let's just catch fish the best way we can while still being conscience of wildlife management and our own state regulations.
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4 comments:
These really work! Check out Picasso's version, they are cheaper than the rest and have great colors!
http://www.picassooutdoors.com/?Click=146
These really work! Check out Picasso's version, they are cheaper than the rest and have great colors!
http://www.picassooutdoors.com/?Click=146
The Bass College
FINALLY!! SOMEBODY WHO IS IN CHARGE WITH SOME COMMON SENSE!! I AM BURNING MY BASS LIFE MEMBER CARD IN THE MORNING AND NEVER GOING BACK!!
FLW
20.Jan.2012 by Kathy Fennel
The Alabama Rig has taken the bass-fishing world by storm. Every discussion about its use seems to generate an emotional response unlike anything I’ve seen in my more than 30 years in the sport.
For every passionate plea that it be banned from tournaments, there is an equally passionate plea that it be allowed. No matter which side of the debate you are on, one thing is undeniable: The Alabama Rig has generated a level of excitement and interest in bass fishing unlike anything that has come before.
Since their inception, tournaments have been the spawning ground for lure, equipment and technique innovations that help recreational anglers catch more and bigger fish. It’s the reason fans tune in to our television shows, visit our websites, read our magazines and attend our events. There are millions of bass anglers out there with an insatiable appetite for cutting-edge information that will make them better at their sport. To argue that the Alabama Rig and other castable umbrella rigs be banned from tournaments is to believe that we’ve finally reached the end of innovation; that the great equalizer has been found; that the only thing separating novice anglers from the world’s top professionals is a weighted head with five wire leaders and swimbaits. There is nothing more to learn.
We believe professional anglers deserve more credit than that. We believe their skill and intuition will not be undercut by a baitfish-imitating technique that helps less experienced anglers catch fish when otherwise they might not. Will it force some pros to elevate their game and adapt? Of course it will. Just like GPS, side-imaging sonar, sight-fishing, shallow-water anchors and countless lure, line and rod innovations have done over the years. Buzzbaits and ChatterBaits were once considered radical, as were flipping and sight-fishing. But they are all simply tools of the trade now. The same will hold true for Alabama Rigs. It’s not the end of fishing as we know it.
Anglers are still held to a daily five-fish limit. Tournaments are still catch-and-release. Our conservation ethic has not changed. We’ve taken the additional step of contacting wildlife officials in each state hosting an event in every FLW circuit to urge them to study the effects of castable umbrella rigs on live release rates. If conservation issues are discovered, we will reevaluate our rules accordingly. For now, we are leaving that in the capable hands of the experts within each state, and castable umbrella rigs will be permitted in our 2012 tournaments.
Sincerely,
Kathy Fennel
President, Operations Division
FLW Outdoors
http://thebasscollege.com
Wow, looks like a cool rig. Thanks for sharing
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