Alabama rig banned in major BASS events.

[jgip087]

I know we can express our opinions all we want and someone's will be different but I agree with this rule and believe it should be in place in all tournaments.  I have read a lot of reports of catching 4-5 bass on a single cast using the new rig.  I believe that tournament fishing should involve more skill, similarly to why live bait is illegal.  I believe this is the same belief that has established one rod in use at a time and we have been living with that rule for a while.

[Waterfoul]

It does give an unfair advantage IMO in bass tournaments.   

please elaborate.....
i fail to see how it's at all possible an alabama rig is an advantage when everyone has the choice to use it or not.

Yeah, even though I don't mind the ruling at BASS, I'd like a little clarification as to why you think it's unfair if everyone can CHOOSE whether or not to throw it.

[Dan]

I guess with this ruling, the part that kind of got under my skin was when they said, "our events represent the highest level of professionalism in our sport." It kind of made me feel as if they were looking down their noses at anyone else who may use the rig. Left a bad taste.

[Victor Cerabone]

Banning a lure from tourneys because it "catches too many fish"?!  What's next, banning passing in football?

I don't agree with this.  I hope the local event don't follow suit.  I think the A-Rig is just what we needed to keep things exciting.

[t-bone]

I say ban them. If you allow A-rigs then you might as well allow trolling and rod holders. That will catch me catch more fish too...
Hell lets go for live bait while were at it 

[matt]

It does give an unfair advantage IMO in bass tournaments.   

please elaborate.....
i fail to see how it's at all possible an alabama rig is an advantage when everyone has the choice to use it or not.

It mimics a school. Single baitfish or a school of baitfish? Which one you think is gonna appeal to the Bass?


If I had to watch all the pros on TV throwing this Alabama rig,I for one won't even watch it. It would take the entertainment out of it BIG TIMES! I enjoy watching them work a single lure the way they do.

[LipRip]

I have to agree with mr t.bone...

[TCook]

I don't think any lure should be banned in any tournament as long as its legal to use in that state. It is still just a fishing lure and simply used to trick a fish. Guys are still casting the a-rig and working very hard to do so. Nobody is at a disadvantage since everyone has the option to use the a-rig or be stubborn and not throw it when they should be. Sure at first I think it will dominate in certain situations just about anywhere in the country but i don't think it will stay that way. Just as any other lure the fish will eventually get conditioned to it and it will not be as effective. Sure the next year or so in some events most of the professional field will be throwing the a-rig and it will appear to have taken some of the skill out of it. But i only think this will happen certain times of the year in certain situations and these guys still have to find the bass which is the hardest part and requires more skill than any other aspect of this game we play. In reality side imaging takes more skill out of tournament fishing than anything else since I been doing this and to ban the a-rig imo is ridiculous. Or how about BASS stepping up enforcement on the no info rule? Is it fair that some guys have more money and sponsors and more connections to get info from locals and guides? Maybe BASS should put more energy into preventing what we all know plays a huge role in the results of alot professionals success or lack of.

[djkimmel]

No info rules and figuring out how to enforce them would make things much more fair for one angler against one angler. I just don't know how you keep it from happening without being a mind-reader? We all know there will always be people pushing the limits or 'reconfiguring' the limits in their own mind to their own needs.

That part of tournament fishing has always bothered me - anglers pretending they don't understand these types of rules or saying things like - 'if you tell me without me asking, it's okay.' It's not okay.

As far as a lure or rig - if it's legal in the state, why outlaw it. Everyone can choose to use it or not. Everyone at that level can afford it or get it for free. It won't work all the time everywhere. It won't stay as hot forever. Use any lure in the wrong places at the wrong times and your competitors actually have an advantage over you.

Live bait was outlawed primarily because bass tend to swallow it much faster and then have a lower mortality rate which is obviously counter-productive to a catch and release philosophy. This was done before new ways of using live bait were developed that improve the ability to use it and still practice catch and release if you want to. Some studies have shown a statistically indifferent mortality rate now for live bait verses artificial lures for bass. Not that I want to see live bait for bass. They can be caught well enough with artificials and it's now a longstanding tradition, a good PR move too.

I think this ruling is not a huge deal as long as B.A.S.S. keeps making it clear they are only doing it for their 'elite' events and not for any of the 'lower' events as they are now. If it is purely a competitive move that their 'elite' anglers want than I guess do it. Make your customers happy. If other people start to follow suit because B.A.S.S. did it, then that is just asking for a whole new round of debate on what is 'fair' and what isn't that won't accomplish much other than wind things up on the Internet. That could be good and bad for people like me who run discussion sites.

I'm just glad Minnesota hasn't outlawed it yet. Just kidding, but it really isn't that long ago that every time some new technology came out - "fishfinders will decimate the fish!!" - someone in Minnesota would introduce a law to outlaw it before it was too late! The same thing happened with underwater video cameras there when they first became widely popular and that wasn't really very long ago.

Minnesota wasn't the only state either that discussed this kind of thing. They just seemed to take it the farthest.

Really, how many of us know someone who has all the best and latest gear and tackle, and still hardly weighs in any fish? There is no magic bullet. Just good anglers and not as good anglers.

[djkimmel]

I've mentioned before, but a while back, I played with all kinds of double rigs for quite a while. I found it was very effective sometimes. Ineffective sometimes. And couldn't tell if it mattered a lot of the time. Just like any other lure or technique. I also found that sometimes I would hook two big bass at once and a certain percentage of those times I had too high a rate of break offs. So I never used them a ton in tournaments. Just something I would try once in a while to get anything going.

Use these wire rigs a lot and you'll break some off too when you're catching them good. Like any other rig, there's pluses and minuses. Not magic. I've caught doubles on topwaters and crankbaits a number of times. If we outlaw a 5 bait rig, why not rule that hard baits can only have one hook on them? Or no more than 2 hooks?

I've actually had 3 fish on at once a few times. Never landed all 3 yet. Why not just say you can use a 2-hook or 3-hook umbrella rig, but not a 5? What about trailer hooks with feathers or plastics on them? What about spinnerbaits with a hook on the blade arm?

Think about that. A spinnerbait has two arms and really 2 lures - a flashing blade and a flashing, undulating skirt, and I've had plenty of times where fish hit the blade first, or a trailing fish hit the blade after I hooked a fish on the skirt part. Should we outlaw spinnerbaits because they have 2 arms? I've seen spinnerbaits that can hook fish on the blade arm.

If you are saying one angler, one lure, then I really think you limit the lure to 1 hook also. Even one wire, so no spinnerbaits.

I think the motives behind 'outlawing' the umbrella rig are not really the ones stated. It should cause all kinds of new ruckus now that some B.A.S.S. events can't use it but FLW will allow it. All kinds... we'll probably see some steam coming off some of the more feisty websites this winter now that I think about it.

[djkimmel]

I'm going to try it this year. I don't really fish tournaments anymore. I get bored easy. And I like to try new things. Should be fun at times. And probably won't work worth a darn at other times. Not that my poor old boat needs anymore weight in it. Like many of you, I could already stock a small tackle shop. ...maybe a medium tackle shop

Maybe this will actually help our Northern cabin fever??

[Manxfishing]

I say ban them. If you allow A-rigs then you might as well allow trolling and rod holders. That will catch me catch more fish too...
Hell lets go for live bait while were at it 

As a guy that loves to troll for Walleye
I enjoyed the laugh. trust me there's some skill needed to be good at trolling

[1javelin]

Next they're going to outlaw buying fish from spectators, since they don't have co-anglers
Just joking.  But really, does it matter? Some states have different laws than other states, so as not to make any waves in any situations I think they just went ahead and said no to the whole scenario.  Does that make it right?  Absolutely not.  Does that make it easier to enforce?  Absolutely.  What if you're fishing the border of two states and the rules differ in each state?  It's your spot to know the rules, but it's BASS' image if you're in the wrong.  

I say let men do men things and heave big heavy baits out there if they want.  Maybe they should ban treble hooks instead since they seem to do a lot more damage to fish than single hooks ever could!

1jav

[rangerfan]

HydroWave is suppose to imitate a school of shad by sound....Alabama rig by sight....One company is owned by 2 elite series pros...one of which has dominated the sport...but that's OK?....I guarantee you if Strike King had brought it to market first...that panel of pros would never have voted banned it.

[thedude]

lol. its' not some magical bait that fish just can't help but eat.  Schooling fish keying on schooling bait seems to be the prime opportunity for it. Sounds like the best lure to target a specific pattern. Kinda like throwing a jerkbait to suspending fish or using 1.5oz of tungsten to punch grass mats.

You still have to find the fish, identify the pattern and get them to eat it. So what if you catch 5 let alone 2 at a time? 

Being "too effective" means we should probably ban tubes on lake st. clair and lake erie. Should also just shut down production of senkos all together... those might as well be live bait.


Off on a tangent... i'm totally putting 5 tubes on an a-rig with different length leaders and dragging them at the DK open!!!! (assuming a-rigs aren't banned there too)

[Waterfoul]

Well, thanks to the generosity of Ed Dyer, I now own TWO Alabama rigs.  I should house sit for him more often!!  LOL!!!

Still not sure if I can even throw one of the dang things though.  I did however buy a spool of 65 lb braid recently in anticipation of at least trying to throw it.

[matt]

Off on a tangent... i'm totally putting 5 tubes on an a-rig with different length leaders and dragging them at the DK open!!!! (assuming a-rigs aren't banned there too)

LOL.... I said the same thing,wonder what would happen if you put 5 tubes on there in a joking matter. Let me know how that goes(how fast you will snag it too).....That's just me being curious!


I still don't want one....It's just me I guess.

I'm just gonna agree to disagree with some of the comments here....again it's just me...I don't like the A-rig.

[bassfan586]

It does give an unfair advantage IMO in bass tournaments.   

please elaborate.....
i fail to see how it's at all possible an alabama rig is an advantage when everyone has the choice to use it or not.

It mimics a school. Single baitfish or a school of baitfish? Which one you think is gonna appeal to the Bass?


If I had to watch all the pros on TV throwing this Alabama rig,I for one won't even watch it. It would take the entertainment out of it BIG TIMES! I enjoy watching them work a single lure the way

The hydrowave does that as well. Should that be banned.  If every competitor is using that to simulate a feeding school through audio cues how is that not very simular to the a-rig?

[Bender]

HydroWave is suppose to imitate a school of shad by sound....Alabama rig by sight....One company is owned by 2 elite series pros...one of which has dominated the sport...but that's OK?....I guarantee you if Strike King had brought it to market first...that panel of pros would never have voted banned it.

I think we have a winner here! I've also wondered why live bait was banned, but I never knew the history. Thanks for sharing that Dan and the statistics that live release rates are good now with modern tackle. I don't think that tackle companies would allow live bait to be reinstated because they would lose too much money. The A-Rig is just a method of fishing, as long as the angler is casting it and it's legal on the local water, that I don't think should be banned. I think that under certain situations it may be a great idea, but in late December I tested the Nemesis one by casting it from shore at Kent a few times. I was very disappointed because I didn't catch 5 fish each cast! Never mind the water was upper 30's and I was nowhere near any fish.

[t-bone]

I heard that in Michigan you can have one rod with an A-rig setup but if you have another rod on the deck with it, that would be illegal. Geez, that will be easy to enforce and that sounds to me like they are treating it like the number of baits/rods you can have in a trolling setup.
I'm not for it in TXs, that doesn't mean I didn't buy a few to toss around for fun fishing.
Five or potential 10 treble hooks at the end of a line are going to rip up a fighting fish.