Fishermen, both tournament and recreational, are always looking for a new lure or system to catch their fish and they will go to great lengths to achieve that goal.
The latest fad is the so-called “Alabama Rig.” This isn”t a secret lure but is basically a wire spreader where up to five lures, such as swimbaits, can be attached to a wire harness. The entire rig is cast and then retrieved slowly. To a bass, the five lures probably resemble a school of minnows swimming tightly together. It has been deadly on bass and is sure to spread to other species of fish as well.
The Alabama Rig gained national attention when bass pro Paul Elias used it to win a FLW tournament in October at Lake Guntersville in Alabama. He attached five swimbaits to the rig and had a three-day weight of more than 100 pounds. The Alabama Rig (also called the umbrella rig) is also popular on Clear Lake. Two weeks ago the team of Charlie Almassey and Matt Saaredra won an Angler”s Choice tournament on Clear Lake with 33 pounds of bass, including a 9-pounder. They said they caught their fish on an Alabama Rig with swimbaits.
Actually, the traditional Alabama Rig is illegal in California if you use five lures. According to Department of Fish and Game (DFG) warden Tim Little, California law allows for a maximum of three lures to be used on an individual line although each lure can have a maximum of three hooks. What California fishermen have been doing is rigging the three lures with hooks and two others as dummy lures without hooks. These are called “teasers.” In fact, lure manufacturers are now making a three-lure setup and calling it a Calabama Rig.
All the local tackle shops carry the rigs and the cost ranges from $15 to more than $30. When you add the five swimbaits, the total cost can go as high as $80.
Where this lure will be deadly is during the spring months when the bass start to stage in preparation for spawning. Actually, there are a number of setups that can be used. Instead of swimbaits you can use small crankbaits or spinnerbaits. Even plastic worms could be used. I recently rigged a pair of Shad Rap deep-diving crankbaits and caught a couple of bass while fishing off the docks at Library Park in Lakeport.
Spreaders have been around for years and striped bass fishermen have been using them for trolling with two lures. I made mine out of a striped bass spreader that I modified. My total cost for one was less than a dollar.
The potential use for this type of rig is limitless. They could be used for trolling for trout and just think how deadly it would be for crappie if you attached three crappie lures and jigged the rig up and down in a school of crappie. In fact, that is already being done in Texas and fishermen have been catching as many as five crappie at a time.
The question that many fishermen are asking is how long before the bass get wise to the lure and quit biting? Fishing lures have a way of being extremely popular for a couple of months and then they tend to fade away. Despite being considered a “dumb” animal, bass do get accustomed to certain lures.
A study done a number of years ago by a major tackle manufacturer revealed some startling habits about bass. They placed several adult bass in an indoor pool and didn”t feed them for several days. They took a certain type of crankbait and cast it into the pond. The bass immediately grabbed the lure and were hooked. This happened on 10 consecutive casts and on each cast one of the bass would get hooked. However, the bass soon learned they would be hooked and wouldn”t strike. The scientists replaced the lure with a completely different looking lure and the bass would strike it. They repeated this experiment several times and concluded the bass soon learned to avoid certain types of lures. Actually, it”s something that most experienced bass fishermen have known for years.
In the past 10 years bass fishing has taken on a whole new character. The latest electronics in the new bass boats resembles a space ship and many of the new lures can cost upward of $100 each. Where it will all end is anyone”s guess.
