After the exceptionally warm winter of 2011-12, a lot of anglers thought the magic was gone from the multi-lure umbrella rig, best known as the Alabama Rig because its use as a freshwater bass rig was developed by Pickwick angler Andy Poss. The lure destroyed the bass when it was first introduced in the fall of 2010 and on through that winter, became a so-so offering that spring and fall, and never cranked up again the following winter because winter never really cranked up either.
This year, we've got snow flying in March, and so are the A-Rigs, right into the mouths of seemingly unlimited numbers of lunker bass throughout the TVA chain. There have been more 30 pound sacks of bass brought to tourney scales early this spring than at any time in many years, and Rogne Brown's amazing catch of 40-14 at Chickamauga (the second lake upriver from Guntersville) last weekend was icing on the cake of an amazing spring season. Virtually all of these catches resulted from use of various strains of the Alabama Rig, which is now the most copied lure package of the last decade and more.
Blane Shelton of Moulton was most recent winner with the multi-rig, using a Venom Lures rig and 1/8 ounce jigs rigged with 4-inch swimmer tails to bag 25.26 pounds in last weekend's Top Rod solo tourney on Wheeler. Shelton said he threw the lure along rocky banks and points at depths of about 8 feet for the catch. Josh Butler of Hayden was second, also caught some of his fish on an A-Rig as well as on a Strike King Shadalicious swimbait on a 3/8 ounce head. Butler had big fish of the event with an 8.79 pounder.
Basically the success of the A-Rigs this winter has resulted from a heavy stacking up of bass in pre-spawn areas as they're held back from going to the shallows by repeated doses of icy weather. Anglers who find these concentrations of big females, often on the first drop outside a major creek or spawning flat and usually not far from shad schools, are loading up with the A-Rigs, which imitate a school of fleeing baitfish.
Throwing the bulky rigs is no pleasure; Elite Pro Paul Elias, who first made the rig famous with a tremendous FLW win at Guntersville, likens it to "throwing a brick". And they're expensive, typically $15 for the lure and another $10 to $15 for the jigs and tails to fill out the five arms. (The limit in Tennessee is three hook-rigs.) Not surprisingly, anglers throw the rigs on 65 or even 80 pound test braid to assure they'll get them back if snagged.
Fishing them is simple--choose jig heads with enough weight to get the rig down to the zone where you see fish or bait on your sonar, then crank it back at the slowest speed that will make the soft plastic swimmer tails on the jigs activate. And hang on when a 10-pounder latches on, of course.
There are a ton of A-Rigs on the market, none better than the original now marketed by Mann's. The company recently introduced the Alabama Rig V, which has four teaser arms--swimmer tails with no hooks--in addition to the original five jig wires; www.mannsbait.com. Other good ones include the YUMbrella Flash-Mob, which adds willow spinners on the wire arms for added attraction; www.lurenet.com. The Zorro Aggravator has a swimbait skirt plus rattles in the head; www.stansloanzorrobaitco.com. There's also a new one from E.R. Lures called "Suicide City" which is a sort of double-stack, four arms in front, five more arms attached 10 inches back, creating the effect of two schools of minnows flittering through the water; www.erlures.com.
It remains to be seen whether the umbrella rig bite will slow when warmer weather arrives--probably it will--but this year's action may have North Alabama anglers hoping for another cold winter next year.