alabama rig

[fish_4_fun]

so I stumbled upon a video on youtube show how an alabama rig works and man I am impressed. for those of you who has not seen one just google it. My question for us Minnesotans is, is this lure legal if you only have only one bait with a hook on it, and the other 4 just a hookless lure? what are your opinions on this lure and reaction. apparently it is taking the southern states by storm because they can use alot of lures all at once.

[coombia21]

It would be legal if you only used on lure with a hook. But then wouldn't it reduce the odds of actually catching the fish, meaning why would they bite the one with the hook vs. the other hook-less ones.

[prov1900]

I believe, after watching Bassmasters on ESPN, it is already outlawed in Iowa...and that being said with Minnesota's laws, it is probably already a moot point. I saw the get-up at BPS this last weekend. Per the Pro's, it is a 'chincy' outfit, i.e. poorly made. I could see that with my inspection at that store. Regardless, if you haven't seen that edition of Bassmasters, it was very cool to watch. It just looks like you will have to move south of the Mason-Dixon to use it.

[John Mickish]

Here is the MNDNR response to the Alabama rig. It can/may be legal. Here is the the answere to the question I asked them.

Message body

It is not an artificial bait/lure. The hooks need to be on a single line, and the single tackle configuration cannot be more than 9 inches from end to end.

Some Alabama rigs may fall within the size limitation, but could only use a maximum of three hooks and all hooks need to be within 9 inches total length.

[Stick in Mud]

Thansk for the excellent info, mnfishinguy!

[TSchultz]

If they have to be on a single line for MN then that would not be an Alabama/umbrella rig. It would be more like an oversized walleye snell rig with three hooks all in a straight line. Unless I'm missing something here.

[Raider4ever]

Here is the MNDNR response to the Alabama rig. It can/may be legal. Here is the the answere to the question I asked them.

Message body

It is not an artificial bait/lure. The hooks need to be on a single line, and the single tackle configuration cannot be more than 9 inches from end to end.

Some Alabama rigs may fall within the size limitation, but could only use a maximum of three hooks and all hooks need to be within 9 inches total length.

Ok, whether you can use it or not I guess is up to that stipulation. What catches my eye from the above quote is "...and the single tackle configuration cannot be more than 9 inches from end to end." Now, does that mean that one cannot use 10 inch plastic worms or those ginormus muskie lures? There must be more to the picture.

[Raider4ever]

Or 12 inch sucker minnows?

[John Mickish]

I'm glad I am not the only one that dosen't understand that. I have never heard of this 9" rule before, maybe it's new for 2012???

I was talking to some fishing buddies about it today and we basically came up with this. It's probably not legal in MN but with the current rules there are enough loopholes or lack of specifity that a guy could argue himself out of trouble.

Example

I've got crankbaits with 3 hooks on them (it is ONE lure with ONE attachment point to the line, but has caught more than one fish at the same time), so if you had a Alabama rig with ONE attachment point to the line with 5 baits on it, but only three have hooks, is that the same thing? The baits without hooks would be attractors, right?

[hanson]

For what its worth... Scott Martin had a pretty interesting viewpoint on the Alabama Rig during his talk at the NPAA Conference. If it becomes the "only game in town", I agree with him. Until then, anything that generates interest in the sport I'm behind and the Alabama Rig has folks talking. It'll be interesting to see where this goes...

[Stick in Mud]

I'm also watching this thread (and issue) with interest....and I love the point you raise, mnfishinguy. Like many of the rules, there seem to be loopholes or ways around them if you look and think hard enough. I probably won't be throwing one, but I do think it'd be fun to try.

[Raider4ever]

I actually talked to a C.O. I ran across checking out the McQuade boat launch Saturday (I miss my boat when it is in storage) and asked him about the 9" provision. Like any C.O. I every came across, he was very helpful and very friendly. He said this is new and not in the current regs booklet. He said it will be in the next booklet. Apparently, 10 inch worms or one of those big musky lure are not part of the rule since they fall under the "one artificial lure" provision. He said what could commonly be affected around here would be something like a quick strike set-up on a big sucker minnow. That has to be 9 inches long or less per him. He wasn't 100% sure about the rule stated regarding the number of hooks and what not off the top of his head. He said the new booklet will also go into detail about that.

[TruthWalleyes]

I could see this simulating a school of fish and triggering some bites!!

Ticket in MN for sure, but you might be able to argue yourself out of it.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

anything that generates interest in the sport I'm behind and the Alabama Rig has folks talking.

No one that isnt already interested in fishing gives a hoot about the alabama rig. It isn't going to single handedly bring people flocking in droves back to the sport of fishing.

As a bass fisherman Im more against the rig than for it. From a tournament perspective you shouldnt be able to catch a limit on one cast that kind of takes the sport out of it. What next drag nets?

I also hear a fair amount of people saying that it does a lot of damage to hooked fish. You probably wont hear a ton of that from the industry and pros who want to use it to cash checks though. Think about it though, one fish hooked and thrashing next to 4 or 5 bare hooks.

[NIBOWMAN]

It looks alot like an umbrella rig I've seen them use for striper along the coast of Maryland. Only the striper rig was larger across with much larger plastics.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Looks like BASS has banned it in their tournaments.

[Nick Kuhn]

My take on the rig has been it won one tournament. How many tournaments have been one on just a jig and grub? Is it really worth it to go out and buy a special rod/reel (that thing has to be fairly heavy, it would really stress normal bass gear) and push it with the law because the lure worked once? Even as a concept I don't think it's really all that useful in Minnesota. There are very few areas were bass primarily forage on shad: mostly they are looking for a perch or sunfish that strayed too far from safety.

[hookncook]

I had someone send me one from the Carolinas, she makes them and her family has for a long time.

Truth is, it's just another thing. Right now it's white hot because some guy won a tourny with it, and it looks like nothing most people have seen before. I'm sure lure companies across the country are trying to mock up something that's going to fall within the regulations of their respective states.

[hanson]

I also hear a fair amount of people saying that it does a lot of damage to hooked fish. You probably wont hear a ton of that from the industry and pros who want to use it to cash checks though. Think about it though, one fish hooked and thrashing next to 4 or 5 bare hooks.

How would that any different than a crankbait w/ multiple treble hooks?

[mainbutter]

Question:

Would a 3-way umbrella/alabama rig be legal for a MN resident with a MN fishing license fishing on the St. Croix MN/WI boundary?

[kg2]

My take on the rig has been it won one tournament.

You must not follow tournament fishing. It has one a lot of fishing contests. (The Paul Elias event just happened to be the largest.)

[Raider4ever]

As of 2/1/12 it will be against the rules in the Elite Series (per BASS). Apparently it will be allowed for BASS tourneys other than the Elite Series. Whether it is legal in your state, is another question. Like I stated above, after talking to a MN C.O. Saturday, the rule is basically no more than three hooks and the entire tackle configuration may be no more than 9 inches long. This is a new law in MN and will be in your 2012-2013 booklets. According to the C.O. this does not affect things like 10" worms and those ginormus musky lures as they fall into a provision regarding "single artificial lures". It does affect things like quick strike rigs on musky suckers as those rigs will have to be less than 9 inches.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

How would that any different than a crankbait w/ multiple treble hooks?

Big difference. Generally speaking when a fish hits a crank the lure gets hooked in the mouth with one or both hooks. As the fish flails around the lure stays put in the mouth (or one hopes). Ive never fished or witnessed first hand so this is just hearsay on my part but when a fish flails and fights on a alabama rig the exposed hooks around the fish are more prone to slice, dig in, tear out as the fish fights.

Sure their are instances where an arrant hook on a crank can damage an eye, its unfortunate, but rare.

Like I said Ive never fished the rig but Ive read about this damage a few places. whether its as big a problem or not, I dont know, but if you stop and think about it, its not far fetched.