Some things you just have to see for yourself. I’d heard the hype and had even watched the videos, so when I eyed an Alabama Rig on one of Jimmy Mason’s rods I wanted see this new thing in the water. Mason obliged, and the simple fact is it looked just like a school of baitfish, swimming in unison, just like baitfish do.
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With its five wire arms, an Alabama Rig is unlike anything else most bass fishermen have ever tried, and fishermen are most likely only beginning to tap this rig's possibilities.
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A Tennessee River guide and pro angler from Rogersville, Ala., Mason wasn’t shocked when Paul Elias schooled the FLW field at Lake Guntersville in October by throwing an Alabama Rig all four days. Truth is that while Elias brought national attention to the unique five-lure rig with his 103 pounds of bass, the buzz had already begun in North Alabama.
A week earlier and one pool down on the Tennessee River, Tennessee angler Scott Brumlett had dominated a BFL Regional with an Alabama Rig. Prior to that, Andy Poss, who developed the Alabama Rig, had won several local tournaments with his own creation and had sparked a serious surge of interest throughout the Tennessee River Valley.
Mason became aware of the Alabama Rig several months ago, and soon-after added the rig to his toolbox. Rigging with YUM 5-inch Money Minnows or Bomber Mud Minnows, Mason has already enjoyed some big days on Lake Guntersville.
“It will be fun to watch all the applications that anglers find,” Mason said. “It’s so new that we’re just beginning to experiment with different situations and types of lures.”
The Rig
The rig consists of a painted head with five wires off the back and a clip at the end of each wire. Before you fish it, you bend out four of the wires just enough to spread your lures, leaving the center wire straight. Add lures and tie it to heavy braid on a 7 or 7 ½-foot medium heavy rod, and you’re ready.
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Tennessee River guide Jimmy Mason likes to rig an Alabama Rig with big swimbaits such as a 5-inch YUM Money Minnow.
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The Alabama Rig is conceptually similar to an umbrella rig, used to troll multiple baits in salt water and for stripers in lakes, but the actual set-up is unique with its wire leads, and this rig was designed to be cast and retrieved.
Elias used swimbaits on his rig because the fish were following suspended schools of shad, and the initial trend has followed suit with jigheads and swimbaits. However, grubs, soft-plastic jerkbaits, in-line spinners and a variety of other baits also work well.
The Possibilities
Right now the Alabama Rig is prompting more questions than answers, with Question No. 1 being, “Where can I get one?” A week into November, backorders were at five weeks. For details, visit, thealabamarig.com.
Assuming you locate one, the next question is what to do with it. The short answer is to cast it out and reel it back. Steady retrieves seem to work best. To work it high in the water column, start reeling immediately and keep your rod tip high. For deeper fish let it sink all the way to the bottom or count it down to some middle depth before reeling.
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When a swimbait-rigged Alabama Rig is pulled through the water column, it really looks like a school of baitfish all moving in unison.
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Much of the how-to part story largely remains to be written. Elias and others have proven the Alabama Rig as a great solution for fussy, suspended bass that don’t seem to want anything else. Mason believes it will excel any time bass are relating to baitfish, more so than structure. Poss found great early success in tailwater areas along the Tennessee River.
So many possibilities…
A final important possibility is that an Alabama Rig might not be legal in your home waters. Research specific laws about multi-lure rigs in your state before you tie one to the end of your line!
Want to Try?