Here's Paul's rig (FLW photo) and...
[Update: Heard this rig was already banned for some Seminole derby. Can anyone confirm?
Another update: Word is fish caught with these things can have a couple to several hooks stuck in ’em. Confirm?]
Almost choked on my fruit pie when I saw the rig Paul Elias used to win the Guntersville FLW. It’s a freakin’ trolling rig for stripers! We call ’em umbreall rigs in these parts and they work great, but no way did I think they’d show in a bassin’ derby, let alone a pro one.
Disclaimer: I like Paul, and I’m happy he won. But I hope that rig is outlawed by the trails, and pronto – unless someone reading this makes a good point that changes my mind.
A quick check of the FLW and B.A.S.S. rules confirm that trolling isn’t allowed and that you can only fish one rod at a time. But nowhere in their rules does it say you have to fish a single bait. So that then begs the question: In this case, when does a rig become more like a trolling rig than a casting bait?
I mean, an umbrella rig with five hooked baits – that doesn’t sound much like bassin’ to me. And why stop there: How about two or three successive umbrella rigs, each one smaller than the one in front of it, you can cast it out and catch two or three fishies at a time.
...one version (there are many) of a striper umbrella rig.
Pretty goofy.
This all might beg the question of whether the rules need updating. Trolling rigs, electronic chumming, baits that taste more like forage than the real thing, cell “phones.” Whatever happened to the days of guys (mostly Roland Martin!) bending and stretching the existing rules so much that new rules were quickly adopted?
New rules can be put in there quick, believe me – one or two of the B.A.S.S. derby rules are there because of me, believe it or not, and they were put in place REAL fast (lol).
So whaddaya think? Outlaw the trolling rigs? Restrict it to fishing one bait on one rod? What you say?
Before you answer, look at it this way: Is putting one bait in the water and moving that bait by moving the boat more trolling than putting 5 or so baits in the water on a trolling rig and reeling it back?
25 Comments
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Jeff
October 24, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Do you also feel this way about the double fluke rig (the Alabama rig is definitely much more bizarre)? Do you think that constitutes as a trolling rig as well and should be banned from tournament fishing?
I understand what you’re saying and I am not going to say that I don’t agree with you. I am still undecided as to whether I feel that this should be legal to use in tournaments or not. One thing is for sure though; this rig is definitely going to be the talk of the bass fishing world for the foreseeable future.
admin (mostly Jay)
October 24, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Not sure. It’s a tough one because if you just say hooks, then what about three trebles on a bait. Maybe it’s just one bait.
Dwain
October 24, 2011 at 4:19 pm
No one made a stink about putting 2 flukes on the Donkey rig, what’s a few more? It’s just another tool in the box, it’s not a miracle bait that’s going to work under all conditions or anything. Paul was not the only one throwing it, it still took him knowing where and how to use it to get those fish. It’s also going to look cool on TV if they are swinging in 2 or 3 fish at a time. Why can we mimic a crawdad, but not a school of baitfish? I have no problem with this, and hope the company who makes them gets rich before the big companies knock it off.
Jared
October 24, 2011 at 4:37 pm
“Almost choked”?! ….wait so was this not the “360” rig you were referring to in a recent article about a revolutionary bait being outed soon?
admin (mostly Jay)
October 24, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Niiiiiiice, but nope. Never said it was revolutionary, and that’s not it. It’s a bait, not a rig….
Chad Keogh
October 24, 2011 at 6:47 pm
You’d have to be very careful how you word the rule to ban them. As mentioned above, the double fluke rig might fall under that rule. And what about when you add a stinger hook with a trailer on a spinnerbait?
As for multiple hooks in a fish, the videos on the A-Rig sight clearly show it happens. However, who hasn’t used a 3-treble spook or crankbait and got multiple hooks in a fish?
admin (mostly Jay)
October 24, 2011 at 8:28 pm
Yeah, man, good points. To me it feels wrong but may be tough to legislate.
marlon crowder
October 24, 2011 at 10:05 pm
cool new innovation,sounds kind of extream to outlaw a new concept after one tourny!!!!!!!!!!!! so it catches fish isnt that the point? It catches to many fish to many big fish??????? oh yea this must be out lawed as soon as possible.crrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!
Joe P
October 25, 2011 at 10:05 am
I think it is a little insane of a rig to throw. Where do you draw the line? So you guys would not have a problem with me putting 25 swimbaits on one rig and hurling it? I dont think it should be banned because it catches fish, but because it is not what bass fishing is TO ME.
Dave
October 25, 2011 at 10:28 am
Jay, so sad. A shad rap is an awesome trolling bait that most of us throw for bass too. Outlaw a shad rap now? Outlaw multiple hooks on a drop shot? What about a front runner on a topwater? And in most bass derbies you can troll with an electric, just not your gas motor. At 36V, you can troll just like a gas motor… so where does it stop? Dude, I think you’re off base on this one….
admin (mostly Jay)
October 25, 2011 at 10:33 am
A RIG, not a bait. Who knows but doesn’t look like it belongs in a mano-a-mano bass derby.
Kevin R
October 29, 2011 at 7:06 am
Been tournament fishing for over 25 years and have never been in one that allowed trolling with the electric, most derbies have specific rules AGAINST trolling as a method of fishing…cast & retrieve only. Where have you been in such a tournament?
John Pollard
October 25, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Right. I like the point Chad K. and others made about a Shad-Rap (or any two-treble-hook plug), which puts six hooks in the water, more hooks than the A-rig used by Paul Elias. Which is less sporting?
John Pollard
October 25, 2011 at 12:42 pm
…and I caught a bass this spring on a DD22 that had five of the six hooks embedded. I’m not sure I follow your more-than-one-hook-stuck-in-’em argument…
admin (mostly Jay)
October 25, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Asking a question which boils down to this: Is it okay to have more than one bait in the water at a time? The reason why bass anglers have been limited to one rod is to stop more than one bait in the water per fisherman. So it’s not the number of hooks, and if you’ve ever fished or seen an umbrella rig the hooks aren’t all around the mouth/head of a caught fish — they can be anywhere, thus stressing/killing fish. Maybe because I’ve used these so much in the salt, they don’t seem freshwater tourneys to me, who knows….
Alex Voog
October 25, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Other concerns: rod breakage (warranty void?), line snapping on cast, hookset, or swinging fish into the boat, and the MOTHER of all backlashes – you know, the kind where you just throw the reel away. What of a “retrieve” where one uses a big volume reel, 8 or 10 or what the heck, 12 swimbaits (or the original “just” 5 baits), each with #1/0 treble hooks and stingers , merely drops the bait off the back, lets it go to the bottom, opens the bail/goes to freespool, and using the trolling motor (leaving baits on the bottom) and feeding out line so as it remains slack, move the boat out until the spool is almost empty, then shutting off the trolling motor and then beginning to reel?? Technically this is not trolling. Riiiiiiiiight? The rules: The rule could be written saying “a maximum of two baits, with their attendant hooks, on any one line ” Double fluke rig sure, triple rig, no. Front runner and Spook? No prob. If they don’t ban this then they might as well allow gaffs in the boat. Seriously though, can you imagine accidentally hooking your co-angler / cameraman / ANYBODY with this rig? The ER doctor would likely be on the floor laughing, the nurses taking photos, and the cops arrest you for assault with a deadly weapon.
Darin
October 25, 2011 at 3:50 pm
I come from MN where we can only fish one bait on one rod (unless you’re ice fishing). This rig looks like it would be the same thing as fishing with 5 rods and that just doesn’t seem right. To tell you the truth, I’m glad it can’t be used here.
marlon crowder
October 25, 2011 at 9:12 pm
this is just another tool to catch fish, not a magical cureall you still have to find them and put them in the boat this bait should not be outlawed because it is too effective.
admin (mostly Jay)
October 26, 2011 at 8:02 am
Agree w/ you Marlon but I think the issue here is is it a “bait” though the rules don’t specify anything about baits….
Jon
October 26, 2011 at 5:09 am
I’m I the only one that would be scared to be in the boat while someone is chunking this? Safety First!!!
marlon crowder
October 26, 2011 at 9:19 pm
the state of TN. just amended its law to allow the AR rig!!!! knuff said.If your to scared to be in the boat while this rig is being fished your just too scared period,straw man argument anyone?
Flip 'N' Pitch
October 27, 2011 at 12:26 am
Hey, if someone is “man enough” to cast a 5 ounce rig/lure all day for three or four days and it’s catching fish then good for them. It will be effective either until the fish get habituated to seeing it or basser’s arms start falling to pieces. If it kills a tournament fish then guess what? There’s already a penalty for that. Otherwise, it just goes into the “Selective Harvest” pot. You can read where Elias had to count it down to get to the suspended fish he had to find on his own. Is that not “sporting” enough for you? Rules usually are written in an attempt to level the playing field between competitors. Thus, when individuals gain an “unfair competitive advantage” by means which aren’t otherwise known or available to the rest of the participants is when the the moral outrage should kick in. I think it’s safe to say just about EVERYONE will know about the “A-Rig” soon enough…as soon as the boys in Florence, AL can fill all of those back orders!
Joe P
October 27, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Looks like no one had a problem with my 25 swimbait rig… so it is coming to a lake/river near you!
Flip 'N' Pitch
November 1, 2011 at 8:54 am
If you’re hoss enough to cast that repatedly then I don’t think any of us could stop you anyway, Hulk! 🙂
Manjiquaker
November 6, 2011 at 11:11 pm
I’m not sure how I feel about outlawing a bait. I don’t really see what the harm is. I think in most lakes around me that rig is going to catch a lot of stripers most of the time anyway. But if they did outlaw it they could write the rule to mimic the TN law, which covers this rig pretty well without affecting use of treble hooks and by the way has NOT been amended to legalize the Alabama Rig
http://www.bassmaster.com/tips/alabama-rig-what-youd-better-know