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A-Mac

Alabama Rig!

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In case anyone is wondering if the Alabama Rig is legal to fish in Texas here is a word for word copy of the reply I got from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Ben

Here's the word from one of our head Game Wardens:

It is my opinion that the Alabama rig is a lawful artificial bait.

Keep in mind, it is unlawful to take or attempt to take fish with one or more hooks attached to a line or artificial lure used in a manner to foul-hook a fish (snagging or jerking). A fish is foul-hooked when caught by a hook in an area other than the fish's mouth.

L. David Sinclair

Chief of Staff - Division Director I

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Law Enforcement Division

4200 Smith School Road

Austin, TX 78744

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Here's a nice fish I caught on my makeshift A-rig the other day... I was throwing some swimbaits on it and had a fish that went 4.5 crush it right off the back. Then later in the evening I saw this toad destroy it. I also had a smallmouth try to jump in the boat after it! Tried it today and threw the heck out of it without a bite. However, I definitely didn't catch a lot of fish, so it showed it has it's time.

This fish went 8.2lbs!

PB030262.jpg

384369_10100848009648798_13713245_63122811_1857775537_n.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj100/amcalexa/384369_10100848009653788_13713245_63122812_62985149_n.jpg

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Nice fish A-MAC...nice looking umbrella rig too..Im not going to call it a Alabama Rig because well apparently some guy in Alabama Invented it. I will say one thing for sure.. THE NAME SUCKS..I mean man where in the heck did he come up with that name. I might start calling some of my new baits the Cabarraus County Crank! Hey Mr. Poss...maybe next time you invent something call Tater and ask him what to name it...He's got a BS Degree in Marketing from BSU (Ball State University).

Personally I would have called it...The "DreamCatcher" Rig..kinda fits don't it

The Rookie

Edited by The_Rookie
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Moreland wins FLW Kentucky Lake. Thats two tournments in a row won on this bait. The thing that most people are missing is this bait catches supended bass! Elias was running down the lake and spotted bass twenty feet deep in thirty feet of water. Stopped his boat, threw out the alabama rig, let it sink about ten to fifteen feet and started to retrieve it. The bass came up from twenty feet and smashed it. Limit in no time. Now how many guys can catch suspended bass on any rig? Not many, if this works it will change tournment fishing. Just run around the lake looking for suspended schools of bass and bait and throw the alabama rig!

You can troll a crankbait and catch those same suspended bass too...No wait sorry.. I forgot..trolling is not legal in bass fishing tournaments...What was I thinking... I rest my case on "THE ALABAMA RIG". Give the poor fish a break. What's next a down rigger on a rod.

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Here is how to make the A-rig. Use .041 straight wire shafts, 7.5 inches long. Take one wire shaft and bend a small loop in it with the tag end coming out the top.This will be the main wire shaft. Take five more wire shafts and bend a closed loop on the end with swivels and bass snaps inside the loop. On the other end of the 5 wire shafts bend a loop like at the end of a spinnerbait arm but don't close it completely. Using the first main wire shaft with loop on end attach the remaining five wire shafts to the loop on it closing the loops on each shaft to the main wire. Take a Do-it Spinnerbait Mold and drill out the area it the bottom of the mold where the hook would come out. place you wire rig into the mold with the main wire coming out the top and the five wire shafts with swivels and snaps coming out the bottom. Use Alumilite super plastic ( Alumilite.com) to pour the head. It will come out of the mold in five minutes. After removing from mold, clean up head from extra Alumilite with a knife. Then bend a loop in the main wire coming out of head to make a line tie. Paint head to desired color. It is that simple.

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I was using .035ish wire and it did fine... Of course, I guess it just depends on the rigidity (for lack of a better word) of the SS wire. I also used a plastic resin, no filler. I basically made a mold from on of my cranks and just inserted the wire harness. I put twisted wire and bent the tags toward the nose and then looped the 5 other wire ends over the tags. Needless to say, the thing is pretty solid.

I thought it was funny though. I threw that rig a lot on the second day and never caught a fish. It's a darn good thing people want this thing banned! Bunch of dingbats that are afraid someone might have a 1 up on them...

One thing I noticed throwing this is that both of might fish hit the lure on an eratic retrieve. I would stop the bait, all the lures would fall in sync, and as soon as I would start to retrieve it would get slammed. I saw the big girl hit. She side swiped it. I swear that fish had every lure in its mouth before the hookset! She wanted them all!

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One thing I will point out. I didn't really have enough fancy swimbait hooks to make mine run "upright". No matter what, each swimbait would come in right side up, but the rig would not necessarily be correct. You need larger weights on the bottom lures to make it always run correct; however, I really don't think it matters now. I think the fish that are going to hit it get so siked-up seeing a lonely 6 fish school that it doesn't matter if the leader of the pack is on its side.

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Nice job, and nice fish!!!

Which wire got bit? Did the wire bend with the fish on?

they all did! that fish tried to eat them all with a side swipe! The lure on top and closest to the fish was the one that hooked up. Yeah, the wires go pretty screwed up, but they bent back no probs. It's not as pretty as it once was. Dang thing does not come over crossbeams under docks very well. I'm sure they would be worse with tree tops

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Here is how to make the A-rig. Use .041 straight wire shafts, 7.5 inches long. Take one wire shaft and bend a small loop in it with the tag end coming out the top.This will be the main wire shaft. Take five more wire shafts and bend a closed loop on the end with swivels and bass snaps inside the loop. On the other end of the 5 wire shafts bend a loop like at the end of a spinnerbait arm but don't close it completely. Using the first main wire shaft with loop on end attach the remaining five wire shafts to the loop on it closing the loops on each shaft to the main wire. Take a Do-it Spinnerbait Mold and drill out the area it the bottom of the mold where the hook would come out. place you wire rig into the mold with the main wire coming out the top and the five wire shafts with swivels and snaps coming out the bottom. Use Alumilite super plastic ( Alumilite.com) to pour the head. It will come out of the mold in five minutes. After removing from mold, clean up head from extra Alumilite with a knife. Then bend a loop in the main wire coming out of head to make a line tie. Paint head to desired color. It is that simple.

Dreamcatcher Rig

I didnt follow your directions exactly...but will this work?

Who wants to test it?

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I am buying straight wire shafts with a hook bent on the end. I use a Twist Tech wire forming tool to make the loops at the end of the wire shafts where the swivel goes. I use the same tool to form a loop at the end of the main wire shaft. Using the preformed hooks on the five wire shafts, I bend them closed on the loop of the main wire shaft just like you would close the hook of a spinnerbait frame on the hook before you pour it. The plastic is very strong. Just about any way you can get the wires connected together long enough to get the plastic poured will be sufficient. The palstic will keep everything from coming apart.

Tim

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I am buying straight wire shafts with a hook bent on the end. I use a Twist Tech wire forming tool to make the loops at the end of the wire shafts where the swivel goes. I use the same tool to form a loop at the end of the main wire shaft. Using the preformed hooks on the five wire shafts, I bend them closed on the loop of the main wire shaft just like you would close the hook of a spinnerbait frame on the hook before you pour it. The plastic is very strong. Just about any way you can get the wires connected together long enough to get the plastic poured will be sufficient. The palstic will keep everything from coming apart.

Tim

Thanks for clearing that up for me Tim.

Ben

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Why all the fuss about this rig? I thought we were in this for innovation not duplaction.

I suppose that in someway or other, we are all duplicators. Look at crankbaits, how many different shaped bodies are out there. I would think that any shape you could whittle, saw or form in anyway would have already been done by someone. If I used a duplicator to copy someone elses bait, that would make me a duplicator. Look at spinnerbaits, Inline, R-bend and Twisted-eye. what else is there? Does building one using these wire shapes make you a duplicator? I don't think so. To me the joy and sastifaction of building a lure is the fact that, I thought of, or looked at one and thought to myself, I can do that. I made it. I painted it my own scheme. Maybe, I tweaked it to make it a little different and or better but it is still just a crankbait or a spinnerbait etc. Improved? Maybe, maybe not. But I made it and its mine. The other thing, it feels good when I or a pal catches a fish on something I made. That my friend is what all the Hoop-La is all about. If that makes me a duplicator then I am a duplicator. John

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Well put John.

The "new" will always be exciting. Especially a winner.

You know what I like best about this rig? The fact it has come from someone just like us. A little guy working in his garage or basement. Not some big lure manufacturer with engineers, assembly lines of mass production, sponsoring dozens of professional fishermen with millions of dollars at their disposal. No, just one man and an idea. He beat them all . How inspiring is that?

Vic

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