Lost my only a-rig

[Luke Barnes]

Last time out I got impatient and tried to whip my yumbrella flash mob Jr out pretty far and didn't use enough of a lob cast and snap!! I tried using a lipless to drag the bottom and snag it but no luck. I never once caught anything on it but I think in theory they would be amazing, if I learned the how, when, and where to fish it.  I still have plenty of jig heads and swimbaits so the big question is.....

 

Do I bother buying another one even though I have never once caught anything on it? 

 

I fished it in ponds and lakes with all sorts of swimbaits and never a bite, I'm bank bound, and fish maybe once a month anymore. 

 

I think I would be better off using other lures but the bait monkey wants me to have another one. 

[TnRiver46]

I’d wait til you find one haha. I got my first one (a gift) stuck deep and lost it . I’ve found two more since, no way I’m chucking 30 dollars with of crap into a river full of rocks and logs tied to fishing line. Maybe in a sandy bowl shaped lake somewhere but we don’t have those 

[JWall14]

I fish rigs all the time. Best time is deeper water around rock if you can in 50-32 degree water. Clear water is also better. I have lost many in the last few years and best advice is fish it higher in the water column. Close enough that fish on bottom can find it and come up and eat it but not close enough that you get it stuck. I still have 5 unrigged in case I loose a couple this winter so it may happen. A deep diving Jerkbait is a great alternative for clear deeper rocky water but doesn’t have the same pull. For comparison I fish mine from the bank on steep drops and banks. Less likely to get stuck. I do have a dedicated setup for it however: 7’5 H zodias. 65lb braid to 20lb shock leader which I retie every other trip to avoid a break at the knots.

[TOXIC]

A-rigs are much like swimbaits.  Expensive and require a dedicated setup.  You are either all in or not.  If you are afraid of losing it, you probably shouldn’t be throwing it.  That’s the mantra of the swimbait addicts I know.  That’s why I don’t throw either.?. The other thing is that you never have just 1 of any bait or lure.  That’s a sure way of guaranteeing you’re gonna lose it.  I had a close friend that was a professional walleye fisherman and he bought single crankbaits by the dozen.?

[king fisher]

You are lucky you lost your A rig before you caught a fish with it.  Once you have your arm almost  ripped off from the strike of a big bass while fishing one, the A Rig Monkey has you hooked for life.  Turn back while you still can.  There are less expensive ways to catch a bass.

[Luke Barnes]

55 minutes ago, JWall14 said:

I fish rigs all the time. Best time is deeper water around rock if you can in 50-32 degree water. Clear water is also better. I have lost many in the last few years and best advice is fish it higher in the water column. Close enough that fish on bottom can find it and come up and eat it but not close enough that you get it stuck. I still have 5 unrigged in case I loose a couple this winter so it may happen. A deep diving Jerkbait is a great alternative for clear deeper rocky water but doesn’t have the same pull. For comparison I fish mine from the bank on steep drops and banks. Less likely to get stuck. I do have a dedicated setup for it however: 7’5 H zodias. 65lb braid to 20lb shock leader which I retie every other trip to avoid a break at the knots.

I have a rod and reel that I use for it. During the warm months it is my frog rod and when it cools off I use it for the A-rig. 7'2 H SLX rod with 65lb braid to 15lb fluorocarbon leader. So thankfully I wouldn't need anything besides a new a rig itself. I was thinking about an un bladed one too and this might be the push I needed. I felt the four blades were just too much and I wanted a little more subtle bait ball I guess. 

 

I'll probably never get into the big swimbait game but I feel the a-rig could be so deadly if I can learn it better. That and the bait monkey is screaming you need one with no blades!!! 

These are the ones i have been thinking about.

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Picasso_School-E-Rig_Finesse_Umbrella_Rigs/descpage-PSERF.html

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yum_Yumbrella_Rig/descpage-YULYR.html

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Jenko_Fishing_J-Pod_Umbrella_Rig/descpage-JFJPUR.html

[JWall14]

1 hour ago, Luke Barnes said:

I have a rod and reel that I use for it. During the warm months it is my frog rod and when it cools off I use it for the A-rig. 7'2 H SLX rod with 65lb braid to 15lb fluorocarbon leader. So thankfully I wouldn't need anything besides a new a rig itself. I was thinking about an un bladed one too and this might be the push I needed. I felt the four blades were just too much and I wanted a little more subtle bait ball I guess. 

 

I'll probably never get into the big swimbait game but I feel the a-rig could be so deadly if I can learn it better. That and the bait monkey is screaming you need one with no blades!!! 

These are the ones i have been thinking about.

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Picasso_School-E-Rig_Finesse_Umbrella_Rigs/descpage-PSERF.html

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yum_Yumbrella_Rig/descpage-YULYR.html

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Jenko_Fishing_J-Pod_Umbrella_Rig/descpage-JFJPUR.html

A yum flash mob will work fine. I replace the snaps with hyper wire split rings but it’s really not needed. Once you catch a few like @king fisher said you will be hooked. My biggest bag ever came on one in early spring and I have been hooked ever since.

[Deleted account]

Were I ever to cast a mini umbrella, I'd make one (or several) from shark wire for pennies each...

[Luke Barnes]

56 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

Were I ever to cast a mini umbrella, I'd make one (or several) from shark wire for pennies each...

I've thought they look like someone with any sort of skill could make one but I'm not one of those people. Nor would I know anything about the wire. So I'm stuck to buying one. 

 

1 hour ago, JWall14 said:

A yum flash mob will work fine. I replace the snaps with hyper wire split rings but it’s really not needed. Once you catch a few like @king fisher said you will be hooked. My biggest bag ever came on one in early spring and I have been hooked ever 

The one I lost was a flash mob Jr.  I fish pressured waters, heavily pressured, so I would go with a regular yumbrella over the flash mob line now. If 5 swimbaits don't get the fish's attention and act like a bait ball I don't think the blades will. My gut is saying the blades are too much and scaring fish off.  Plus no blades looks like it will collect alot less junk in the water. 

 

But that is why I am on here asking. Because I don't actually know and you guys are walking encyclopedias!!

[Bluebasser86]

3 hours ago, king fisher said:

You are lucky you lost your A rig before you caught a fish with it.  Once you have your arm almost  ripped off from the strike of a big bass while fishing one, the A Rig Monkey has you hooked for life.  Turn back while you still can.  There are less expensive ways to catch a bass.

This is no joke right here. It's awful to fish until a fish just absolutely crushes it like every single one does, then you never want to put it down. 

 

OP, if you're strictly fishing from the bank, I'd skip the A-rig. 

[Luke Barnes]

11 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

This is no joke right here. It's awful to fish until a fish just absolutely crushes it like every single one does, then you never want to put it down. 

 

OP, if you're strictly fishing from the bank, I'd skip the A-rig. 

I am on the bank 99% of the time. There are a few on TW for cheaper than I thought and I already have everything else to slap on a new one. Cheaper than replacing the jackhammer I lost!

[T-Billy]

I like the Yum finesse and flash mob jrs. I throw them on 40# braid and haven't lost one yet. I've pulled up some big limbs, opened up a bunch of hooks, and cleaned a lot of old line up out of the lakes. Took me awhile to catch a fish on one, but as mentioned, once you do, you're hooked. It's getting to be that time of year.

[rangerjockey]

You can T-rig the things on a weighted swimbait hook and it should help but I would think fishing from the bank would be asking for trouble . 

 I'd try the Flash mob jr. You can just throw it on a jig rod . 

I would think your a bit early. Here on Table Rock it's more of a winter/early spring suspended fish deal.

[Woody B]

Last winter the bait monkey said I needed an a-rig so I got 2.   I can't throw one without laughing.   I know people catch bass on them but they look like a joke to me.  

[Jig Man]

Lure parts on line sells wire forms for A rigs.   You can buy epoxy putty and make your own heads any shape you want.  I did that before I bought a mold.  I even used electric fencing wire to make some.  I’ve been throwing them for several years.  I keep 2 setups with Arigs tied on year round.

 

 

 

 

[TOXIC]

My initial thought when I saw the A-Rig and saw that it caught fish was that there is no such thing as a line shy fish.  The amount of wire and metal in that rig is crazy.  

[WRB]

Casting from shore using 12# FC you were doomed from the start.

Tom

[JWall14]

20 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

I've thought they look like someone with any sort of skill could make one but I'm not one of those people. Nor would I know anything about the wire. So I'm stuck to buying one. 

 

The one I lost was a flash mob Jr.  I fish pressured waters, heavily pressured, so I would go with a regular yumbrella over the flash mob line now. If 5 swimbaits don't get the fish's attention and act like a bait ball I don't think the blades will. My gut is saying the blades are too much and scaring fish off.  Plus no blades looks like it will collect alot less junk in the water. 

 

But that is why I am on here asking. Because I don't actually know and you guys are walking encyclopedias!!

I am with some of the guys here too. Wait until it gets colder! It’s still a little too warm for prime time a rigs. Some of the best a rig days are the ones where your fingers are freezing off and your guides are icing up. Don’t give up I’m a bank guy as well and it can be so worth it! Where are you located in the country? Sorry if it’s already been asked. 

[Choporoz]

I broke down and bought one five or six years ago.  The total cost was stupid.  The time it took to rig it was stupid.  Storing it...in the car, on the boat and/or tied on....was stupid.  Snagged it and lost it on very first cast.   

  Never tried another....but I did snag up a relatively new looking full rig from lake bottom a few months ago, so I will have to try it again.  Nearly all my fishing is from a kayak now, and I just haven't wanted to deal with it.

[roadwarrior]

On 10/27/2022 at 9:50 AM, Luke Barnes said:

I think I would be better off using other lures but the bait monkey wants me to have another one. 

No. Umbrella rigs are for boaters with lure retrievers. 

[J Francho]

Use a flipping stick and 65# braid, NO LEADER.  You will lose them from shore.  

 

I absolutely crush smallies in the Oneida River in fall tournaments with an A-rig.  It is exhausting to throw for 8 hours, but was never out of the money in club tournaments there throwing it.  And yes, the strike is vicious and intoxicating.

[Jig Man]

I use 50# braid.  When I can’t get it loose I wrap the line around a boat cleat and use the trolling motor to pull it free.  Only once have I lost one that was hung bad enough to break my line.

[Donnie Beasley]

As a fellow bank angler I would not totally abandon it. As others have said it certainly has a time and place. Really knowing the lakes you fish is very important. It can be difficult as a bank angler not having access to a depth finder, but try tying on an inexpensive jig or other weedless bait and do some searching. 
 

Cast your jig out and learn the depth. Drag it around and see if you come across any hangups that might break your A Rig off on. Also, as others have said try it higher in the water column. My favorite time to fish it is coming right up. When the shad are schooling up and you can see bass feeding on them, it is deadly!

 

My home lake is a small approximately 40 acre lake. Through trial and error I have learned that shad will school in the deepest part of the lake. There happens to be a dock sitting right in this area and the shad will school right around it. I went on Jan 1st this year with my A Rig and caught 12 including a 3 1/2 pounder in a couple hours fishing off that dock. Don’t give up!

[Bankc]

I use heavy braid and light jig heads for mine.  I don't run across bass above 5lbs.  So I'm not too concerned about the hook straightening on a fish.  And the light jig heads that straighten out fairly easily make it possible to horse it out of just about anything it gets hung up on.  

 

It might not be the most effective way to fish an umbrella rig, but it's the most economical.  And I'll catch far more bass if I'm not afraid to use it.  

[Columbia Craw]

I have three.  Swing by the house and I’ll give them to you.