A-Rigs

[NittyGrittyBoy]

With winter slowly creeping up I want to try a 'new to me' technique this year. The A-rig. 

 

When you were starting out throwing an a-rig what's some things you wish you knew? What are the best A-rigs? Which baits to run on them? Etc.. 

 

While your at it, post up some pictures of bass that have succumbed to the temptation of an alluring A-rig. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

The YUM/Scottsboro Tackle Flashmob Jr kits are the easy button, makes everything easy and they just flat out produce really well.    Unless you got FFS, and can guide your bait, you don't want to be breaking off $40-50 A-Rigs, and if you are fishing A-Rigs correctly, plan on losing a few imho.     

 

The Picasso Baitball Finesse A-Rig options are fantastic when they want a smaller or subdued action, in this case just go with Strikeking Baby Squadran 1/8th heads and 3-3.5" Rage Swimmers 

 

So that's your full size and down sized A-Rigs right there......fish those and if they don't work, start dialing it in from there.  

 

I wish I would have known how many fish I ended up catching right after a rod pump/twitch......the majority of fish I catch come right after a rod twitch which really flares that rig up like a real baitschool.   

 

You can't fish it slow enough, and the slower and closer to cover you fish it, the better your results will be.    That said, most of us aren't looking to break off $100s worth of ARigs or deal with trying to unsnag them.     You go at the pace your wallet and patience can afford in my book.     This is true for just about all the great lures and big Bass.   

 

I don't have anything bigger than a 7.1 on an A-Rig, maybe here in about a month that can change.     Caught lots of double and triples, and got a 5 fish limit on two casts, got a 5fish/25lb limit as well.     When they want it, there is nothing on the planet better imho, it's like slinging pure electricity into the water.......however when they don't want it which is about 10 months of the year in central AL, it's an absolute youknowwhat to chunk and wind.     

 

There you go, you got this newb's opinion on the A-Rig 🙂

[rangerjockey]

I was part of the initial craze back 10 year's or so ago when guys were paying 50 bucks and up for the thing. They were winning every cold water, suspended fish derby around and you either threw it or got beat by it.

I'm not sure they still bite it that good but no question it still works.

I like the Yum/scottsboro deal also. We used to throw it on a flippin stick back in the day. I throw a lighter rig now and usually on a Falcon Amitad but anything that can handle the weight will work.

In Missouri we can only use 3 hooks, so the 2 teasers go on top and I use a bigger bait on the center wire as it's the one that gets bit most of the time.

I use either heavy mono or 65lb braid. If you get the thing stuck, get past it and pull it loose with the ol' Minn Kota.

[Jig Man]

I started making and using them about 20 years ago.  They don’t produce as well as they used to but they still catch fish.  I’ve made them lots of ways but my favorite is with willow leaf blades on the top two wires and blades in the middle of the others.  When I first heard about them they were hard to find so I used electric fencing wire and epoxy putty to make them.
 

I fish them shallow (under 15’) most of the time so I use 1/16 or 1/8 oz heads on 4/0 hooks.  I use a medium wire hook that will bend out with 50# braid.  
 

I have used a variety of baits but like swim baits and flukes best.  White has been the most productive color.

 

 I have tried several reels and rods and have settled on 7’ heavy rods with 5:1 reels.  
 

Little fish don’t seem to be inclined to hit them.  Most of the time they will be keepers.

[Bankc]

I use the Yum umbrella rig as well.  It's just easy that way.  

 

One thing I do, that might be a bit of an outlier, is I use thin wire hooks on my A-rig.  I prefer to use jig heads around the size of a Ned Rig or maybe a really large wire crappie jig head.  Two reasons.  One is weight.  1/16oz. is about as big a head as I want to use, as it gets harder to cast as you go up.  And if I can keep the rig around 1-1.5oz in total, it makes a big difference when trying to throw them all day.  And two is, with a thinner hook wire, I can often bend the hook to free the rig if I get caught.  Use heavy braid, like 50#, and thinner hooks, and even if you do get snagged, you can usually winch it free to save most of your money.  I do have to bend the hooks back fairly often.  And you might lose some big fish doing that.  But in the lakes I fish, you rarely see a bass over 3lbs, so it's a risk I'm willing to take.  I'm not gonna lose a double-digit bass on these lakes, because they don't exist out here.  And this way, I won't lose a double-digit (in dollars) lure chasing these small bass.  

[Choporoz]

On 10/21/2023 at 9:55 PM, NittyGrittyBoy said:

 

When you were starting out throwing an a-rig what's some things you wish you knew?

Wish I had known how expensive one was to put together.   I wish I knew how easy they can get snagged.  I wish I knew how much time it takes to put one together.  I wish that I knew how difficult to cast they can be.  I wish I knew what a pain in the butt they are to stow on a boat, never mind a kayak.

 

I snagged my first one on the very first cast.  Didn't throw one again for about five years....caught a few fish and put it away....probably for good.  They catch,  but at a cost...cash and my nerves

[Darth-Baiter]

get the lightest jig heads you can manage.   the entire package gets heavy quickly.  

[T-Billy]

On 10/21/2023 at 10:39 PM, AlabamaSpothunter said:

The YUM/Scottsboro Tackle Flashmob Jr kits are the easy button, makes everything easy and they just flat out produce really well.    Unless you got FFS, and can guide your bait, you don't want to be breaking off $40-50 A-Rigs, and if you are fishing A-Rigs correctly, plan on losing a few imho.     

 

The Picasso Baitball Finesse A-Rig options are fantastic when they want a smaller or subdued action, in this case just go with Strikeking Baby Squadran 1/8th heads and 3-3.5" Rage Swimmers 

 

So that's your full size and down sized A-Rigs right there......fish those and if they don't work, start dialing it in from there.  

 

I wish I would have known how many fish I ended up catching right after a rod pump/twitch......the majority of fish I catch come right after a rod twitch which really flares that rig up like a real baitschool.   

 

You can't fish it slow enough, and the slower and closer to cover you fish it, the better your results will be.    That said, most of us aren't looking to break off $100s worth of ARigs or deal with trying to unsnag them.     You go at the pace your wallet and patience can afford in my book.     This is true for just about all the great lures and big Bass.   

 

I don't have anything bigger than a 7.1 on an A-Rig, maybe here in about a month that can change.     Caught lots of double and triples, and got a 5 fish limit on two casts, got a 5fish/25lb limit as well.     When they want it, there is nothing on the planet better imho, it's like slinging pure electricity into the water.......however when they don't want it which is about 10 months of the year in central AL, it's an absolute youknowwhat to chunk and wind.     

 

There you go, you got this newb's opinion on the A-Rig 🙂

^^^All solid advice on how/where to fish it.^^^

 When it comes to gear, I'm in the 8' HF camp all the way. The long handle and stout rod makes a BIG difference over the course of a day. 50# or even 65# braid will straighten hooks and get your rig back for you when you snag. Leave the clear plastic sissy line at home. You're pulling a flippin chandelier through the water for crying out loud. Any fish that's willing to hit that contraption doesn't give a crap about seeing your line.

[Catt]

Instead of jigs I throw weedless plastics, lighter A-rig, fish it shallower.

[FishTank]

Hog farmers A-rigs are all I use now. They just work better for me.

 

I am no expert at this rig but I do like Keitech Fat Impacts and the easy shiner , 4in or smaller. I like fishing it in deeper water, off of points or across them.

[J Francho]

It doesn't matter. I won a couple club tournaments on a homemade rig. The yum rig is good, so is the Picasso finesse rig. Always used Keitech plastics. The jig head doesn't matter, just pick the right weight for running depth. I always start at 1/8 oz. That puts a rig at about 1.5 oz. which is manageable by most heavy sticks. 

[roadwarrior]

YUM Umbrella Flashmob Jr

 

[WRB]

When A-rigs 1st hit the market Mann’s was the only rig available and poorly made. Today you have a wide choice available and recommend Flash Mob Jr’s, Picasso or Yum.

Check your stats and lakes you plan to use the A-rig for number of hooks allowed. Easy to add dummies using CPS spring to attach swimmers.

Tackle is Important, 7’8” to 8’ MH Swimbait rods with 300 size reels are good. The reason a longer it’s easier to launch A-rigs having about 3’ of line between the rod tip and rig.

Line is your choice I prefer 25#-30# copoly line.

The swimmers you choices, Keitech works.

I prefer a 1” longer trailing swimmer.

Retrieve; when I first started a steady retrieve worked ok but soon that stopped working and needed to add a pulsating retrieve to get the swimmer changing cadence.

Depth should be slightly above the suspended bait fish.

It’s easy to add weight using a bullet weight in front of the A-rig head.

Good luck!

Tom

[Huckfinn38]

You can spend a lot of money on A rigs.  I have found that the Yumbrella Jr and 6th sense A rig work just find and are pretty cheap. A lot of guys swap out some of the hardware but i havent had issues either yet.  I like to run 1/16 lunker city jig heads on the top two and the middle wires and 1/4 oz on the bottom 2 wires. 

[Huckfinn38]

Oh and I like the Keitech 3.3

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Thanks for all the suggestions fellas, gave me plenty to think on and try out. 

 

I'm mainly fishing the back of sandbars at my river, so no snags to look out for. I'm wanting to keep it light and around 3" baits. 

 

So it's gonna be alot of trial and error, but isn't that what fishing is 😁