Bama rigs for restricted states

[Mr. Aquarium]

I live in MA. We can only have 2 hooks. I’m thinking go buying a bama rig. I was watching Tactical Bassin. Their flex rig sounds awesome!  

[Jig Man]

We can have 3 hooks.  I use blades for the other two.

[softwateronly]

1 hour ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

I live in MA. We can only have 2 hooks. I’m thinking go buying a bama rig. I was watching Tactical Bassin. Their flex rig sounds awesome!  

 

We can have 3 here too.  If I could only have 1 or 2, I'd want to make sure my hook was furthest back and lowest.  It seems like they was always stalk it from behind/below.  My successes have waned a bit over the years, but I'm not gonna lie their new micro rig looks promising.  

 

scott

[Peacedivision]

Hog Farmer 3 wire might be your best bet. Run 2 hooks on the bottom arms + 1 teaser up top. 2 hooks on a 5 or 6 wire rig is going to be tough to balance, you would almost be better off just running 1 hook on the center wire as I almost never get strikes on the outside baits.

[Mr. Aquarium]

4 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

 

We can have 3 here too.  If I could only have 1 or 2, I'd want to make sure my hook was furthest back and lowest.  It seems like they was always stalk it from behind/below.  My successes have waned a bit over the years, but I'm not gonna lie their new micro rig looks promising.  

 

scott

 They have a longer center arm. I’m thinking of bending the bottom 2 wires up,

having the center arm with the hooked bait  be lower. Also put a bigger bait on that 

1 minute ago, Peacedivision said:

Hog Farmer 3 wire might be your best bet. Run 2 hooks on the bottom arms + 1 teaser up top. 2 hooks on a 5 or 6 wire rig is going to be tough to balance, you would almost be better off just running 1 hook on the center wire as I almost never get strikes on the outside baits.

Does it flex? does it matter if it flexes or not? 

[softwateronly]

Just now, Mr. Aquarium said:

 They have a longer center arm. I’m thinking of bending the bottom 2 wires up,

having the center arm with the hooked bait  be lower. Also put a bigger bait on that 

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say.  They don't seem to track right if the long center arm is bent at a severe angle.  Taking the side arms up and out a bit and a gentle downward bend on the long center arm would be my best guess.  Probably would want a 1/4-3/8oz minimum on the head to keel it and to keep the relationship.

 

scott

[Peacedivision]

6 minutes ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Does it flex? does it matter if it flexes or not?

Yeah all the hog farmer rigs flex, even stiffer wire rigs like the yumbrellas flex if you give them a good pop. Yum has a 3 wire rig as well but it's built reverse of the hogfarmer with 2 wires up top and 1 below which wouldn't be optimal for 2 hooks.

[Mr. Aquarium]

I’m thinking of grabbing a 2 hook rig with blades but take the blades off and add screw locks for more swimbaits 

 

I fish in clear water and I feel like the blades will be too much. But who knows I could be wrong 

[softwateronly]

@Mr. Aquarium I fish clear water and my experience is bladeless has outfished bladed most days.

 

scott

[WRB]

Use the 5 wire A-Rig add Owner CPS spring to hold the dummies without hooks. The long wire use a swimmer about 1”longer size or different color tail as most initial strikes occur on that lure. If you want the rig to run deeper led a bullet weight in front of the head.

Tom

[Fishin Dad]

I have been interested in trying the A-rig here in Minnesota, but with only 1 hook, just not sure.   Hogfarmer makes the Minnesota rig,  with gold blades everywhere, but I really liked the thought of the Tactical micro rig.  I am not sure the 1 hook issue can sell me though.  

[AlabamaSpothunter]

That's pretty ridiculous that MN only allows one hook, when a crankbait has 6 hookpoints, or a 110 could have 9 hookpoints.    

 

This is why some folks discount state DNR stuff so quickly, it's not based in logic or sound reasoning.   It's for the optics imho.

 

ETA:   No way would I waste the hassle of chunking a $25 spinnerbait for all practical purpose, they might as well have outlawed the rig in general.       

 

[Fishin Dad]

7 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

That's pretty ridiculous that MN only allows one hook, when a crankbait has 6 hookpoints, or a 110 could have 9 hookpoints.    

 

This is why some folks discount state DNR stuff so quickly, it's not based in logic or sound reasoning.   It's for the optics imho.

 

ETA:   No way would I waste the hassle of chunking a $25 spinnerbait for all practical purpose, they might as well have outlawed the rig in general.       

 

Yep, another brilliant move by Minnesota.  If it didn’t have the amazing amount of great lakes, I would be out of here.  

[AlabamaSpothunter]

It's really ironic that the place has so many beautiful lakes when I hear you MN guys talk about some of the more bizarre rules.  

 

After the first season of allowing a full 5 hooked A-Rig, the fish would respond just like everywhere else that has them......negative unless they're fired up, in which we all know they'll hit dozens of different things at those rarer times.  It's during those rare times that it's fun to use at least a 3 hook rig in order to try and get twofers and threefers, something every Basshead should have the right and pleasure of trying to get.   

 

 

[MN Fisher]

I think the majority of the silly rules here are to protect the walleye with no regard to bass guys. That bottom-muncher is the state fish - and when talking stocking...here's some numbers for you

 

2022 - of all the lakes in Hennepin, Scott and Carver counties (western Twin Cities area) a total of 42 yearling largemouths were divided among 8 lakes...no other lakes were stocked with bass.

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/fin/stocking.html

 

May 2023 - the Westonka Walleye Program put 24,000 walleye of around 8" in length into Lake Minnetonka alone.

https://fb.watch/pwpdkBR-Ln/

[WaskaCrank12]

@MNfisher     The closest lake to me (Lake Minnewaska, MN) has stocked the lake with 40,000 to 50,000 walleye fingerlings every fall since 1998. No mention of stocking any other fish.

[Fishin Dad]

The nice thing about the walleye addiction here is the northern MN bass are pretty unbothered because of all the walleye hounds.  I used to chase those marble eyes and still do a couple times per year.  Living in Southern MN, the bass is where I put my time.  If I am in the north, we fish for food in the morning and evening, but hammer bass in the afternoons.
 I really don’t see how a multi hook A-rig would affect either species in MN.  

[gim]

22 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

I think the majority of the silly rules here are to protect the walleye with no regard to bass guys.

Absolutely true.  Virtually every fishing regulation here is in place to protect the sacred walleye.  Pretty sad considering that most of them are targeted with the intent to harvest too.

 

On the subject of the Alabama rig, being that it can only have one hook and the rest have to be fakes, I see no reason to toss it over something like a spinnerbait.  I don't even own one, and I have no intent of changing that.

[TnRiver46]

They are always hooking the fish in the tail and body, not a big fan 

 

our state allows 3 hooks and it still fouls them often 

[Woody B]

NC/SC either allows 5, or it's unlimited.  (I don't remember, but I checked and my 5 hook rigs are legal)  

Just some random thoughts.   I had trouble fouling with the softer,  more flexible rigs.  I like the Yums, but not the light ones.  You can bend the wires out enough to eliminate most fouling.   I've seen Bass on sonar laugh at my "normal" A-rigs with 5 normal soft plastic baits,  then had them attack it on the next cast after replacing the center/rear bait with a Johnsons Silver Minnow Spoon.   I believe I saw someone here recommend the spoon,  perhaps Tom/WRB.  

 

I've had a couple doubles, but no tail or gut hooked fish.  I fizz them when they come from deeper than 25 feet.   

 

A friend told me if you hook one on an A-rig just let it swim around and you'll end up with more.  I haven't and won't do that.   That seems to me like a good way to injure fish.  If this is true perhaps A-rigs should be illegal.   

[Fishin Dad]

They must have a ton of drawing power if they made them illegal so fast, even though I think we all know it was a knee jerk reaction.  That still makes me really want to fish them, just not really in Minnesota.