A-Rigs… do I need to try one?

[The Baron]

OK, it’s fall feeding season.  We caught smallmouth chasing small bait on the weekend.  I’m now thinking an A-Rig / Umbrella Rig could be a ton of fun… or it could be a money wasting rabbit hole.🤔 I’ve got a couple suitable rods to throw them on.  My question is… are they amazing, or just another bait?  The fact they’re banned in tournaments makes me wonder if I don’t need to try one and have some fun.  Do you fish an A-Rig?  Or did you try it and they weren’t worth the hassle?  🤷🏼‍♂️  If you love ‘em, what’s your recommended rig and baits?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

The Yumbrella ones are the easy button, they come with everything you need, are the most affordable, and ulitmately work great.   Just play around with the actual swimbaits.   I like a finesse A Rig as well, and Piscasso makes great ones.  

 

They banned it for no good reason, remember FFS is still allowed so it clearly doesn't matter if a piece of tech makes catching fish that much easier.  

 

Fish have become conditioned to it over the years, but once the water gets below about 55d it becomes a major player at least down here in the south.   I've never seen a bait more dependent on the water temp to work than the A-Rig.    When they're eating an A-Rig, it's pretty much unbeatable.      I often catch 2 and 3 fish on a single cast, and have got 5 fish limits on 2 casts.

 

It's a huge pain to rig, cast, and keep from getting stuck, but again it's an invaluable winter time staple.     Very fun bite to get on as well.   

 

 

[MN Fisher]

Just make sure it's legal where you are. Here in MN, we can use it...but only one arm can have a hook, the rest must be hookless.

[gim]

10 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

They banned it for no good reason

 

They banned it because states have differening rules on their use.  Just like what @MN Fisher stated above.  Some can only have one hook and the rest have to be decoys.  Going from one state to another for tournaments creates a new set of rules specifically associated with this setup, and thus, problems.

 

I see no advantage to it here since only one hook is permitted.  Fish constantly hit the dummies and you never catch one.

 

The OP is in Ontario.  He's gonna have to check the regs before he tries one there.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Just now, gimruis said:

 

They banned it because states have differening rules on their use.  Just like what @MN Fisher stated above.  Some can only have one hook and the rest have to be decoys.  Going from one state to another creates a new set of rules specifically associated with this setup, and thus, problems.

 

I see no advantage to it here since only one hook is permitted.  Fish constantly hit the dummies and you never catch one.

According to Gerald Swindle the origins of the ban first started with the anglers themselves. 

 

They still fished in California even though they have the stupid hooked outside the mouth rule so I don't think BASS has a problem amending rules based on the various states the events are held in.   Lake Fork is a great example as well.   

 

IIrc you can still fish an A-Rig in the non BFL MLF events as well.    

 

 

[A-Jay]

I am an A-Rig fan.

Late summer and into fall it gets me

some big brown bass bites.

The strike is like a lightning bolt up the line making it easy to get addicted to.

Like any technique, there's a learning curve and you'll get out of it pretty much what you put into it.  One thing's for sure, it's not like fishing a ned rig.

Got this freak on it in August.

Good Luck

A'Jay

 

[WRB]

California has had a  3 hook max and no snagging fresh water fish for decades. 

You need a dedicated rod/reel for A-rigs.

Picasso Flash mob jr w/ Kietech swimmers  works everyehere.

Tom

[The Baron]

A local shop sells A-Rigs, it’s a great shop with good staff who specialize in bass fishing so I would “assume” they’re legal here.  I’ll definitely confirm our regulations about number of hooks/baits before proceeding - I’m sure the guys at the shop will know as well.

 

Sounds like I should try one, at least once.  Our water temps are at 67 and should be falling slowly down toward the 50’s through October.   Things are just getting great here now. 😎
 

EDIT:  checked our regs and its maximum 4 hooks in Ontario.  The local shop sells only the 6th Sense Divine A-rigs, so I’ll just run one of the 5 arms with no hook. 👍🏻

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, The Baron said:

Sounds like I should try one, at least once.  😎

How many home runs have you hit with one at bat ?  

A-Jay

[HawkeyeSmallie]

What's a typical A rig setup weigh?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

4 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

What's a typical A rig setup weigh?

I'd say a good average is about 2.5ozs 

[Peacedivision]

The striper here smash the rig from fall through to spring, it's probably favorite lure this time of year. I'll get a few LMB but they're going to mostly be bycatch.

I mainly throw the hog farmer mini 5 wire 4 blade with 3x1/8oz heads, 3.8" keitech/rage swimmer main and 2.8" teasers. Expride 7'6" MH or 7'7" H with a bantam mgl is my go-to.

I also use the full size hog farmer rig with 4.8" main and 3.8" teasers but that gets thrown on a Dobyns 794.5AR.

[HawkeyeSmallie]

22 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I'd say a good average is about 2.5ozs 

 

Thanks.

 

I've got a swimbait rod that can handle 3.5 oz. At least that's what it says on the blank.

 

I'm sure it would be fun to throw but with no electronics I'd just be casting blindly out into the lake. 

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

What's a typical A rig setup weigh?

I can fish 5 hooked baits here but the middle and bottom 2 baits are the only ones they ever eat. So to lighten the load, I use dummies with no hook  at the top two, and 1/8 oz heads on the bottom two and the middle.  Rig ends up far easier to fish all day and still gets bass. 

Especially for an old and feeble gent such as myself. 

A-Jay

[T-Billy]

 I'll second A-Jay on the three hook deal. I rig mine the same way. I also downsize the top two dummy baits. I've had ONE dummy hit in a few years of throwing them. The three with hooks are the same size, but I usually run a different (generally brighter) color on the center bait. That gets it bit more, and saves wear and tear on the outside arms, getting me more fish per rig. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

59 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

Thanks.

 

I've got a swimbait rod that can handle 3.5 oz. At least that's what it says on the blank.

 

I'm sure it would be fun to throw but with no electronics I'd just be casting blindly out into the lake. 

If you have schooling wintertime fish, then I'd say it's a safe bet you can get on a great A Rig bite without electronics.   

[gim]

Alright, let me ask you guys who fish the A-rigs.

 

If you were limited to one hook on the whole setup, would you still fish with it?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

23 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Alright, let me ask you guys who fish the A-rigs.

 

If you were limited to one hook on the whole setup, would you still fish with it?

The way I fish them, no.      My best success with them is when fish are blowing up schooling bait in the winter.   The fish are in a frenzy feeding mode, and I don't even think they key in on a specific bait rather just attack the whole ball of bait and see what lands in their mouths.   This is reflected by how many fish I snag using them.   It's like a jerkbait but on steroids in terms of snagging fish.   

 

Now if I'm just fishing it near juicy cover or structure for a quality fish I can't see, I'd be much more open to using just a 1 or 3 hook setup.    Still though one hook rigs seems quite ridiculous to go through all the trouble.

 

Hard to put a value on having those teasers along with a single hook, I can see how giving a bait ball presentation vs. a much smaller one like a spinnerbait could be advantageous but have never had to try it vs. a 5 hook rig. 

 

At the end of the day, the thing that makes the A-Rig perhaps the most fun to fish with is catching multiple fish on one cast, and that goes right out the window with a 1 hook deal.    

[FishTank]

26 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Alright, let me ask you guys who fish the A-rigs.

 

If you were limited to one hook on the whole setup, would you still fish with it?

No. I would use a paddle tail swimbait and an underspin. 

 

In Indiana it's three hooks. The one mentioned above from Picasso is great. I also like the ones from Hog Farmers.  The mini flex with 3 1/16oz heads and the 3in 6th Sense Whale has been fun to fish. You don't need anything special gear wise. A 7'MH fast rod will do it.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

The most important thing I found with an A-Rig is rod pops.

 

A straight retrieve will work, but not nearly like a retrieve that incorporates rod pops/twitches.

 

You want that rig to 'pulse' or expand and contract like a real bait ball does.   When I go back and watch my A-Rig GoPro footage, it's incredible how many fish bite right after I make a rod pop.

 

The HogFarmer flex rigs mentioned above play directly into this concept.  They have a much more flexible wire that allows the rig to really flux back and forth.

[gim]

15 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

At the end of the day, the thing that makes the A-Rig perhaps the most fun to fish with is catching multiple fish on one cast, and that goes right out the window with a 1 hook deal.   

 

That's exactly how I've always felt.  I see no advantage to using it in this fashion, which is why I don't use one.

 

I don't make the rules, but I do follow them.

[T-Billy]

51 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Alright, let me ask you guys who fish the A-rigs.

 

If you were limited to one hook on the whole setup, would you still fish with it?

I would. I'd run four smaller dummies and a bigger bait on the center wire. It's the best thing going around schooling baitfish. By going with the bigger and probably different color bait on the center wire, you can get a high percentage of bites on that bait.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

Alright, let me ask you guys who fish the A-rigs.

 

If you were limited to one hook on the whole setup, would you still fish with it?

@T-Billy beat me to it ! 

Yes. 

In my mind nothing else displays the same 'little vunerable school of bait' better than the rig.  I also do not discount the magic of all the vibration made by 5 smimbaits, not to mention the visual appeal.   I would use four  3.3 inch dummies and a 3.8 or 4.2 inch Hooked bait in the middle.

Finally, I fish SEVERAL DIFFERENT BAITS for brown bass.  The A-Rig Is The ONLY bait the bigger bass will follow All The way to my boat and often still eat it.

So there must be something to it's hypnotic power.

YMMV

A-Jay

 

[T-Billy]

27 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

When I go back and watch my A-Rig GoPro footage, it's incredible how many fish bite right after I make a rod pop.

 

Nearly every bite comes after a rapid speed change. I do it with HARD cranks of the reel handle.

[KP Duty]

Was reading the tournament results from a BASS open last early spring.  Winner wasn't a pro.  He said he told his wife "I'd like to enter that tourny and throw an A-rig around".  She said "Why don't you?" He did...and won.  Not all his fish came on the A-rig, but the big one(s) did.