Anyone Else Have This Problem With The A-Rig

[Mumpy]

Fished with the A-Rig for the first time last weekend and didn't catch any fish on it, but the conditions were rough to say the least. My problem I was having though was when I cast the A-Rig out it seemed like 8 times out of 10 when I got it back to the boat the Fishing line was routed under the Wire Leg of the Rig.

What am I doing wrong?

[J Francho]

Are you chucking it overhand? You kind of want to side arm sling it, and feather the spool on entry, like a spinnerbait, so its ready to run back toward you as soon as it hits the water. You are sort of hooking back in to the water. Don't leave any slack line if you are counting it down a bit either. That's a sure fire way to get tangled. Finally, make sure baits are JUST far enough apart to not get tangled with each other.

[Mumpy]

Ok, will do. I am using a Spinning Reel so I don't have a way of Feathering the Spool on Entry like a Baitcaster. I'll do my best though. Heading up to fish the Tennessee River this weekend so I need to get me one of those 3 Wire Jobs before I hit the waters.

[J Francho]

I was gonna ask if you were using spinning....use your index finger on the hand that holds the rod to feather the line, or you can do what I do, and cup your reeling hand over the line as it flows off the reel. You'd have to look at the video to really get what I'm doing. Watch the first few seconds over and over. You'll see that I manually flip the bail and seat the line in the roller guide. This seems detailed, but it's much better technique - no more breakoffs or bail flipping on the hookset when a fish bites as soon as your bait lands.

[Mumpy]

Got it, Thanks!

[J Francho]

Glad that dumb video of me helped someone! LOL. Anytime.

[bigbassctchr101]

Also, I have noticed that if the head of your rig is heavier than your baits, it can allow for several flips before entry. I had a problem with this on my first couple of homemade rigs. Feathering helped a lot along with the other tips JF gave.

[Mumpy]

Last Sunday was the windiest day I've ever fished in my life. The River was literally flowing the opposite direction and white capping. I'll still use these tips though. Baits heavier than the Head, Feather the Line, Cast Sideways.

[SirSnookalot]

@ Mumpy...... I don't throw a-rigs but I throw cuda tubes( they weigh about 1.5 oz) with spinning all the time, they hang up just like an a -rig will. As Francho said, close the bail a split second before the lure hits the water, this eliminates the problem most of the time. When the lure hits the water it's straight, preventing the hooks from wrapping around the line.

[Randall]

I tried the rig for the first time this week for deep water (20-35 feet) since when I picked it up the head was much heavier than the others out there I could find. I was wrapping the line on it and figured out the head was heavier than the baits I was using and it was falling head first to the bottom and catching the line on almost every cast. To keep it from happening I had to start reeling very slow as soon as it hit the water instead of just letting it fall.to keep the head from going nose down. If I tried to cast it into the wind it turned as well. The baits would catch the wind and blow back over the head. I was fishing with 20-25mph gusts. I switched to the yumbrella rig and added weight with heavier jigheads and it fixed the problem. No problem at all casting into the wind or tangles with line as the bait fell to the bottom.

[J Francho]

Wind will kill you every time.....

[Team9nine]

On 3/9/2012 at 7:17 AM, bigbassctchr101 said:

^{Also, I have noticed that if the head of your rig is heavier than your baits, it can allow for several flips before entry. I had a problem with this on my first couple of homemade rigs. Feathering helped a lot along with the other tips JF gave.}

On 3/9/2012 at 10:59 AM, Randall said:

^{I tried the rig for the first time this week for deep water (20-35 feet) since when I picked it up the head was much heavier than the others out there I could find. I was wrapping the line on it and figured out the head was heavier than the baits I was using and it was falling head first to the bottom and catching the line on almost every cast. To keep it from happening I had to start reeling very slow as soon as it hit the water instead of just letting it fall.to keep the head from going nose down. If I tried to cast it into the wind it turned as well. The baits would catch the wind and blow back over the head. I was fishing with 20-25mph gusts. I switched to the yumbrella rig and added weight with heavier jigheads and it fixed the problem. No problem at all casting into the wind or tangles with line as the bait fell to the bottom.}

^{Randall nailed it from my experience. It's one of the overlooked things when companies and individuals first started making knock-offs haphazardly just to compete in the market and capitalize on the craze. The head shouldn't be that heavy relative to the jigheads, otherwise you get exactly what you describe. In fact, my favorite versions have very lightweight resin heads. It's the equivalent of casting a crankbait with a weight transfer system. If the design and balance is correct, wind isn't an issue. I've thrown properly balanced rigs in 20-30 mph winds for hours without any problems.}

^-T9

[Wayne P.]

Good observation T9, All the weight should be the attached baits, not any weighted head. Depth and speed control should be adjusted by the size and weight of the lures.

A weighted head rig is just an misguided interpretation of that presentation.

[J Francho]

The Picasso rig has a resin head and works great with light baits.

[Michael DiNardo]

Along with feathering the line, also try raising the rod tip slightly before the bait/lure/A-rig hits the water.

Mike