Bass Pro Shops Springfield, MO

Few lures or techniques have drawn as much attention as the “Alabama” rig, or as it has been known for years in saltwater circles, the umbrella rig. This attention was brought to a head by the almost unbelievable weights that were caught last fall in a couple of major professional bass tournaments. The fire was lit and although there has been a considerable amount of debate about their use and legality it would seem they are here to stay.

The umbrella rig, our Bass Pro Shops model is called the “Deadly 5 Shad Rig”, is fairly simple, usually one tie point with 5 wires with swivels for lure placement, however; there seems to be a lot of questions about what kind of trailer and hooks should be used. Swim type baits are currently the lure of choice for most anglers. The most popular size is 4 inches and sports a large paddle type tail that provides a very lifelike presentation. Some anglers will use 4 of the four inch baits and use a 5 inch or larger bait in the center trying to draw a strike to the larger bait. This is a result of varying state regulations, such as Missouri, which only allows 3 trailers with hooks, but you can use the other two wires with baits (decoys) as long as they do not have hooks in them. A lot of anglers use a lighter head such as 1/8^th ounce when fishing in less than 10 feet of water and use heavier heads up to ½ ounce when the need to fish deeper.  Some anglers use jigs with light wire hooks so they can pull the rig loose when it gets hung up, however; trophy fish may be lost when using the light weight hooks.

One of the best jig heads for the rig is the Bass Pro Shops “Deadly 5” jig, the powder coated head is very chip resistant and the hook is strong enough to handle lunker bass. The darter type head helps control swim baits and is designed to hold the baits securely.

Several very good swimbaits  such as the Berkley “Hollow Belly”, the Optimum “Double Diamond Swimmer” or the new NetBait “BK” swimbait are good choices. Quality Swimbaits have paddle tails that have a lot of movement even at slow speeds. Color selection is generally either the prevalent shad or sunfish pattern that the bass are feeding on. One rule of thumb that applies is to use light colors on bright days and dark colors on dark days. Swimbaits are made in several lengths, however; the 4 inch size seems to be a good size to start the day with, bigger baits may be used to target trophy fish.

Special Tip: Use a chartreuse or red Spike-It marker on the center swim bait tail to attract fish!