A Rig

Swimmin' frogs, floating frogs, dropshots, swimbaits, Carolina-rigs and now the Alabama rig: These particular baits or bait presentations have been around for a long time. And most actually originated with other species amongst musky hunters, striper fans and saltwater specialists. They were later adapted for use in bass fishing.

The most recent craze in bass fishing is the Alabama Rig, or A-Rig as it's come to be known in tournament circles. In case you haven't heard of it by now, it's not legal in its current form in every state, and some tournament circuits have banned it, but it definitely looks like it's here to stay.

The A-Rig is an umbrella-rig: Five wires come off of a spinnerbait-shaped head, and each wire has a swimbait attached to its end. It resembles a small school of baitfish as it swims by, and so far it's been most effective on suspended bass. Just ask Paul Elias. He dominated an FLW Tour event last fall at Lake Guntersville in Alabama and won by a staggering 17 pounds.

The dock talk before that event was that fishing would be tough and the weights would be down due to fish being suspended in the upper portion of the water column. Elias used his own modified version of the A-Rig to break the 100-pound "century" mark with his 4-day total. The sport was stunned.

Anglers outside of bass fishing refer to the A-Rig as the umbrella-rig or chandelier. In freshwater, it was historically used for striped bass – guides and weekend anglers would troll the multibait rig in rivers and lakes across the country. Paired with heavy-action rods and big reels, the umbrella rig could be pulled behind the boat on a flat line or used in combination with a downrigger for deeper applications. Saltwater anglers are also familiar with this type of rig for inshore, nearshore and offshore fishing.

Like other baits, rigs and styles that come and go, we'll just have to wait and see how the A-Rig performs over time. To me it's no different than the double-Fluke rig or any other multibait rig (and believe me there are many), or the use of echo-sounding equipment, scent, Side-Imaging or even underwater cameras to locate, identify and attract bass.   But let's save that argument for later.