Alabama Rig For Crappie Fishing

The umbrella rig recently has blown up in the Bass fishing world.  Prior to fisherman finding how well the rig worked on Bass, anglers used umbrella rigs for Crappie.  The idea behind the umbrella rig is to simulate a small school of baitfish.  Often times there will be an umbrella of baits around a central bait that has a leader slightly longer than the baits used to create the umbrella.  Over the past few years fishing companies have tried and tested many version of the Alabama rig, and made adjustments.  The following Alabama rigs are proven fish catchers!

The first time that I was turned onto the Alabama rig was by Jimmy Houston.  He produced a short video, and leading off they caught two 3 pound bass on the same rig.  Oftentimes by setting the hook on the first fish and trying to keep the baits in the strike zone produces two fish!!

Yumbrella

The Yum lures Yumbrella is a proven fish catcher.  The cool thing about the rig is that you can use different artificial baits on them.  The rig is very robust, and well made make sure to use some nice heavy line to keep the rig from breaking off.  By using heavy line you will be able to catch fish after fish with the rig.

State Regulations

Make sure to check the regulations in your state, because some don’t allow you to use Alabama rigs because they use too many hooks.  One state that I know doesn’t allow umbrella or Alabama rigs is Minnesota.

Tackle Box For Alabama and Umbrella Rigs

The nature of the rig doesn’t really mesh with the everyday tackle box.  With lots of wire, hooks and weighted heads there can be tangles.  To solve that problem Plano created a great tackle box meant specifically to house your Alabama rigs.  You can store up to 4 rigs in the box, which allows you to have 4 different Alabama rigs ready to go.  Having them setup is nice, since you can use a ball bearing swivel which allows you to just snap on a new rig so you have 4 different patterns of bait fish schools ready to go!!

Mann’s Bait Company 6.5-Inch The Alabama Rig

Every Crappie fisherman knows that a white rubber worm is a favorite artificial lure for crappie.  So what could be better than 1, well Mann’s bait decided that 5 is better than one and made the 6.5 Alabama rig.  The rig will also work well on bass and pike.

Some Advise

The Alabama rig has its moments, casting around while trolling drop offs seems to work since you are looking for the player fish that are actively feeding.  Without a doubt once you find the schools of bass you are in for a treat with an Alabama rig.  The school of bait simulated by an Alabama rig seems to send the bigger bass into a feeding frenzy, so once you get one your likely to start getting more.  A great way to try and find these player fish is via a fishfinder.  An Alabama rig is a staple of a well stocked tackle box and oftentimes rewards you with some of the bigger fish that you will catch during the summer!!!