Alabama RIg

Alabama Rigs are minimal contact lures  known to look like a small school of bait fish with pulsating and flash lure action typically produced by its multiple soft swimbait and blades. It is also known for being restricted by some local fishing regulations and restricted or banned from some bass fishing tournaments.

Anatomy: Alabama lures are soft bait lures with 2 to 12 wires 6 to 8 inches to a single jig head with each wire supporting typically 5 soft swimbait or dummy swimbaits and several blades. Some regulations do not allow more than 3 hooks which is the reason for the dummy swimbaits. They also include swivels, clips (some suggest removing and using split rings), and sometimes hitchhiker trailers.  

Variants & Other Names: 

  • Umbrella Rig and A Rig: Two other common names for the Alabama Rig.
  • Pre-Configured Softbaits: [Figure 2] Configured and ready to be fished out of the box
  • Packages You Assemble: [Figure 3] 
  • 3 Wire No Blades: [ Figure 3] Not common. 
  • Ready for Jig Heads: [Figure 4]: Common to include blades, swivel and clips where the trailer jig heads and soft swimbaits require rigging.
  • Weedless: [Figure 5] Some suggest rigging the swimbait weedless with belly weight hooks connected with clips to go over wood.  
  • Skirted Jig head: [Figure 6] Not common.
  •  7 Wire: [Figure 7]: Less common to have 6 or 7 or more wires. 

Lure Action. Mimics a small school of bait fish with pulsating and flash.

Search Bait: Common.

Pros’ Choice: Not common. Not Common and in some cases not allowed for example MLF Pro Series.  In some cases it is allowed but with restrictions or local fishing regulations have restrictions. One restriction example is  “Alabama rigs and similar umbrella-type rigs are limited to a maximum of five wires with a maximum of five spinners, five lures and three hooks (single or treble) unless state regulations are more restrictive, in which case state regulations prevail” 2021 Phoenix BFL Rule

Figure 1: Alabama Rig Anatomy
Figure 2: Yum Yumbrella Flash Mob Jr Umbrella Rig 5.5 inch
Manufacturer's Details
When to Fish the Alabama Rig
Alabama Rig are minimal contact lures typically selected when:   
  • Targeted Depth:
    • Deep(Offshore): Common, as compared to other horizontal presentations, some would suggest mid-depth, from 10 to 15 ft, albeit it can be fished deeper.  
    • Shallow: Less common, although possible with a burn retrieve and with the rod held high will keep the alabama rig near the surface.
  • Fishing Speed:
    • Fast: Commonly considered for fishing fast and covering water.
    • Slow: Not commonly considered a lure to be fished slow.
  • Lure Visibility: 
    • High Lure Visibility: Less common.
    • Low Lure Visibility: Common as the lure has a large profile and flash options.
      • Engaging Lateral Line and Hearing: The 5 soft swimbaits and the blades create a lot of vibration and flash. 
  • Targeting Cover: Some suggest all lures are good near cover where alabama rig lures are used when contacting:
    • Grass: Not common
    • Rock: Less common with light contact.  
    • Wood: Less common with light contact and weedless swimbait rigging or instead of using a jig head use a weighted hook texas-rigged.
    • Dock: Not common. 
    • Off Cover: Common to fish suspended bass and to cover water.
Figure 3: Yumbrella 3-Wire Kit
Manufacturer's Details
Figure 4: Strike King Tour Grade Titanium Rig Small Heavy WIre Willow Blue Gizzard
Manufacturer's Details
Specific Alabama Rig Selection

Selecting the Alabama Rig Lure Type, as a soft bait lure type,  there are the following key decisions:

  • Soft Plastics: [THIS ONE NEEDS TO BE UPDATED WITH EACH SOFT PLASTIC PAGE – Plus each soft plastic] Molded/Pre-rigged.
    • Common:
      • Swimbait Soft Plastic: Configured as a soft swimbait lure often a paddle tail. 
        • Molded/Pre-Rigged: Often pre-rigged. 
    • Less Common:
    • Size: Some suggest a larger swimbait for the middle hook:
      • Small: 2.5″ to 3″  
      • Common: 3″ to 4″
      • Large: 4.5″ plus
Figure 5:Keitech Custom Worms Easy Shiner 4 inch with a 4/O hook 3/16 oz belly hook
Manufacturer's Details
  • Lure Color: [NL] As lure color selection is mostly tied to the lure visibility download the Acute Lure Color Breakdown™ Infographic.
Download the Acute Lure Color Breakdown™ Infographic
Rigging Decisions

As a soft bait lure type, the common rigging considerations includes:

  • Jig Head: Alabama rig has a main jig head, typically swim jig head, that instead of a hook it has several wires that follow the jig head. Those wires are rigged with several smaller trailer jig heads where the bottom trailer jig heads are typically heavier than the top trailer jig heads.
    • Main Jig Head Weight:
      • Light: 1/4 oz
      • Common: 3/8 oz
      • Heavy: 1/2 oz
    • Size(Middle Wire): Middle Wire, which is the longest.
      • Small: 4″  
      • Common: 5″
      • Large: 6″ to 9 1/2 inch
    • Trailer Jig Head Weights: The weight of the multiple jig heads on the wires behind the main jig head.
      • Light: 1/16 oz, 1/8 oz for the lighter dummy swimbaits on the top wires
      • Common: 3/16, 1/4 oz, 5/16 oz, 3/8 oz on the bottom wires
      • Heavy: 1/2 oz 
  • Soft Bait Setup: To ensure the lure doesn’t spin some suggest putting a heavier jig head on the bottom wire.
    • Dummy Swimbaits: Dummy swimbaits are swimbaits with no hook typically used due to local regulations or tournament rules usually mandating 3 hook maximum. Some suggest they should be on top with the goal of swimming the lure above the fish when they are suspended. Some suggest the dummy swimbaits are smaller than the rest. Some cut the hook of the jig head and some use hitchhikers trailer.
    • Hitchhiker  Trailer: Some suggest using hitch hikers for the dummy swimbaits as the spiral connector would result in the lightest 
    • Longer Middle Jighead: Some suggest using a slightly larger, brighter or something slightly different on the middle hook to entice the bite on that hook.
Figure 6: Bounty Hunter 5 or 7 Prong Skirted Umbrella Rig
Manufacturer's Details
  • Main Line: Some suggest fluorocarbon, some suggest braid
    • Light: Not common due to the weight of the lure.
    • Common: 20 lb test to 25 lb test
    • Heavy: 25 lb test plus.
  • Leader: Not common.
  • Rod:
    • Baitcaster Rod: Common with Power = Heavy (some say Extra Heavy and others Medium Heavy) and Action(Taper) = Moderate Fast (some suggest Moderate and others Fast).
      • Reel: Some suggest slower 6.4:1 as it is a heavy rig. 
    • Spinning Rod: Generally impossible due to the weight of the lure.
Download Rod Infographic
Alabama Rig Presentations

Presentations for Alabama Rigs are commonly considered a horizontal presentation and a tight line presentation with the following considerations:

  • Cast Techniques:
    • Common: 
      • Overhand: More of a lob cast, as the goal of casting, besides distance, is to ensure the alabama rig doesn’t tumble with the line getting caught in the lure. Fluorocarbon line will help. Some suggest applying slight tension on the line during the cast will help.
  • Initial Lure Action: Some suggest to start with a slow retrieve to engage the swimbaits and blades to swims the lure on the fall to the desired depth. Some suggest counting the lure down to the bottom first to establish depth. 
  • Retrieve Techniques:
    • Common:
      • Straight Retrieve:
        • Burn: Will bring the lure more shallow.
        • Slow-Roll: Will allow the lure to better bounce off cover/bottom.
        • Pop: Will make the lure look like the bait fish being frightened and as they go faster they get closer together.  
      • Less Common:
        • Hop Retrieve: Some suggest to let it swim to the bottom and lift the lure with four or five fast rotations of the reel then let it drop back to the bottom similar to stroking a jig.
  • Secondary Action: Pause or slow down the retrieve to let the lure go deeper in the water column or to vary the depths during the retrieve.
  • Hook Set: Typically, pull/sweep hook set after identifying fish on followed by landing the bass.
  • Repetition at Spots: Not common.
Figure 7: Picasso Lures Bait Ball Extreme
Manufacturer's Details
Additional Considerations
Figure 8: Yumbrella Accessory Kit
Manufacturer's Details
MLF Videos and Articles by Experts
Major League Fishing (MLF) produces videos and articles including:
  • Bass Pro Tour Rules 
    • “Alabama Rigs and similar umbrella-type rigs are not allowed. Umbrella rigs are determined to be any nontraditional lure or harness using wires, lines or hooks to connect multiple teasers, including but not limited to swimbaits, grubs or spinners. The use of braid or other line to attach a single stinger hook to a lure is allowed as long as the line is no more than 2 inches in length.” Bass Pro Tour Rules
  •  Farewell to the Alabama rig 2013 MLF Article
Videos by Experts

Articles by Experts
error: Content is protected !!